No-CD cracks are often frowned upon and considered an element of software piracy. This goes back to the times when games were distributed on CDs (or DVDs), CD/DVD burners were not yet commonplace, and so forcing a check that the original CD is in the drive was a simple and somewhat effective means of preventing unauthorized duplication and distribution of the game.
Nowadays, of course, the method has lost its effectiveness, as everyone has access to CD/DVD burning hardware and software that can make identical copies, or software that can make an image of the disk on the hard drive and mount it, as if it is the actual CD. Indeed, most games no longer use CD/DVD checks as means of copy-protection, and in fact are often not even distributed on any physical media.
However, for old games that still use this method, the need to have the CD in the drive is still an inconvenience, even for legitimate owners. For that purpose I will share a few no-CD cracks I’ve discovered for a couple of DOS/Windows games. In most cases the instructions for these cracks were obtained by comparing a cracked versus an uncracked executable, and in some cases applying them to other versions of the game.
If you’ve read so far, you understand my view that these cracks themselves do nothing towards enabling or preventing piracy, so there is no harm in sharing them. However, as the executables themselves are still copyrighted material, I will not share the cracked EXE files, but merely the instructions on how to patch an original, uncracked, executable (which you would have, if you actually own the game), and remove the CD check.
Atlantis: The Lost Tales (Windows)
Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (Windows)
Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty (DOS)
Mortal Kombat & Mortal Kombat II (DOS)
Need For Speed: Special Edition (DOS+Windows)
Need For Speed II SE (Windows)
Rayman, Rayman Designer, Rayman By His Fans, Rayman 60 Levels (DOS)
Cloaked Thargoid 