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ndaniels -> StarForce Protection Problems on Windows Vista (4/18/2008 8:53:05 PM)
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O/S: Windows Vista Premium Home Edition (32-bit)
Error Message:
Program Compatibility Assistant
This driver is blocked due to compatibility issues
Driver: StarForce Protection
Publisher: StarForce
Location: Not Available
Sharing the knowledge on this one...
A friend's computer was encountering the above error message at every log-on. Based upon a web search, StarForce has apparently been causing issues on other people's systems, as well. I was able to determine that StarForce Protection installs itself with some games as a device driver and acts as copy protection--around which revolves much controversy. In Device Manager, you have to change the view to "Show Hidden Devices" and look for StarForce under "Non-Plug and Play Drivers" to confirm its existence.
On the computer I worked on, it appears to consist of...
System32\drivers\sfdrv01.sys = "StarForce Protection Environment Driver (version 1.x)"
System32\drivers\sfhlp02.sys = "StarForce Protection Helper Driver (version 2.x)"
System32\drivers\sfvfs02.sys = "StarForce Protection VFS Driver (version 2.x)"
The official way to remove it is give here:
(StarForce Removal Tool)
http://www.onlinesecurity-on.com/protect.phtml?c=55
This is an unofficial, manual, removal process:
http://www.glop.org/starforce/remove.php
The removal tool comes as "sfdvrem.zip" and extracts to "sfdvrem.exe" (FrontLine Drivers Removal Tool) and will require a reboot after it is executed. The official removal process worked fine for me; however, web searching seems to indicate that other people have not been as successful. I'm not sure what game it came with, but it will probably reinstall itself if the game is run again.
Other info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarForce
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