Red Alert 3 BETA [Download, Keys and Information]

[Someguy]

If someone can post a list of all the necessary files and locations of the files, I could put together some sort of writeup on how to copy an activated version of the game to other computers. The key would be banned, but you could at least use LAN play. I have a spare key that I could distribute.

That's the whole point. We just need to be able to run the game and use the lan unlocker.

 

[equazcion]

If someone can post a list of all the necessary files and locations of the files, I could put together some sort of writeup on how to copy an activated version of the game to other computers. The key would be banned, but you could at least use LAN play. I have a spare key that I could distribute.

If you don't mind that key getting banned, maybe it would be better to use your key instead of Orion's.

As far as the writeup, the point of doing this snapshot/comparison is to find out just that, which files and registry locations change as a result of the activation. We don't have that information yet, or else such cracking instructions would already exist.

 

[kingbarth]

This combined with Orion's spare key sounds like the best option to me.
Why ? Well, after you have activated the game on the virtual disk, you can upload it and send it to other members which can try to crack the game and see the difference with a registered and non registered game just from 1 key code.

I suggest using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 for this, as I have good experience with it and it's free.

i acctually have the latest version of vmware workstation and numerous copies of windows xp pro what i could do is make a vm with this installed and working and export it and upload it here and if u wanted to use it ud just need vmware player which is free

edit: also the registry dump has been tried by people before and it didnt work for them and their working rite to see what is different between the regestered version and unregistered

 

[Wangyuan01]

We will wait for your copy, hope it will work! Thanks for your work!

 

[elamre]

I are here.

3 Things:
1: If anyone has got their code from IGN, you can submit that code to EAs RA3 beta website (that you would put the kanes wrath code into) in order to recive another code. thats how i got my third.
2: for future referance, im in the UK (GMT+1 atm).
3: who am i sending the key too?

how do you mean, the first thingy? i have an kane's wrath code and i'm sick of waiting. so, how do i get an RA3 code? please respond, it thake's so much time to wait...

 

[Team FORCE]

i acctually have the latest version of vmware workstation and numerous copies of windows xp pro what i could do is make a vm with this installed and working and export it and upload it here and if u wanted to use it ud just need vmware player which is free

edit: also the registry dump has been tried by people before and it didnt work for them and their working rite to see what is different between the regestered version and unregistered

That would be aswone if you could export your xp pro disk with RA3 activated on it, upload it and send it to us.

Looking forward to it.

 

[dreys]

Remember that we can install 3 times with every key, so we can try it multiple ways. I can try to see what files are changed, while kingbarth can do it with vmware and upload the whole game.

EDIT: I found some interresting files in : C:\Documents and Settings\andrei\Application Data\SecuROM\UserData\.
There is a readme there which sais: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE FILES IN THIS FOLDER BECAUSE YOU MIGHT LOOSE ESSENTIAL DIGITAL RIGHTS.
READ BELOW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Technical Information for the PC Administrator:

The files securom_v7_01.dat and securom_v7_01.bak have been created during the installation of a SecuROM protected application.
It guarantees more user convenience because the original disc does not have to be in the local drive at all times anymore.
It is necessary for copy protected CDs, demo versions and protected software downloaded from the Internet.
The file contains your licences for all products which are SecuROM protected, therefore it will not be deleted automatically.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE FILE BECAUSE YOU MIGHT LOOSE ESSENTIAL DIGITAL RIGHTS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The information contained in securom_v7_01.dat will not be transferred to any other computer without your permission.

This security system is connected with a MS Windows Service called "SecuROM User Access Service".
This module is started automatically when launching a protected application if the user is logged in with Windows administrator rights.
In case users do not have administrator rights we recommend to keep it running.

Look at this sentence: The file contains your licences for all products which are SecuROM protected, Can somone with an activated game send these files to andrei_rom@hotmail.com, to see if these files are the key to unlocking the game.

 

[equazcion]

Ok, so is someone gonna do this already?

If someone wants to send me their key, I can have the registry changes and changed files posted within 24 hours (probably much less, if I'm here and awake when you send). My email address is equazcion@gmail.com. And I solemnly promise not to use the key to connect to EA's servers, except once for activation, and I'll change the key in the .reg file before posting.

