How to get rid of copy protections in DOS games

In this guide I'm going to introduce you to some DOS programs we used back in the day to get rid of those annoying copy protection schemes. You know, "insert the original disk", "Enter the word 4 from the 16 page of your manual" or even "Use the game codewheel to answer the following question".

These days you can see all sorts of initiatives regarding those protections. Some people prefer to leave the software unaltered and even preserve their protections (some were very sophisticated, such as the codewheels included with the first two Monkey Island games). Other people like me prefer to get rid of the protections and enjoy the games as flawlessly as possible.

This not a hacking or programming course. I know nothing about those topics. It's just a quick list of programs that can save your life if you can't find or don't want to use the copy protection codes. These programs run under DOS, so in modern computers you'll need to run them under DOSBox or PCem.

Since I end up testing many DOS games I've reserved some space on my DOSBox installation to utilities such as Neverlock or Locksmith, and I have to admit I like them much more now than in the 1990s. Back then it was too common to have a version of the game that was not supported, especially if it was translated into something different than English. Nowadays, it is much easier to locate an especific version of a game.

This is what a member from another message board had to say about this kind of programs:

So here's a list of the most common programs we used to get rid of game protections in DOS games:

1) CrackAid v3.39 (1993)


Developed by some Rawhide from the Humble Guys, who don't sound like a chess club to me. It deprotects 300 games, mostly from the early days of DOS.

2) Crock v2.32 (1994)



By Firebug y Eryx, who probably waved the skull and crossbones flag. One of the few programs that attempts to unprotect the floppy version of Strike Commander, a late DOS game that included several different protections. It doesn't remove all its protections, though.

3) Locksmith v1.31 (1994)





By REM Software, this one looks like comercial software that ended up being ilegally distributed.

This is one of the most popular programs of their type, and supports around 750 games, which is saying something. It also mentions which protection can remove, something very useful because some games have more than one type of protection, such as key disk + manual lookup.

4) The Patcher v6.5 (1995)

By Michael Caldwell. Since the author doesn't hide his name this was likely comercial or freeware software. It can unprotect around 200 games.



5) Universal NeverLock '96 (1996)





Another comercial program that ended up being pirated. It looks a more accomplished program than the previous ones. It divides its library in two collections, the "classic games" (around 280 games) and the "modern" (with another 350 games).

On the other hand, it doesn't work exactly like the other programs on this list. Instead of patching the original program, it sometimes loads a TSR program before or instead the game executable. It also shows a nag screen with advertising.



As I said before, using this programs now has its pros and cons. Most of them create a backup of any program they patch, so it's not like we are in serious danger if we use them. It's more like nobody can warrant that these cracks work or not. Some of them are great -I recently removed the protection from the floppy versions of Star Wars: X-Wing and TIE Fighter without a hitch- but others don't work, render the game unusable or don't remove all the protections.

Under DOSBox the patched games can give us some trouble, too. If a patched game won't work under DOSBox usually the loadfix option can solve the issue.

And finally, there are many other programs like these than listed here. Nerdy Pleasures has a great article on others and also offers a deeper explanation on how these programs work.

This is an English version of a message I posted elsewhere. Since then it has received a few answers, and also some other people offered valuable advice on the matter. Here it is:

1) The floppy version of Strike Commander, my particular white whale, can be FULLY unprotected by the program Unprotect Professional v5.0 (1995) .

2) Have a different version of a game you want unprotected? OK, try this: Patch the English supported version of the game with one of these utilities. Then use a byte comparer such as UltraCompare to which see strings were changed, and change them in your version of the game with an Hex Editor.

 

A few days ago, somebody asked in another phorum where they could get trainers for DOS games. I got reminded that some of these programas also carry those. It certainly is the case with Unprotect Professional v6.0 and above, which can be found at Archive.org. They even carry game updates, which makes even more useful, if bulky.

 

Today I have a small Christmas gift for all the purists in the phorum, those who prefer to use the original protections rather than a cracked game. This is a very nice compilation of codewheels for old PC games that some germanmanualsdb uploaded to Archive.org.



These codewheels are made up of two or more paper sheets, and are among the most difficult protections to replicate comfortably. The simplest codewheels in this repository are ready to be printed, but the real gem are the "interactive" ones. These don't need to be printed, because they replicate the behaviour of the originals right on your computer.

Code Wheels en Archive.org.