BV and no CD?

[floopyboo]

I got mine here: http://www.gamecopyworld.com/

[jsalemi]

Thanks, FB, but I only see the non-US versions there.  I'll have to poke around some to see if they also have the US version.

[B]

Try this.

[jsalemi]

Try this.

That one FTW!  Thanks, B!

[Argon]

Thanks, FB, but I only see the non-US versions there.  I'll have to poke around some to see if they also have the US version.

It's the same file for all versions of the game. Do a WinDiff on compressed.zip (which contains the game .exe) and you'll see that the file is identical between the multi lingual and us releases (and all others actually).

I for one am happy with the choice to move to Securom, makes it a heck of a lot easier to make backup copies since they removed the recordable media check in the latest version

That is also the same crack B

[Bain]

I always use CD images instead of hacked exe files because then I don't have to worry about what version of the game I have because of patches. Every time you patch, you need to go grab a new exe file for the new version. The no-cd image I found HERE and yasu link provided there is what I used and run BV on with DT v4.1. I hate running games with the CD in the drive. All my games I buy I use no-cd images.

[jsalemi]

It's the same file for all versions of the game. Do a WinDiff on compressed.zip (which contains the game .exe) and you'll see that the file is identical between the multi lingual and us releases (and all others actually).

Good to know -- I was afraid if I used one of the multi-lingual versions, I'd have the problem of all my sim names changing.

[Zazazu]

Has anyone gotten no-CD to work with the EALink version of Bon Voyage? I'm having a hell of a time with it. Have tried three (as far as I can tell) versions of the crack. All give me an error stating that I don't have at least DirectX 9.0. I have 10.0 and have reinstalled to make sure that it's completely up to date. Running from the launcher works, but I hate having to rely on being connected to the 'net, just in case. Plus, it's two seconds lost.

[broo]

I got mine at Game Burn World and it works fine. Tho I was wondering if you guys have this crazy pop up where you have to click Play before it loads the game appearing? Is it Maxis made? It's really anoying, ya know (doesn't seem to be spyware/addware thing but still)...

[B]

Tho I was wondering if you guys have this crazy pop up where you have to click Play before it loads the game appearing? Is it Maxis made? It's really anoying, ya know (doesn't seem to be spyware/addware thing but still)...

It is Spyware, and you should avoid it.  The Pop-Up you are describing is the new Maxis "Launcher".  To disable it, edit your BV shortcut (right click on it, then properties, and then alter the Target) so it points to "Sims2EP6.exe" instead of Sims2Launcher.exe".   You will not need to change anything else in the path, since both files are in the same directory.

[jsalemi]

I've been using the no-cd exe you pointed me to, B, and I'm getting strange dialogs from folks on vacation lots, like the tour guides.  For example, if I ask for 'the hot spots', the response I get is 'The local hotspots are med?.'  And I got a weird response from some other local, too, that had nonsense in the dialog box.  Have you seen anything like this?

I don't know if it's a problem with the no-cd exe, or with a hack/mod interfering with the game (though I'm pretty sure I took out all non-compatible hacks).  I'm going to try the CD image/YASU version tonight and see if that solves the problem, assuming JMP gets his hack to stop endless spawning of Tour Guides ready by then.  Otherwise, vacations will have to wait for a bit.

[B]

I've been using the no-cd exe you pointed me to, B, and I'm getting strange dialogs from folks on vacation lots, like the tour guides.  For example, if I ask for 'the hot spots', the response I get is 'The local hotspots are med?.'  And I got a weird response from some other local, too, that had nonsense in the dialog box.  Have you seen anything like this?

I have not seen anything like you have, but I'm also not using a no-cd, since my image is able to run the game just fine.  I've never known EA to booby-trap the exes in such a way that a no-cd crack will have gameplay affects, so your problem might stem from another cause.  It sounds like corruption of the text lists to me, although I'm really not sure.

If you end up trying to mount an image, make sure YASU is running from within your Daemon tools folder.  This seems to help some folks, although many others are still unable to get past the SecuROM check. 

[jsalemi]

Thanks for the tips.  I'll do another good look at my downloads and see if I missed removing/disabling any incompatible hacks.

[broo]

It is Spyware, and you should avoid it.

