Hacking Starforce 3 with BIOS

[Joe Forster/STA]

If I understand it correctly, this doesn't change the BIOS (software), "only" the current computer configuration.

In that case, if I'm not mistaken, you can recover your PC, if you manage to mess up something, by switching it off, enabling the "clear CMOS" jumper on the motherboard (see the manual), switching the PC on for a few seconds/minutes, switching it off, and disabling the jumper. Please, confirm.

However, I don't quite understand what the BIOS has to do with all this. I thought that - along with HAL.DLL etc. - Windows loads in its native IDE driver and doesn't use the BIOS for IDE access anymore. This is kind of proven by the fact that disabling the IDE controller in the BIOS does not fool (newer versions of) Starforce. Also, another fact that Starforce cannot re-activate disabled IDE devices on nForce chipset proves that - at some point(s) - Starforce actually accesses IDE devices directly via the IDE controller.

I also don't understand what all those instances of 0x0571 are (there are four of them on the picture!). I would've assumed that only one of them is the device identifier and the others are backups/mirrors/placeholders/whatever.

No, I don't have a VIA-chipset motherboard but, if I had one, I would first want to understand what this is all about before actually trying it...!

[RKR]

1. This only changes the BIOS that is loaded to RAM. No info is stored to MB, all the changes are made during the win boot (that's why wcprset is needed). But still, that HEX code contains all the info all HW (CPU, RAM, everything...) is controlled, so you can easily burn your RAM. Some people rewrite memory controling sofware here.

2. The IDE is not disconnected in bios, just it's ID is changed. And yes windows don't use the BIOS to excess the IDE, but SF does. And the non-working ID doesn't allow SF to acces that IDE directly.

3. The IDs: the first squere on the top is the device ID rewriten from the second red squere. The lowest red squere is the ID which SF (and other non-win) software uses.

4. If you want to know everything read the original review

[Joe Forster/STA]

Thanks for the explanations!

[Zulu]

At least with my CMD 0649RAID Controller this method is history with SF 3.7.16 (Spellforce 2 and Blazing Angels after first patch) Also tried modified drivers, no go

DTM/Race Driver 3 and Blazing Angels 1.0 working (RMPS copies)

[LoedD]

I just tried it and works perfectly.

Games tested so far:

Race driver 3
POP 3
TM Sunrise
TM Original
Worms 4 Mayhem
King Kong
Bet on Soldier

SCCT doesn't work!