 

[Wohhai]

Remember that we can install 3 times with every key, so we can try it multiple ways. I can try to see what files are changed, while kingbarth can do it with vmware and upload the whole game.

EDIT: I found some interresting files in : C:\Documents and Settings\andrei\Application Data\SecuROM\UserData\.
There is a readme there which sais: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE FILES IN THIS FOLDER BECAUSE YOU MIGHT LOOSE ESSENTIAL DIGITAL RIGHTS.
READ BELOW
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Technical Information for the PC Administrator:

The files securom_v7_01.dat and securom_v7_01.bak have been created during the installation of a SecuROM protected application.
It guarantees more user convenience because the original disc does not have to be in the local drive at all times anymore.
It is necessary for copy protected CDs, demo versions and protected software downloaded from the Internet.
The file contains your licences for all products which are SecuROM protected, therefore it will not be deleted automatically.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THE FILE BECAUSE YOU MIGHT LOOSE ESSENTIAL DIGITAL RIGHTS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The information contained in securom_v7_01.dat will not be transferred to any other computer without your permission.

This security system is connected with a MS Windows Service called "SecuROM User Access Service".
This module is started automatically when launching a protected application if the user is logged in with Windows administrator rights.
In case users do not have administrator rights we recommend to keep it running.

Look at this sentence: The file contains your licences for all products which are SecuROM protected, Can somone with an activated game send these files to andrei_rom@hotmail.com, to see if these files are the key to unlocking the game.

i can confirm that changing the file there with a random dat file made my ra3 beta not ask for a different key but crash... if we had one from an activated game, then maybe we could....

 

[^Q^]

That would be no problem for me, but i need a key, and orion is not answering.

 

[dreys]

I think we are making progress here, but now we need
1) A valid key to activate Red Alert 3 and see what happens
2) the files from someone with a activated copy of red alert 3 stored here: C:\Documents and Settings\andrei\Application Data\SecuROM\UserData\
( normally its hidden, so dont forget to turn hidden files on)

 

[equazcion]

According to everything I've ever known about SecuROM, its only use is to check for an original CD/DVD on software launch. I've read up on it some more this morning and still can't find anything that would indicate it could prevent the launch of software without checking for an original optical disc.

I'm guessing that EA has set up the activation process so that it places data on the PC that validates the software, without requiring a disc. In other words, it tricks the software into thinking a CD is present.

Basically nothing has changed though. We still need to know what changes are made to the system during activation.

However, the fact that it involves SecuROM will probably be a problem for the method we plan to use. SecuROM is a pretty secure system; and traditionally, the only way to get around it is to directly change the game's executable file to remove the SecuROM check. I'm not aware of anyone ever being able to simply copy SecuROM files or settings between systems in order to get around it.

 

[Wohhai]

According to everything I've ever known about SecuROM, its only use is to check for an original CD/DVD on software launch. I've read up on it some more this morning and still can't find anything that would indicate it could prevent the launch of software without checking for an original optical disc.

I'm guessing that EA has set up the activation process so that it places data on the PC that validates the software, without requiring a disc. In other words, it tricks the software into thinking a CD is present.

Basically nothing has changed though. We still need to know what changes are made to the system during activation.

However, the fact that it involves SecuROM will probably be a problem for the method we plan to use. SecuROM is a pretty secure system; and traditionally, the only way to get around it is to directly change the game's executable file to remove the SecuROM check. I'm not aware of anyone ever being able to simply copy SecuROM files or settings between systems in order to get around it.

usually games require the disk to bootup which means for earlier securom games, these files werent present, atleast not the same files, for these ones are to let the game boot without a cd and are probably only present since its a beta and not the full game.. now when i swapped the file with a random one that didnt have much to do with secrum, it did not ask me for a key like normal but rather crashed the game, and that means the game check for those files whenever the game is launched. now if the activation edits those files, then simply getting those files would mean the game would boot.. i know it sounds too simple but its not impossible, which is why we should try asap.. the one activating the game could do the other stuff (checking changes in reg and files), but it wouldnt hurt to test this as well.

 

[equazcion]

when i swapped the file with a random one that didnt have much to do with secrum, it did not ask me for a key like normal but rather crashed the game, and that means the game check for those files whenever the game is launched.

If the files you replaced didn't have anything to do with SecuROM, we still don't know if SecuROM files are required in order to boot up the game. The real test would be to replace your SecuROM files with random data and see if that affects the bootup at all.

