StarForce / CD-Guard

Starforce Logo

General Information

DRM out of Russia by StarForce Technologies (also known by the name Protection Technology) used from the early 2000 to mid 2010s on games from all over the world. Originally reverse engineered from CD-Cops / DVD-Cops, it went through many incarnations throughout its life, including having both a disc check and an online activation version.

The earliest versions were also called CD-Guard.

Identification

Disc Check

Sometimes called FrontLine. The disc check version can primarily be identified by the presence of an activator as well as a dll file both called "Protect". Note though that these are often baked into the installer for the game. So one often has to install it to find them (See additional information section though on why this can be problematic).

In addition, FrontLine often requires the user to input a key bundled with the game in order to activate it. This is not always needed though in which case the DRM is referred to as "Keyless". Said key instead being present in the PVD sector of the disc.

Online Activation

Also known as ProActive or ActControl. This version of the DRM will be quite similar in terms of files being present but will always require a key being inputted.

Dumping

For Redump (Both disc check and online activation): Dump it like a normal disc. Redump currently standardises Starforce version numbers by removing non-trailing 0s.

For a working dump: Disc check version is DPM based so an MDS is required. See the MDS dumping guide. Note to that Starforce has built in VM detection so in order to launch a game on VMware one needs to add to .vmx [monitor_control.restrict_backdoor = "true"] (Without brackets, be sure to change back to false after testing or else some VM functions won't work as intended.)

Servers are still up as of time of writing for the online activation version.

Additional information

If Protect.exe and other relevant files have a size of 0 kb, they are just dummies and protection is inactive

Key formats used by Starforce:

• StarForce 1.x~3.03: xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx, i.e. 4*6 (24)
• StarForce 3.04~3.07: yyyyy-yyyyy-yyyyy-yyyyy-yyyyy, i.e 5*5 (25)
• StarForce 4.00+: zzzz-zzzzzz-zzzzzz-zzzzzz-zzzzzz, i.e 4+4*6 (28)
• Activation: ww-wwwwww-wwwwww-wwwwww-wwwwww, i.e. 2+4*6 (24+2)

The Starforce driver in infamously aggressive and can force newer Windows systems into a boot loop. See the chart below for affected combos.

OS Compatibility Table

OS	1.0 – 3.0*	3.0 – 3.04.062*	3.04.062 – 3.05*	3.05 – 3.07*	3.07.018 – 4.00.000*	4.00.000 – 4.00.013*	4.00.013 – 4.50*	4.50 – 4.50.007.005*	4.50.007.005 – 5.00*	5.00 – 5.50*	5.50 – 5.60*	5.60 – 5.70.014.001*	5.70.014.001 – 5.70.046.004*	5.70.046.004 – 5.91*	5.91+
Windows XP SP3	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows XP SP3 (x64)	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows Server 2003	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows Server 2003 (x64)	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows Vista	-	-	1	1	1	2	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows Vista (x64)	-	-	-	5	5	5	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows Server 2008	-	-	1	1	1	2	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows Server 2008 (x64)	-	-	-	5	5	5	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Windows 7	-	-	-	-	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	+	+	+	+
Windows Server 2008 R2	-	-	-	-	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	+	+	+	+
Windows 8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	4	+	+	+	+
Windows Server 2012	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	4	+	+	+	+
Windows 8.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	4	4	6	+	+
Windows Server 2012 R2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	4	4	6	+	+
Windows 10+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	4	4	4	4	+
Windows Server 2016+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	4	4	4	4	+
*up to and not including

1. Driver update is required, admin priviledges, 3.04.079, 3.05.012, 3.06.013, 3.07.019 include Vista compatible drivers.

2. Driver update (in case of problems), otherwise not required.

3. Driver update (sfupdate.exe) or game patch is required.

4. Driver update (protect.exe) or game patch is required.

5. Problem with unsigned drivers, solution:

• Launch the protected application with the rights of administrator
• Allow driver installation
• Reject reboot (otherwise the OS will not load in Normal mode)
• Update drivers
• Reboot the OS

6. Install the Windows update KB2930157 from Microsoft or else game patch is required.