Really? Damn, my hubby will kill me for it

The Pop-Up you are describing is the new Maxis "Launcher".  To disable it, edit your BV shortcut (right click on it, then properties, and then alter the Target) so it points to "Sims2EP6.exe" instead of Sims2Launcher.exe".   You will not need to change anything else in the path, since both files are in the same directory.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[syberspunk]

If you end up trying to mount an image, make sure YASU is running from within your Daemon tools folder.  This seems to help some folks, although many others are still unable to get past the SecuROM check. 

Initially, upon my first attempt at getting BV to run off an image, I was also having various errors.  As someone mentioned in another thread (I think Chibi somethingorother, the one with the fugly Star Trek: Voyager desktop ), I also got both of those error messages.  I was using DT 4.8 and the latest version of YASU.  I tried a couple of things, but I would still get either of those two error messages (the emu detection error and the unable to run module error).

What did it for me was:

1) Uninstalling DT.
2) Rebooting
3) Downloading latest DT (4.10 I think?), installing, and rebooting.
4) Putting YASU in the DT directory.
5) Mounting the image.
6) Enabling all emulation options on DT (there were 4 listed, but I can't remember them all now).
7) Running YASU and clicking on Cloak.  This time, I received a successful message (previously, attempting to run YASU, it would not detect anything that it could cloak).
Running the game.

So far, I have been able to run BV, and I have yet to encounter any weird dialog/text problems *knocks on wood*


Ste

[Aggie]

I've been using the no-cd exe you pointed me to, B, and I'm getting strange dialogs from folks on vacation lots, like the tour guides.  For example, if I ask for 'the hot spots', the response I get is 'The local hotspots are med?.'  And I got a weird response from some other local, too, that had nonsense in the dialog box.  Have you seen anything like this?

I've had something similar happen. When I would ask a tour guide What's Cool Around Here, he's say something like 'unk' or 'police.' This was fixed when I removed the DMA Teleport objects from my Downloads. Try looking for anything by DMA in your folder.

[jsalemi]

Ah, yea, damn -- I use the DMA thing because I like the caller ID. I can't believe someone else (JMP?) hasn't added a stand-alone caller id function.

* jsalemi mumbles and goes off to delete the DMA stuff.

[witch]

I had to take the DMA caller ID out last EP 'cos it was blue screening my game.

[jsalemi]

Yea, it was the DMA thing screwing up my dialog boxes.  I guess I can live without it -- I've stopped using any other DMA stuff because I got tired of their attitude that any problems have to be caused by other hacks, since they always test with a clean game...

[IAmTheRad]

I use a maxi image. No cracking the .exe (Yes, it defeats the purpose, but it's the way I get it to work)

I did get the clonecd of the game first, but then got the fairlight release to use as backup (because nobody likes clonecds)

[MutantBunny]

Has anyone tried to remove the SecuRom crap and just use the noCD exe?

[jsalemi]

Has anyone tried to remove the SecuRom crap and just use the noCD exe?

That's how I run it now -- no image, just the no-cd exe.  Runs fine.

[MutantBunny]

how did you remove the registry entries for the SecuRom?

[jsalemi]

how did you remove the registry entries for the SecuRom?

Oh, I see what you mean.  I didn't bother doing that, but I'm sure a Google search would turn up a bunch of methods and/or utilities to do so.

[B]

To stop SecuROM from running:

• Winkey + R, type "services.msc" (no quotes) in the dialog and hit enter.
• Stop the "SecuROM User Access Service" and then disable it.
• In your \Windows\System32 directory, find and delete the file called "UAService7.exe".
• Winkey + R again, and execute "sc delete useraccess7" (again, no quotes).

Keep in mind, some copy protections can install under different names (for example, you might have UAService8.exe instead of 7).  I can only tell you where I found the protection.  The service should always have the same name, and so long as you disable this, it doesn't actually matter whether or not you find the exe.  If you are really concerned, I can work with you via the PM module to locate and destroy the actual file.

Also, this does not delete the registry entries, it merely makes it impossible for the SecuROM service to hog system resources.  Unlike Starforce, SecuROM registry entries are not dangerous.  In fact, removing them can lead to system instability.  However, if you really want to kill them, they are generally located at:

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SecuROM

Hope this helps you.