Splintercell chaos theory wont run

[MaDef]

Actually I don't know if it will run or not on this system, I can't get past the starforce copy protection check. the game installs and updates with no errors, however when I try to start the game starforce starts to run through it's routine and hangs the system, I can't end the program through task manager, the only way to stop it is either the reset button, or opening the dvd drive, at that point I'm asked to insert the cd to continue.

the game is a retail dvd that I bought a few years back, the cd key is the one that came with the game and is correctly entered.

Windows XP sp2- All updates & patches
DX9c
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP motherboard all updates & drivers
Amd QuadCore Phenom 9600be 2.3ghz
4gig patriot pc8500 ram (2x2gig@1066fsb)
HP sata 20x DL dvd burner w/lightscribe.
2x WD raptor 74gig sata drives in raid 0
2x WD sata 80gig
2x ATI Radeon 3870 (512mb) in crossfire x16 mode driver ver 8.476
realtek onboard sound.

I've checked on the ubi forum, and almost all their solutions for similar problems entail disconnecting the dvd drive or uninstalling cd/dvd emulators such as deamon tools alchohol 120% etc. those solutions won't work since I have one dvd drive and no emulators have been installed. (I haven't installed the Nero software that came with the drive yet) I also disabled the native burning service that ships with xp, so it's not that. I tried updating the starforce drivers I've also uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers with the same result.

I have installed and run this game on 2 different systems with no problems. The only thing I can figure is that starforce doesn't like the sata interface the other 2 systems' dvd drives were ide. I'm thinking of adding an ide dvd drive to see if that is in fact the problem, but I would rather not have to make it permanent,

[GretaP]

Hi MaDef,

You've just brought back memories of the experiences I had a couple of years back with Chaos Theory and Starforce, the copy protection from h3ll.
Have you tried updating the protection drivers? If not, give it a try:
How to update protection drivers?

[MaDef]

Thanx for the reply, I've already tried updated starforce drivers, I've also completely removed the drivers and reinstalled them. Still no go. I have however, found the problem, I installed an ide dvd drive, removed and reinstalled the game from that drive. I had no problem with starforce. So the problem is with starforce & sata interface. As I said earlier I would rather not have to make adding another dvd drive the solution. I'm still waiting to hear from ubi tech support for a possible solution.

[GretaP]

You're welcome for the reply. I hope that Ubi tech support is able to provide a solution for you. I don't have a DVD drive with SATA interface, so didn't experience the same problem.

[MaDef]

Update:

Ubi had me overwrite the game folder with the update for the downloaded version of the game. And that fixed the problem.

[GretaP]

Glad to hear that you got it fixed, and thanx for sharing the solution!