Have you ever wondered while playing a CD-ROM-based game, “Do I really need to have this CD-ROM just to run the game?” If you know how to make an image of your CD-ROMs and use them, you may also be wondering, “Why can’t I compress my CD image well along with the rest of the game?” I, myself, have wondered both these things, and that’s why I love tinkering with CD-ROM games to see if I can’t get them to run without their original CDs and without using disc images. The latter isn’t always possible, but I’ve found that there’s usually a way – especially with DOSBox.

As such, I’ll be listing in this thread all the games I know how to make CD-less and which aren’t old Sierra games already covered by The Sierra Help Files and SquirtTheCat, as they already have many of those games well in hand thanks to automated installers. I’m also willing to take requests for games which you’d like to see made CD-less, but I’d prefer they be sent to me via PM so as to keep this thread as clean as possible.

<span class="bold">Azrael&rsquo;s Tear</span>

1. Install the game using DOSBox using the maximum installation setting.
2. Create a folder called CD inside the folder to which you installed the game.
3. Go into your Azrael’s Tear CD-ROM and find the following folders:
a. MOV
b. SOUNDS
4. Copy the folders listed in Step 3 into the folder you created.
5. Go into the SOUNDS folder you copied and delete any files and folders which do not appear in the attached picture ref1azre.png.
6. Load DOSBox.
7. Mount the CD folder you created. (Example: mount d “c:/DOS Games/AZRAEL/CD” –t cdrom)
8. Mount the folder where the game is located on your hard drive (Example: mount d “c:/DOS Games/AZRAEL”)
9. Launch the game as you would normally.

<span class="bold">Lost Eden</span>
1. Install the game using DOSBox.
2. Create a folder called CD inside the folder to which you installed the game.
3. Go into your Lost Eden CD-ROM and find the following files (these files include the game’s installation applications so you can re-install and re-configure your copy of Lost Eden):
a. EDEN.DAT
b. EDEN.EXE
c. EDEN.LBM
d. EDENPRG.EXE
e. EDV2_020.SAV
f. INSTALL.EXE
g. INSTDOS.EXE
4. Copy the files listed in Step 3 into the folder you created.
5. Load DOSBox.
6. Mount the CD folder you created. (Example: mount d “c:/DOS Games/EDEN/CD” –t cdrom)
7. Mount the folder where the game is located on your hard drive (Example: mount d “c:/DOS Games/ EDEN”)
8. Launch the game as you would normally.

<span class="bold">Marco Polo</span>
1. Create a folder called MARCO on your computer.
2. Insert your Marco Polo CD-ROM into one of your computer’s disc drives (aka Blu-Ray drives, DVD-ROM drives, CD-ROM drives, etc.).
3. Go into your Marco Polo CD-ROM and copy the following folders into the folder you created:
a. ANIM
b. GAME
c. HLPADP
d. MISSION
e. MUSIC
4. Go into your Marco Polo CD-ROM and copy the following files into the folder you created:
a. BLASTER5.BAT
b. BLASTER7.BAT
c. MARCO.BAT
d. SPEED.BAT
5. Load DOSBox.
6. Mount the MARCO folder you created. (Example: mount c “e:/Awesome DOS Games/1994/MARCO”)
7. Enter MARCO to start the game.

<span class="bold">Wings of Glory</span>
1. Install the game in DOSBox using the largest installation setting.
2. Create a folder called CD inside the folder to which you installed the game.
3. Go into your Wings of Glory CD-ROM and find the following files:
a. 001.A01
b. 002.A02
c. CATALOG.EXE
d. FLIGHTCD.TRE
e. FLIGHTHD.TRE
f. TABDRIH.TDA
g. TEST.OUT
h. WOGDAT3F.TRE
i. WOGDAT3G.TRE
j. WOGDATA1.TRE
k. WOGDATA2.TRE
l. WOGDATA3.TRE
m. WOGNORDR.ADV
n. WOGRDR.ADV
4. Copy the files listed in Step 3 into the folder you created.
5. Load DOSBox.
6. Mount the CD folder you created. (Example: mount d “c:/DOS Games/WINGS/CD” –t cdrom)
7. Mount the folder where the game is located on your hard drive (Example: mount d “c:/DOS Games/ WINGS”)
8. Launch the game as you would normally.

