cd installer for one time installation only!!!

[hansraj]

guys i have come across a cd which has a feature i never came across before.... not even heard of it. Its the jeppeson cd which our org is using and the unique thing about it is only one time installation. well i heard of all kind of copy protections and restrictions imposed by the software devlopers on the cd to avoid making the copies of it but this kind of protection is something which i never thought before.(am i the only dumb left or there are others in my leage too)
anyway can someone throw light on it how it is achieved and is it possible for us to make a similar kind of cd.

my biggest doubt still remains that how does the optical disk know that i have been used for installation once and my life is over.The cd when opened thereafter, kind of hangs but the contents are accessible after few attempts. But the installer cannot be opened.

[Milkshake]

it must be stored in ur registry
is the disc rewritable??????

[hansraj]

@milkshake
Mere dost, it is not usable in any other pc...... and it is usable only in the pc where it was installed first time. and if that system is formatted once then the cd is unusable for that pc too...

also to clear rest of the doubts ... the cd is not RW but a rom... and also the drive in which it is used is not a writer

[KoRn]

i have heard probs like dis on pirated cds i got from palika in delhi u can install the game only in one pc it wont work in another dunno about ur prob bro must be the cd itself!!!

[planetcall]

It sounds very strange. I too never heard of this stuff before. Can you give a little detail as what is the CD about and if there exist any online link. You may try to dump an image of the CD and then analyze it or burn it to another media. I may be wrong but I dont think that there exist any such way for a CD to become unusable after the first use. Do post what happens.

[Techie_Geek]

I had smthing similar with the Oxford Learner Dictionary u can copy it and install from the copied CD, but to run the application for the first time u ought to have the original CD in the drive --- no copies, no virtual disc nothing works, just the original


But this one is very strange .Cause the original user can use it after a fresh format

Must be highly confidential data or sumthing

[hansraj]

ok i will give the details about the cd.
The CD is Jeppeview CD from the Jeppesons company which makes the Charts for Air navigation(Since i am a pilot... i have to use it)
It will not be available on the net for download coz its a commercial item and is available on individual payment basis.
The cd is not Copy protected , i checked it using clone xl and clone cd.
However i made an image using the clone cd but the behavior of the both the cds were same.
On inserting the cd the cd rom kind of tries to read it contineously and the explorer hangs.
However on stopping the autorun and on exploring the cd one can view the files.
The installer exe has become like a ms-dos file and nothing happens on clicking. So i think the changes take place in the installer itself.

[Kniwor]

Originally Posted by Techie_Geek

I had smthing similar with the Oxford Learner Dictionary u can copy it and install from the copied CD, but to run the application for the first time u ought to have the original CD in the drive --- no copies, no virtual disc nothing works, just the original


But this one is very strange .Cause the original user can use it after a fresh format

Must be highly confidential data or sumthing

this is why there are nocd cracks...

I always need my original FarCry DVD to play the game, i made the copy of it, and the game installed from the copy, but the Original DVD is required to play, no iso image, nothing works...

[planetcall]

A very wild guess here. I think there is no way a normal cd could behave in the manner you said. It has to be something with the software. Could you just analyse the initiation of the installer by using regmon ? It will give you a clear picture what registry entries are being read/modified. There could be many more reasons/possibilities. The installer could also be a stub while the main launcher is hidden.

[hansraj]

now that the cd has been used once i cant check the changes being made in the registry...

[choudang]

Originally Posted by hansraj

ok i will give the details about the cd.
The CD is Jeppeview CD from the Jeppesons company which makes the Charts for Air navigation(Since i am a pilot... i have to use it)
It will not be available on the net for download coz its a commercial item and is available on individual payment basis.
The cd is not Copy protected , i checked it using clone xl and clone cd.
However i made an image using the clone cd but the behavior of the both the cds were same.
On inserting the cd the cd rom kind of tries to read it contineously and the explorer hangs.
However on stopping the autorun and on exploring the cd one can view the files.
The installer exe has become like a ms-dos file and nothing happens on clicking. So i think the changes take place in the installer itself.

suppose .. i'm using a CD-ROM, not a CD R/W.. how could it be possible that the installer file has been changed directly? If you use a R/W, then we can say that, they made the installer file such a way, when it got installed it will be re-writted by the hidden commands [we can burn a cd directly using XP].

[mehulved]

Is it possible that the disc was burnt as a multisession disc and once run, it saves the info of your computer into the cd. Then there's a software that first checks when you run the cd, if that info file is present. IF not, it continues and if the file is present, then it checks the file for the computer information.
I dunno it is just a wild guess. I got this idea from Puppy linux. It is a live cd where you have to burn it as a multisession disc and you can store all your work in the cd again. Secondly, I have based my guess on the reason that the cd hangs reading at the particular moment.
Now, is this possible by any chance?

