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Text File | 1989-11-26 | 18KB | 497 lines

Unprotecting Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator v1.0 by Ralph and The Computer Pike 22 Jun 87 Updated for Advanced Flight Trainer v1.2 by RAL (see end of file) 19 Oct 87 Materials: 1) The ORIGINAL program diskette. 2) A blank FORMATTED diskette. 3) The program DEBUG.COM (found in most MS-DOS packages). Overview The copy protection for Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator (by Electronic Arts) was very simple, so save the $10 for the unprotected version offered by Electronic Arts. Tracing was done on the file AFS.EXE using Microsoft's Symbolic Debug Utility - SYMDEB.COM (version 3.00). Concentrating on any disk I/O, it was found that a portion of the program had four identical groups of two CALLs bunched together. The first CALL routine was CALL 0B31, which resets the disk, reads the boot record and track 15 (side 0). By the way, track 15 (side 0) is one of those "hard to copy" tracks. The second CALL routine was CALL 0B74, which checks the status of the flags set by the last disk I/O, being CALL 0B31. Replacing these CALLs with NOPs (three NOPs per CALL), we found that the program ran with no problems whatsoever! It was that easy! As a matter of fact, we joked about the fact of merely using NOPs to unprotect the program before running it... It couldn't be that easy! Sure enough... Procedure In copying the program diskette, we decided use COPY *.*. Reasons being that it allows the COPIED diskette to rid the bad track 15 (side 0). It was found that using DISKCOPY returned errors and COPYIIPC left track 15 (side 0) in its "bad" state. So, let's do it this way... If all goes well, you'll only have to do it once! Perform the following: 1) Assuming that the PC has been booted-up and the DOS prompt is B>, insert the ORIGINAL program diskette into drive A: and the blank FORMATTED diskette into drive B:. 2) Type the following after each B> prompt: md afs copy/v a:*.* copy/v a:\afs\*.* b:\afs 3) Now, remove the ORIGINAL program diskette from drive A: and put it away... You won't be needing it anymore! 4) Insert the diskette containing the DEBUG.COM file into drive A:. 5) You'll have to rename the AFS.EXE file. Type the following at the B> prompt: rename \afs\afs.exe afs.xxx 6) Now, enter debug by typing the following at the B> prompt: a:debug \afs\afs.xxx 7) At each hyphen "-" prompt, type the following: e de0 90 90 90 90 90 90 e de8 90 90 90 90 90 90 e df1 90 90 90 90 90 90 e df9 90 90 90 90 90 90 w q 8) You'll have to rename AFS.XXX back to its original name. Type the following: rename \afs\afs.xxx afs.exe 9) There! You now have an unprotected copy of Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator by Electronic Arts... Conclusion Being an avid user of PC-based flight simulators, I'll have to say that Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator ranks among the BEST! It's a shame that many of you frowned upon the copy protection... We hope that this document has aided in removing such a nuisance, and that it will confidently allow you to use the software freely. Have fun and good luck!!! Addendum - For single-drive users... And maybe others... First of all, I'd like to apologize to all you single-drive users. I don't think you all could have done the above verbatim. So, I went ahead and COPYIIPC'd (version 3.09) the ORIGINAL program diskette in drive A:. Ignoring the three errors that track 15 created, I went ahead and used the copy and performed the unprotection. I ran the copy with no problem. Then, I DISKCOPY'd (PC-DOS 3.2) the diskette in drive A:. Again, I ignored the errors. The DISKCOPY'd diskette also ran with no problem. Unless you have a program that corrects or formats by tracks and sides, you'll have to live with the errors popping up during copying with no effect to the actual running of the program. Such a program that allows formatting by track and side is called ULTRAFMT.COM. It is a public domain program and usually comes as a package with other ULTRA programs. The programs can be found on most BBSes under the ARC'd filename ULTRA.ARC. Again, good luck and... sorry!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Update for Advanced Flight Trainer v1.2 by RAL October 19, 1987 The new version has a name change due to legal threats from Microsoft (I guess), so the names of the disk files have also been changed. It is now AFT.EXE rather than AFS.EXE. To work with this file using DEBUG, first copy the files as specified in the instructions for v1.0. Then put the copied AFT disk in drive B: and the disk with DEBUG in drive A:. Then get into the \AFT directory on the AFT disk by typing (at the system prompt): b: cd \aft rename aft.exe aft.xxx a:debug aft.xxx All of the instructions for v1.0 are valid, except that the four patches described above need to be made at different addresses, which I found by using the DEBUG unassemble command to look for the group of four paired CALLs (in this version CALL 0E38, CALL 0E7B). The new addresses to be patched in version 1.2 are as follows (enter at the DEBUG hyphen prompt): e 0DE7 90 90 90 90 90 90 e 