Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!ll-xn!delaney
From: delaney@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (John R. Delaney)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Breaking Mediagenics' copy protection
Keywords: copy protection, mediagenics, copy II mac
Message-ID: <1226@xn.LL.MIT.EDU>
Date: 25 Jan 89 14:34:47 GMT
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
Lines: 29


The situation: I recently bought a copy of "Shanghai" (a Mah-Jongg-like
game) by Mediagenics (nee Activision). When I got the original disk out,
I went through my usual ritual for new software: Copy the original disk
onto a blank disk, then open the copy and move the relevant bits of its
contents to my hard disk. Then try to run the new program. [Not entirely
safe from the viewpoint of viruses, but I only do it with commerical
software received in sealed packages.] Imagine my irritation when the
game application bombed my Mac. So this is copy-protection! The program
runs fine from the original floppy, but reboots the machine when you
quit (also not cultured behavior).

The request: How do I break the copy-protection on the original disk
without trashing the program. I believe I recall some traffic in thie
forum at one time which recommended Copy II Mac for that purpose. But I
would like some assurance that it works on Mediagenics' products. And
also any special tips on how to use it if necessary. Advice on hope to
avoid rebooting would be nice, although I expect THAT is hard to defeat.

The disclaimer: I wish to break the copy-protection ONLY to back-up the
original disk (for safety) and to put the application on a hard disk
(for convenience). I feel this technical violation of Mediagenics'
copyright is a "fair use" in the same sense as recording a TV program
for replaying later at a convenient time. With friends and relatives in 
both the fine arts and software areas, I understand the need for and
abuses of copyrights. But copy-protection which interferes with safely
and conveniently using a product seem over-kill.   

John