[hansraj]

Is it possible that the disc was burnt as a multisession disc and once run, it saves the info of your computer into the cd. Then there's a software that first checks when you run the cd, if that info file is present. IF not, it continues and if the file is present, then it checks the file for the computer information.

for this the drive has to be a writer ... isnt it or can the file in the multisession disk be changed with the normal drive also

[Vyasram]

Maybe they use some tech to damage the disc after some laser rays fall on them once

[Tech&ME]

Well I got into similar thing.

I have the Original Window XP cd with Microsoft Plus! on it.

The problem is the CD works only on HCL computers.

I recently upgraded my motherboard to Intel 915GAV from the one HCL provided, hence, I had to install Windows XP on this system again.

Surprisingly, Windows XP installed smoothly but it took some time to activate it on the internet. But the installation of Microsoft Plus! never did happen, that is I was never able to install Microsoft Plus! on this updated sytem because the installer checks the BIOS of the motherboard to determine if it is the customized version of HCL BIOS or not. And since, it finds the BIOS belongs to Intel it simply says

"This is software is intended to be installed on HCL computers only, contact your HCL dealer immediately."

So, basically there are two things:

One : Entry in the Registry is checked

Two : Installer itself check the Hardware BIOS stamp.

[planetcall]

Lol its interesting to see the misconcpetions people have. Innovating technologies in dreams??? hehe no more comments on it.

[Akhil Jain]

hey dude you are only spreading myths and misconceptions............


to clear all ur doubts read carefully and grant me sorry if my english is bad


so for the first question...?????????

yes. these type of copy protected cds exists

actually the die layer of the cd-r has a point at a distance say where the end file of installer is stored..

which breaks as soon it is read..

and the cd is unusable

confusing???????????????

LET ME CLARIFY

See guys !!!!!!!!! have you work on microsoft office 97

i have original cd of microsoft windows 97...........

the property of this cd was its installer or setup runs only once in any computer .. after that the matter was left on cd
but cd refuses to run installer
but you can view files..
also if you have install minimal or custom install then you can make full install later on or install component of your choice
but the full installer wud not work again
if you take it to other pc or format your harddrive then also it will not work

if you copy the contents to other cd then that cd will also behave in same manner and will give you error"installer will not run"

if you copy the contents to your harddisk & then run setup then also you will get the same error & installer will not work..

so this was the sceneario

ACTUALLY this was done by a combination of copy-protection techniques at both hardware level as well as software level......

[Akhil Jain]

THE HARDWARE LEVEL PROTECTION
guys did u hear of rental cds and dvds whose life are only 3 days after being opened

these were movie cds which were given on rent and u have not to visit shop again to return them . also there is no jhanjhat of depositing security
just take it on rent , watch it & throw it in dustbin or use as item in showcase

so here the same story
there is a small invisible block in cd which is made of special dye which is different from the dye which is on rest of cd..

the property of this special dye is that whenever a laser beam falls on it
it get melt and the data stored in particular block is lost

the data in the block is generally the end point of installer
so when you install a software from such cd
then when you come to the end of installer
the laser beam from cd-rom falls on that block

and the disc knows that she has been used before
there is no registry
as if there was registry involved then why disc does not run on other or newly freshed pc

no matter is written on disc
because we use it in cd-rom


AT SOFTWARE LEVEL
at software level installer checks that the software is already installed or not. if it is already installed with the same key then you can use the cd for custom install & update..
if software is not already installed(checks in registry) then it starts the installer . which verifies some condition
which is true if SPECIAL BLOCK(disscussed above)==intact
then installer will run
is false if SPECIAL BLOCK==ruined
then installer will produce "error message"
and abort the installation.

if we make copy of cd then that wud also behave in same manner
because when we copy disc then all the contents are copied as it is

if the SPECIAL BLOCK has already ruined or destroyed
then it will be copied in destroyed form on harddisk or on copied cd
that's why u will not be able to run the setup from there


Que..
if we copy a fresh disc whose SPECIAL BLOCK has not been destroyed
then the copied cd will work perfectly or not?

I am not sure. i have not tried it .
YES , acc. to logic they should work in normal way & bypassing the copy-protection

may pirates have work same way to produce pirated cds of office97
few years back

and this may be the reason of failure of such copy-protection technique


this technique was also discouraged due to liscensing problems

when you purchase a software you purchase rights to install it in one particular comp..for lifetime
if you change operating system or do a fresh install then you have no option other than to go & buy another copy of software

also in case if you purchase new comp.
or upgrade ur pc major components like mobo , processor
then u have to install os again.......
such copy-protected cd will then put you in fix



i hope your querries have been cleared
if you have doubts then post here