 

[equazcion]

I just re-read your post and realized my mistake. You're saying you did replace your SecuROM files, only you replaced them with files that had nothing to do with SecuROM. In that case you could be right, that copying the "activated" SecuROM files to another system would work.

The problem though is that simply replacing the SecuROM files on one system with those of another system might overwrite other SecuROM licenses already present. We don't know how individual software activations/licenses are stored. All game licenses could be stored in a single file, for all we know, which would mean editing the SecuROM files to add whatever data the activation adds. This will be difficult since the SecuROM files are highly encoded. If you take a look inside them with a text editor, it's just a bunch of garbled, unreadable data. Some of the files won't even open via regular means (my text editor insists some of the files don't even exist, despite the fact that they show up in Windows).

 

[equazcion]

PS. Those files that don't seem to "exist" won't even copy -- I just tried. They're the ones with the garbled names and no extension, if anyone wants to look into those further.

 

[Wohhai]

I just re-read your post and realized my mistake. You're saying you did replace your SecuROM files, only you replaced them with files that had nothing to do with SecuROM. In that case you could be right, that copying the "activated" SecuROM files to another system would work.

The problem though is that simply replacing the SecuROM files on one system with those of another system might overwrite other SecuROM licenses already present. We don't know how individual software activations/licenses are stored. All game licenses could be stored in a single file, for all we know, which would mean editing the SecuROM files to add whatever data the activation adds. This will be difficult since the SecuROM files are highly encoded. If you take a look inside them with a text editor, it's just a bunch of garbled, unreadable data. Some of the files won't even open via regular means (my text editor insists some of the files don't even exist, despite the fact that they show up in Windows).

the way i see it, these files present in that specific directory have 1 readme file which indicates that these files make the game boot without the need of a cd/dvd being present all the time, now unless you've had other games that are using the same version of this securom (beta games), then u wont have to worry about licenses... also these files have been created when i installed the beta, if u right click them and go to properities u can see they are created at a specific date which in my case not too long ago (even though i've had other securom games long b4)
-----------------------
edit:
these files also seem to get modified when somethings change, which probably means whenever you install a new game that uses securom 7,01, or if the activation happens, then these files will get modified to add the new data (a reinstall for whatever broken, game would solve the problem, if a game does break due to license loss.

 

[dreys]

According to everything I've ever known about SecuROM, its only use is to check for an original CD/DVD on software launch. I've read up on it some more this morning and still can't find anything that would indicate it could prevent the launch of software without checking for an original optical disc.

I'm guessing that EA has set up the activation process so that it places data on the PC that validates the software, without requiring a disc. In other words, it tricks the software into thinking a CD is present.

Basically nothing has changed though. We still need to know what changes are made to the system during activation.

However, the fact that it involves SecuROM will probably be a problem for the method we plan to use. SecuROM is a pretty secure system; and traditionally, the only way to get around it is to directly change the game's executable file to remove the SecuROM check. I'm not aware of anyone ever being able to simply copy SecuROM files or settings between systems in order to get around it.

The online check had everything to do with securom, just read this article:
New SecuROM Service Combats Pre-Release Piracy
It is no secret that hackers and pirates try to steal your ideas and concepts well before final product release. SecuROM PreView & ReView protects your game or software during all stages of development from alpha/beta phase testing to journalist review with our advanced product activation technology. This ensures a high security level throughout the entire product life cycle.

• Protected applications can only be used by authorized persons on a limited number of PC systems for a dedicated time ensuring total security prior to release.
• SecuROM PreView & ReView can be set up within minutes for immediate protection via the Online Encryption Toolkit.
• The encrypted software will require a valid unlock code. To obtain this unlock code, users must activate the product via the Internet with a valid serial number provided by you.

 

[kingbarth]

That would be aswone if you could export your xp pro disk with RA3 activated on it, upload it and send it to us.

Looking forward to it.

only problem is that id need the key cuz i dont have an actual working working one.

 

[slavehacked]

If we do get this to run w/o activation that would be great! After a little more editing I have removed any future activation from paul.dll after the first check passes. Once you guys manage to have the game run w/o activation i'll upload the paul.dll that stops it from rechecking (if it ever re-checks in the first place!). Just let me know if we'll need it.