Unprotect Wordstar 2000   by Independent (IND)

Wordstar 2000 version 1.00 - Unprotect by Gerald Lee derived from dBase III version 1.10 - Unprotect by The Lone Victor The following instructions show you how to bypass the SoftGuard copy protection scheme used on WORDSTAR 2000 version 1.00. This is the same scheme used for FrameWork 1.10 and for dBase III version 1.10. Wordstar 2000 version 1.10 does not use a copy protection scheme, while versions 1.00 of dBase III and FrameWork used ProLock. To unprotect Prolock disks read the file PROLOCK.UNP. First, using your valid, original Wordstar 2000 diskettes, install it on fixed disk. Softguard hides two files in your root directory: CML0200.HCL and VDF0200.VDW. WS2000.EXE is the real Wordstar 2000 program, encrypted. When you run Wordstar, the program WS2000.COM loads CML0200.HCL high in memory and runs it. CML decrypts itself and reads VDF0200.VDW. The VDF file contains some code and data from the fixed disk FAT at the time of installation. By comparing the information in the VDF file with the current FAT, CML can tell if the CML, VDF, and WORDSTAR.EXE files are in the same place on the disk where they were installed. If they have moved, say from a backup & restore, then WORDSTAR 2000 will not run. Second, un-hide the two files in the root directory. You can do this with the programs ALTER.COM or FM.COM, or UNHIDE.COM and HIDE.COM found on any BBS. PC-SWEEP2 is the easiest it will copy the files to another directory unhidden. Make copies of the two files, and of WS2000.COM and WS2000.EXE, into some other directory. Hide the two root files again if using ALTER or FM. Leave alone if using PC-SWEEP2. Following the WORDSTAR instructions, UNINSTAL WORDSTAR 2000. You can now put away your original WORDSTAR diskettes. We are done with them. Next we will make some patches to CML0200.HCL to allow us to trace through the code in DEBUG. These patches will keep it from killing our interrupt vectors. DEBUG CML0200.HCL E 3F9 <CR> 2A.4A <CR> ; change the 2A to 4A E 49D <CR> F6.16 <CR> ; if any of these numbers don't show up E 506 <CR> E9.09 <CR> ; it's not working. E A79 <CR> 00.20 <CR> ; E AE9 <CR> 00.20 <CR> ; E 73C 97 FA FA F4 F1 7E <CR> ; this is an encrypted call to 0:300 W <CR> ; write out the new CML file Q <CR> ; quit debug Now copy your four saved files back into the root directory and hide the CML0200.HCL and VDF0200.VDW files using ALTER, FM or PC-SWEEP2. We can now run WS2000.COM using DEBUG, trace just up to the point where it has decrypted WORDSTAR.EXE, then write that file out. DEBUG WS2000.COM R <CR> ; write down the value of DS for use below. A 0:300 <CR> ; we must assemble some code here POP AX <CR> CS: <CR> MOV [320],AX <CR> ; save return address POP AX <CR> CS: <CR> MOV [322],AX <CR> PUSH ES <CR> ; set up stack the way we need it MOV AX,20 <CR> MOV ES,AX <CR> MOV AX,0 <CR> CS: <CR> JMP FAR PTR [320] <CR> ;jump to our return address <CR> G 406 <CR> ; now we can trace CML T <CR> G 177 <CR> ; this stuff just traces past some G 1E9 <CR> ; encryption routines. T <CR> G 54E <CR> ; wait while reading VDF & FAT G=559 569 <CR> G=571 857 <CR> ; WS2000.EXE has been decrypted rBX <CR> ; length WS2000.EXE = 1AC00 bytes :1 <CR> ; set BX to 1 rCX <CR> :AC00 <CR> ; set CX to AC00. nWS12 <CR> ; name of file to write to W XXXX:100 <CR> ; where XXXX is the value of DS that ; you wrote down at the begining. Q <CR> ; quit debug Last, unhide and delete the two root files CML0200.HCL, VDF0200.VDW, and WS2000.COM and WS2000 directory. Rename WS12 to WS2000.COM and replace in the WS2000 directory. This is the routine that starts the real WS2000.EXE program without any SoftGuard code or encryption. It requires the .OVL and .MSG files to run. I have not tried it on a two disk systems but I think it should work. If you have any comments on this unprotect routine, please leave them♪ on the Chino RBBS (714) 591-7002. GERALD LEE - 5/12/85