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| 31 MAY 2008 at 4:44am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By SAM (31 MAY 2008 3:11am)
Someone asked what type of mini laptop?
It is a Fujitsu u810.
Windows XP Tablet
Games I've been able to run on it:
Hoyle Card Board games
Sam & Max Ep 4
A friend
As you know, the Fujitsu U810 is a UMPC. I have 4 UMPCs: the Sony Vaio UX180, U1 & U3 and the Samsung Q1U. The Sony Vaio UX180 is very much like the Fujitsu U810 in size although the Fujitsu is slightly larger & the keyboard easier to use.
FWIW: I have had running on those UMPCs: Gabriel Knight 3, Syberia 1&2, Dracula 1 & 2, The Messenger, Alida, Barrow Hill, The Complete Sam & Max Season 1, Rhem 2 and some I can't think of. Some of this were installed using a virtual image program as I mentioned above. By far the easiest to install & play on these tiny things was Barrow Hill. It installs completely without the need for an in-drive Cd and its gameplay lends itself well to a small screen with minimal use of keyboard. Plus, it's a good game. I would go out & get Barrow Hill first thing. Alida allows a complete install, but it's a bigger game & its graphics will be appreciated better on a bigger screen.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 6:23am |
InlandAZGuild Master
Posts : 5587
Joined: 4 MAY 2007
Status : Offline | @SirDave -
You said: 3) Virtual Image programs. This is my main solution. A program such as Virtual CD will make an image of the cds/dvds which in most cases will subsitute for the physicial CD. I have been using these, likewise, since the latter 1990s.
I've been curious about this program for some time - how does it handle copyright protection (SafeDisc or Starforce for example)? oes the virtual image manage to fake out the protection code, or does it still require a NoCD patch? I typically opt for the NoCD solution (and like you, once I've paid my money for the game -- I make up my own mind up how I actually enjoy it.)
Also, have you used VirtualCloneDrive? It's still freeware...
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 6:46am |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | For copy "protections" on recent games you'd probably still need the NoCD, Inland.
But there's not much point in using Virtual CD with recent games anyway, since most of them have full installs to the hard drive already and you really only need the CD in the drive to pass the CD check when you start the game.
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 7:00am |
InlandAZGuild Master
Posts : 5587
Joined: 4 MAY 2007
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Jenny100 (31 MAY 2008 6:46am)
For copy "protections" on recent games you'd probably still need the NoCD, Inland.
But there's not much point in using Virtual CD with recent games anyway, since most of them have full installs to the hard drive already and you really only need the CD in the drive to pass the CD check when you start the game.
That was actually the point of the question -- we who prefer not to keep our CD’s in the drive every time we play a game do on occasion (like every time for me) install a NoCD patch... Some of which that may contain questionable content (if a virtual image can circumvent this, the 700MB image is a small price to pay for the protection).
Edit -
At least in the case of the freeware offering (mentioned above) - StarForce is well aware that's it's dealing with a Virtual Image.
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 2:38pm |
LadyLindaIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 91
Joined: 10 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | The games I have played so far that do not need a CD to play after installation are:
NiBiRu
The Ugly Duckling Prince
Dark Fall: Lignts Out
Crime Stories
Ankh 1
Return to Mysterious Island
Scratches
Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None
Nancy Drew 17: Legend of the Crystal Skull
Ghost in the Sheet
Culpa Innata
Mysterious Journey II
LadyLinda
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 2:46pm |
AndromusGuild Master
Posts : 5540
Joined: 6 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | I've gotten into the disc imaging thing over the last year or so, and I wonder how I did without it this long. I love being able to have any number of games ready to play without having the disc at hand.
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 4:30pm |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By InlandAZ (31 MAY 2008 6:23am)
@SirDave -
You said: 3) Virtual Image programs. This is my main solution. A program such as Virtual CD will make an image of the cds/dvds which in most cases will subsitute for the physicial CD. I have been using these, likewise, since the latter 1990s.
I've been curious about this program for some time - how does it handle copyright protection (SafeDisc or Starforce for example)? Does the virtual image manage to fake out the protection code, or does it still require a NoCD patch? I typically opt for the NoCD solution (and like you, once I've paid my money for the game -- I make up my own mind up how I actually enjoy it.)
Also, have you used VirtualCloneDrive? It's still freeware...
I started out using Virtual CD back in 1997-1998. The reason I stick with it over the others is that the freeware programs either require more effort to use and/or have less reliable results in a given game. As in similar situations, because Virtual CD is a commercial program, it has improved every year and now can do things like emulate a physical drive and allows you to put virtual images on USB jump/memory drives.
It is true that a number of games now allow full installs, especially a number of those from Kheops, but I still run into a number that require the disk in the drive eg. Rhem 2 (and probably Rhem 3 though I haven't tried it yet). I used to have problems when a game would be looking for a disk in the physical drive, but that's not a problem now (since Virtual CD handles it) and it is fairly rare that Virtual CD doesn't work on old & new games.
As to copy protection, to some extent I think it is less than an obstacle to make an image than burn a copy of the disk. In other words, all that's happening here is that a an exact image is created in a file not on a disk. I'm not an expert on copy-protection techniques, but I know that some of them use false or bad sectors to foil the disk burner. With virtual images, you aren't copying to a disk. All I'm interested in is getting that disk out of the drive for a cd check or whatever- not making a disk copy!