0DEF 90 90 90 90 90 90 e 0DF8 90 90 90 90 90 90 e 0E00 90 90 90 90 90 90 These patches will fix the program for the CGA. On the EGA, however, I still had trouble. The title screen appears, then the program enters an endless loop of accessing the disk, changing the RGB palette, accessing the disk, etc. So, using DEBUG, I looked for other attempts to read our old friend track 15 (using the search command to find MOV CH,0F prior to a disk access) and, sure enough, I found there was a track 15 access at address 0E30, which contains a call to the disk reset subroutine (CALL 0E38) so that track 15 is read again before getting the monitor default from the ENV setup file. Replacing THIS operation with NOP's allows the program to run with no problems. The palette now can be changed from within the program if needed. Everything else seems to work fine. To finish the update, make the following patch at the DEBUG hyphen prompt: e 0E30 90 90 90 w q (at the B> prompt) rename aft.xxx aft.exe When you're sure that everything is working right, you can delete the backup file AFT.BAK which you made before entering DEBUG. I hope this makes the program more convenient for recent purchasers. It's too bad the company feels the need to harass authorized users with its Mickey Mouse copy protection scheme. It's a darn good program and would undoubtedly sell many more copies without copy protection. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another Unprotect for Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator v1.0 by Tony Elliott 2007 Manassas Drive Woodstock, GA 30188 1 Sept 87 If you are anything like I am, then you scorn the use of copy protection methods implemented by some commercial software companies. They are inconvenient for hard disk users because either they force you to have a "key" diskette in drive A: or they clutter up your hard disk with hidden subdirectories and files. They also can slow the loading and operation of the program. I do not condone software piracy at any level. I do feel, however, that legitimate software owners have the right to make executable backup copies and are entitled to "hassle free" operation. The laws pertaining to this topic vary from state to state. I suggest you look into this BEFORE using the information contained in this text file. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION. USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. Now since that is out of the way, we can get down to business. This patch was developed for the version 1.0 of "Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator" distributed by Electronic Arts. FLOPPY BASED SYSTEMS If you are using a floppy-based system, format a new 360K diskette. Then, copy all of the files from the A:\AFS subdirectory of your original distribution diskette to the root directory of the newly formatted floppy. You may now put your original diskette in a safe place because you will no longer need it. HARD DISK SYSTEMS Log into the subdirectory containing the AFS files. BOTH SYSTEMS Now, be sure that a copy of DEBUG is in the current directory or is in the PATH. 1. REN AFS.EXE AFS <ENTER> 2. DEBUG AFS 3. At the DEBUG "-" prompt, type U 0DB4 <ENTER> Several lines with be displayed on the screen. You are interested in the first two. The should look EXACTLY like this: xxxx:0DB4 E90CA7 JMP B4C3 xxxx:0DB7 C3 RET The "xxxx" represents any four hexadecimal numbers. If you have a match, on to the next step. If not, then skip on down to the section called "Didn't Work." 4. At the "-" prompt again, type U OE31 <RETURN> Several lines of code will again be displayed on the screen. Look at the first two following the "U 0E31" command. They should also match exactly with the following: xxxx:0E31 880E5005 MOV [0550],CL xxxx:0E35 8A0E4D05 MOV CL,[054d] If you have a match here, then you should have a compatible version of the AFS program. If you did not get an EXACT match then skip down to "Didn't Work." 5. At the "-" prompt, type the following: E 0DB4 90 90 90 <ENTER> E 0E31 C3 90 90 90 <ENTER> W <ENTER> Q <ENTER> You should now be back in DOS. Only one more step left. 6. REN AFS AFS.EXE <ENTER> That's it! You now have an unprotected copy of AFS. If you copied DEBUG into your current directory, it is no longer needed here and may be deleted. DIDN'T WORK If the code shown on your screen did not match the code in the text file, then the chances are you have a different version of the AFS program. In that case, type "Q <ENTER>" and, back in DOS, type "REN AFS AFS.EXE" and all should be back to normal. If you have any questions or comments concerning this patch, I may be contacted via Compuserve (ID: 71370,2676) or through just about any of that Atlanta area PC Boards. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Run Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator on your PC without the key disk, and on non-compatible clones (by Herb Sorock) Are you annoyed by the need to keep your key disk handy when you want to run Electronic Arts Advanced Flight Simulator from your hard disk? Does AFS obnoxious copy-protection scheme give you the "no key disk" message when you run it on less-than-100% IBM-compatible PC's (such as the Zenith 151)? Are you worried that the inability to make a archival backup jeopardizes your investment in the software should something happen to the original disk? Do you feel ripped-off when Electronic Arts wants $10 to send you an unprotected copy so you can get around the problems noted above? Well, when I purchased my copy of the AFS, I was mad too! So I decided to do something about it! The result is AFSFIXER.COM, described in this "DOC" file. AFSFIXER.COM allows you to forget about ever needing the AFS key disk again. What does AFSFIXER.COM do? After you run it, you will get a message indicating that it has been installed. Then, just start the AFS program as you normally do. Note that the program no longer looks to drive A for the key disk. AFSFIXER.COM makes it think it's there! (AFSFIXER is a memory-resident program which does NOT modify your AFS disk, so don't worry that something will get clobbered). After you exit to DOS from AFS, be sure to run AFSFIXER.COM again so that it can uninstall itself. If you don't do this, you'll find drive A won't work properly anymore. Probably the easiest thing to do is to put AFSFIXER.COM in the .BAT file that executes the Advanced Flight Simulator, both BEFORE and AFTER the line with AFS.EXE (the main program file). Note: because of the way AFSFIXER works, you will NOT be able to start Advanced Flight Simulator from drive A. If you have a hard disk, install and run it from that disk. If you have a two-floppy system, you may start AFS only from the B drive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This file is almost an exact duplicate of Tony Elliot's unprotect file for AFS V1.0 which has been modified to handle AFT V1.2. Only Addresses and responses have been changed. Everything else was taken directly from Tony's original unprotect file. Brian Baker U N P R O T E C T for Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer V1.2 If you are anything like I am then you scorn the use of copy protection methods implemented by some commercial software compa- nies. They are inconvenient for hard disk users because either they force you to have a "key" diskette in drive A: or they clutter up your hard disk with hidden subdirectories and files. They also can slow the loading and operation of the program. I do not condone software piracy at any level. I do feel, however, that legitimate software owners have the right to make executable backup copies and are entitle to "hassle free" oper- ation. The laws pertaining to this topic vary from state to state. I suggest you look into this BEFORE using the information contained in this text file. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFOR- MATION. USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. Now since that is out of the way, we can get down to business. This patch was developed for the version 1.2 of "Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer" distributed by Electronic Arts. FLOPPY BASED SYSTEMS If you are using a floppy-based system, format a new 360K dis- kette. Then, copy all of the files from the A:\AFT subdirectory of your original distribution diskette to the root directory of the newly formatted floppy. You may now put your original diskette in a safe place because you will no longer need it. HARD DISK SYSTEMS Log into the subdirectory containing the AFT files. patch for AFT V1.2 Page 1 BOTH SYSTEMS Now, be sure that a copy of DEBUG is in the current directory or is in the PATH. 1. REN AFT.EXE AFT <ENTER> 2. DEBUG AFT 3. At the DEBUG "-" prompt, type U 0DBB <ENTER> Several lines with be displayed on the screen. You are inter- ested in the first two. The should look EXACTLY like this: xxxx:0DBB E9A3A7 JMP B561 xxxx:0DBE C3 RET The "xxxx" represents any four hexadecimal numbers. If you have a match, on to the next step. If not, then skip on down to the section called "Didn't Work." 4. At the "-" prompt again, type U 0E38 <RETURN> Several lines of code will again be displayed on the screen. Look at the first two following the "U 0E38" command. They should also match exactly with the following: xxxx:0E38 880E5005 MOV [0550],CL xxxx:0Exx 8A0E4D05 MOV CL,[054d] If you have a match here, then you should have a compatible version of the AFS program. If you did not get an EXACT match then skip down to "Didn't Work." 5. At the "-" prompt, type the following: E 0DBB 90 90 90 <ENTER> E 0E38 C3 90 90 90 <ENTER> W <ENTER> Q <ENTER> You should now be back in DOS. Only one more step left. 6. REN AFS AFS.EXE <ENTER> That's it! You now have an unprotected copy of AFT. If you copied DEBUG into your current directory, it is no longer needed here and may be deleted. UNPROTECT for AFT V1.2 Page 2 DIDN'T WORK If the code shown on your screen did not match the code in the text file, then the chances are you have a different version of the AFT program. In that case, type "Q <ENTER>" and, back in DOS, type "REN AFT AFT.EXE" and all should be back to normal. If you have any questions or comments concerning this patch, I may be contacted via Compuserve (ID: 71370,2676) or through just about any of that Atlanta area PC Boards. Tony Elliott 2007 Manassas Drive Woodstock, GA 30188