… and although the following is required for a good reason, please remove the thread if you think it compromises the TPR rules
My daughter (6 yrs old) has many games she plays on her computer, the likes of Barbie, Pet Parade, Animal Hospital, Dora the Explorer etc … about 15 - 20 of them.
The trouble is - she doesn’t have the most delicate of touches when changing the game … i.e. when removing/inserting the discs :rolleyes:
I don’t think it will be long before some of them stop working, so was wondering how to go about making a cough so she doesn’t have to keep changing discs
I could (probably will) trawl the net looking for answers, but thought someone might be able to point me in a direction.
as far as coding goes … it’s possible that Neal knows more than me … but I thought I needed a little personal project to play with and learn along the way.
It’s not illegal if you own the game. You are allowed to make a back up. Other option is to use a no-cd crack, if there are ones around for the games your daughter plays. This also is perfectly legal.
You wouldn’t actually need 15 virtual drives, as you just need to unmount one image (game) and mount the next, like you’d do with cdrom.
Fair use rights, we supposedly have, yes. technically its not illegal if you own the originals. But since when has somthing as uninportant as legality stopped someone getting sued in a civil case.
to make a image of the game is illegal as… most games have copy protection witch in turn means wolram would need to bypass this… illegal bit… thats my view…and such this is in the direction of illegal(ness)
If you read your EULA for 99% of software it provides a user a license to use the software period on one system at a time. Now some software require a CD image pointing to that location, and some have a BOOT sector on that image (CD) to require that it be launched from that point. I have the same issue in a law office. The work around was a CD server. We had an old system used to boot from a Floppy (LINUX) with 4 CD’s in it (We had 4 systems like this). In each we mounted the vol’s and SAMBA served them. Was a pain but worked well. We didn’t break any EULA (ONE Installation, ONE system) but got creative on its interpretation. Now in your case I would find a CD Image tool and go for it. Again the EULA is the issue! Read them and go for it if it is within the spirit of the wording.
@ Hidds - having just 1 virtual drive would involve the daughter mounting/unmounting images (not yet made) of each game … something she might screw up
@ Bin - the games are the genuine discs, I have no desire to make any copies (or images) of them, I just want to try to preserve them by getting the games to run without using the discs
@ Step - crikey, I don’t think I can afford your workaround
loading of images can be scripted, so when you click th icon for the game it ‘inserts’ the correct cd first. We use this all the time at work and I could easly knock someting togeather for you once you decide which software cd emulator you want to use…
In america atleast, it would be a violation of the DMCA law that big companies paid for to make a backup, seeing as youd almost certainly have to circumvent some sort of copy protection…but i guess here your ok. Britian hasnt gone completley apeshiat crazy over copyright as america has yet.
That’s still being tried in the courts. Our laws allow someone to make a copy as a personal backup, but the copyright laws counterdict this. Don’t hold your breath waiting for it to be resolved.
I don’t need a “wake up” call. I’m well aware of what’s happening. I was pointing out that we have contradictory laws in place and that resolution between the two is still pending. One law doesn’t take precedence over the other. It’s a matter of application and circumstance. As a private citizen I can make a backup - legally.
As for which laws will stay, that’s a battle the big companies don’t want to fight for fear of losing. Currently they use the DCMA as a big stick, but they don’t really want to go to court with it over personal backups. Eventually, it will happen. At that point we will either lose another right, or the DCMA will be rewritten. I’m hoping for the latter.
if it works… do it… if u get caught, Blame them for supplying a [what ever age your daughter is] with only 1 CD which they KNOW will get damaged eventually…
and the thread be removed !