I haven't fully tested out the latest version of Virtual CD, but I'll have to go back and see how it handles a game like Black Mirror that has Starforce. I seem to remember that it required the disk in the drive & checked for one in the physical drive so Virtual CD couldn't handle it then- I think it can now.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 5:18pm |
InlandAZGuild Master
Posts : 5587
Joined: 4 MAY 2007
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By SirDave (31 MAY 2008 4:30pm)
Originally Posted By InlandAZ (31 MAY 2008 6:23am)
I haven't fully tested out the latest version of Virtual CD, but I'll have to go back and see how it handles a game like Black Mirror that has Starforce. I seem to remember that it required the disk in the drive & checked for one in the physical drive so Virtual CD couldn't handle it then- I think it can now.
That would be perfect - The Black Mirror is the one I tested. I was able to make an ISO, mount and install it without issue - verifying the disc however was another story (apparently Starforce knew it was a virtual image...)
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 6:40pm |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By InlandAZ (31 MAY 2008 7:00am)
That was actually the point of the question -- we who prefer not to keep our CD’s in the drive every time we play a game do on occasion (like every time for me) install a NoCD patch... Some of which that may contain questionable content (if a virtual image can circumvent this, the 700MB image is a small price to pay for the protection).
So the choice is between a 700MB image and a NoCD that is a rarely over 1MB, and sometimes the 700MB image is not enough.
I find programs like Virtual CD better for older games that were designed to play off the CD rather than the hard drive.
At least in the case of the freeware offering (mentioned above) - StarForce is well aware that's it's dealing with a Virtual Image.
Check out programs like Alcohol 120% and Daemon-Tools. Some programs are better at getting around disc checks than others.
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 8:09pm |
InlandAZGuild Master
Posts : 5587
Joined: 4 MAY 2007
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Jenny100 (31 MAY 2008 6:40pm)
So the choice is between a 700MB image and a NoCD that is a rarely over 1MB, and sometimes the 700MB image is not enough.
I think you're missing the point again - sometimes folks discover their NoCD patch contains more than the advertised content
You're absolutely correct for those that are nothing more than what they claim to be however - no contest at all.
I find programs like Virtual CD better for older games that were designed to play off the CD rather than the hard drive.
DOSBox has the capability to mount ISO images -- and Virtual PC does a good job as well. For Windows 3.x titles (like Darkseed II) DOSBox/Windows 3.1 Combos work as well (if not better) that the original.
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 8:59pm |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By InlandAZ (31 MAY 2008 8:09pm)
I think you're missing the point again - sometimes folks discover their NoCD patch contains more than the advertised content
That's why you need to scan them with a good up to date antivirus program (not a bad antivirus program). But you have to do that with a lot of things you get off the internet.
DOSBox has the capability to mount ISO images -- and Virtual PC does a good job as well. For Windows 3.x titles (like Darkseed II) DOSBox/Windows 3.1 Combos work as well (if not better) that the original.
I wasn't talking about DOS/Win3.x games, which can indeed function with DOSBox. For example, I played Loch Ness, Beyond Atlantis 2, and a few other Windows 95/98 games using Daemon-Tools, and DOSBox wouldn't work with those games. Since these were older games, they didn't have a copy "protection" system that was designed to defeat emulation programs like some recent games do.
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 9:18pm |
InlandAZGuild Master
Posts : 5587
Joined: 4 MAY 2007
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Jenny100 (31 MAY 2008 8:59pm)
Originally Posted By InlandAZ (31 MAY 2008 8:09pm)
I think you're missing the point again - sometimes folks discover their NoCD patch contains more than the advertised content
That's why you need to scan them with a good up to date antivirus program (not a bad antivirus program). But you have to do that with a lot of things you get off the internet.
DOSBox has the capability to mount ISO images -- and Virtual PC does a good job as well. For Windows 3.x titles (like Darkseed II) DOSBox/Windows 3.1 Combos work as well (if not better) that the original.
I wasn't talking about DOS/Win3.x games, which can indeed function with DOSBox. For example, I played Loch Ness, Beyond Atlantis 2, and a few other Windows 95/98 games using Daemon-Tools, and DOSBox wouldn't work with those games. Since these were older games, they didn't have a copy "protection" system that was designed to defeat emulation programs like some recent games do.
New one's show up every day - so you can't always catch them all... It's more Trojans that are of concern (they aren't always detected by AV software).
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| 31 MAY 2008 at 9:36pm |
Jenny100Guild Master
Posts : 3510
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | I'm not recommending that you use NoCD's, Inland. That's up to you. I don't like to use them either. But the companies that make copy "protection" software are constantly trying to defeat companies that make CD emulation software. So you're probably not going to be able to play a game that uses the most recent version of a copy "protection" software without a CD in the drive (and perhaps not even then, if your drive isn't "compatible" with the copy "protection". Some games even refuse to install, let alone start, if they detect emulation programs on your hard drive. It's one of the reasons I don't buy as many games as I used to.
I think (read it somewhere) some emulation companies have developed ways to defeat early versions of StarForce, so you don't need the CD in the drive. That may include your version of Black Mirror.
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| 8 JUN 2008 at 7:44pm |
SAMSpace Cadet
Posts : 148
Joined: 13 FEB 2004
Status : Online | Some asked if the Fujitsu u810 would run any games.
I have successfully installed 4 games to hard drive of Fujitsu u810 and they ran fine. (I know they are older games)
Stupid Invaders
And Then there Were None
(These game look fine with wide screen resolution)
Return to Mysterious Island
Voyage
(Runs, but needs scrolling due to 1024 X 600 rather than 1024 X 768.)
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