I usually go to a page where I can find a solution for every game in the world to play without a copy in the drive.

And if it is a really old game (as in dos old). I create an iso I store on my HD. This is how I run RoA, eg.

Simply put, as stated in the first post, the goal is to get the games running without either their CD or a disc image. As such, a universal guide is nigh-impossible.However, in my experience, ISO images don't always compress well, even with ECM compression, so I don't bother to use them unless otherwise necessary. Besides, why use an ISO or BIN/CUE image unless you must? It's just extra space you may not need (unless, of course, the game absolutely will not run without the CD or you want CD-Audio).

(Disclaimer - if this post is against the polices of gog, then let me know and I will remove it. As far as I know, the link do not go to any illegal site, nor is the software in question illegal. If I am wrong, I will remove this and insert some random silliness instead.)


Personally I use Game Jackal by SlySoft . It is surprisingly effective for 95% of all games, though a few don't work with it (all games I have tried with it works so far.)

It may not work with DOS games (I have never tried), but that's why god created virtual drives. (another good one by SlySoft - Virtual CloneDrive, which is free by the way)

Yeah... there's some subtly to SimonG's post that you've missed.

I was originally going to ask about getting GTA:SA running w/o its DVD (which I own, but is getting gunky and not-worky-welly), but thought it might be off-policy so I messaged a nice young man about it instead.

It seems the hint was too subtle for some people. ^_^;

For games you own with a disc protection and a full install option, yes, there's a near universal solution who stands somewhere in the gray area between world-wide legality and straight pirating, consisting of only replacing the offending part with an altered version - I can't find any moral problem with it (in opposition to torrenting the game and thus sharing it with other), and I do it for every CD/DVD game I buy - but looking at the American stance regarding evading DRMs, I don't think it's a good idea to provide a link.

Bah. You're taking for granted that a) a replacement exists and b) that site will have it. Two big assumptions. ^_^ Yeah, it's easy. Yeah, it usually works.
Fun part: some of those patches have "extra functionality" bundled in, and not the sort that you want to have running on your system. It's been a while, but IIRC that site probably is where I've gotten a patch for Arcanum ( history recap: a 2005 issue of the Polish edition of GameStar came with the game on its' coverdisc; after patching the game to the most recent version their discs failed the copy protection check so in you needed a modifieded executable to run the game you legally bought ) that came with a passenger (read: trojan). Got a clean one later, thankfully. So yes, assuming that the altered exectuables are safe for your system is all nice and fun until you walk right into one that isn't.

Disc images usually work, and unlike amok said above you don't even need a dedicated virtual drive for ISO, BIN/CUE or IMG/CUE if you're using DOSBox (it has its' own - read the manual on IMGMOUNT). On the other hand, there are such niceties as game discs including a 300 MB file on the disc that comes from another game and is entirely useless otherwise or having over 500 MB of demos on a disc whose primary content took up onlt 35 MB. No, those are not exaggerated theoretical scenarios. I've seen both with my own eyes. Some of us put a premium on not wasting their HDD space with this sort of junk or want to get rid of it for other reasons (eg putting their favorite games on an external or even a pendrive... sort of combines with #1 but I digress).

Sometimes the best solution really may be tinkering with the game to find a solution yourself. Other times there is a simple and practical solution <i>but some of us just plain enjoy the tinkering too much</i>.

I've used GCW for over 15 years and never had a trojan or other malware from their no-cd downloads. You will get false positives from some over-zealous scanners but a multiple-scan site like VirusTotal is the best way to confirm such things.

And I do have specific experience with the Arcanum no-cd patch there - if the one you used gave an "ali213" popup then that's annoying, but no trojan (BitDefender flagged it on my system which I reported and received confirmation that it was a false positive). There's an update on that that removes the popup - and allows you to reach level 126 which the GOG version won't.

As for the legality of such files, if you own the game concerned then UK users should be covered under section 50C of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (which allows modification for lawful purpose). With regard to the US DMCA things may be murkier, but these files bypass a media check - they do not include or facilitate the copying of that media. Therefore they shouldn't be considered a copyright circumvention by a properly informed court.