Sorry but I disagree with you and have 2 DVD burners & 2 computers here to attest to the fact. I had an LG burner, which after installing H&M & BV (bought at the same time) messed the LG burner over so good it couldn't write anything legible (not even when re-read on itself). So I bought a new burner (different brand - but not naming it so that those who want to tighten things up and might be reading this won't know which to tighten). I didn't change/re-install or set up anything in Nero - it was the same as it was when the LG was on here. Yet my new one burns things properly. And if you've read the thread, you'll know that the LG works perfectly fine on my husband's computer (which doesn't have SecuROM on it) and whatever it writes on his computer, can be read anywhere including back on itself again. So they mess with the burners - probably it has something to do with the burner's ROM BIOSes.

I and a few other people I know of weren't so lucky. In fact I know 3 other people personally who had precisely the same problem I'm about to describe (which is what happened to me)....

The game and all already burned CDs/DVDs reads fine no problem. However if you try to burn a data DVD, it appears that it's burning it. I mean Nero goes to the end and says it was successful and spits the disk out at the end of the session like normal. So you *think* it was successful and went alright - that is until you stick that disk back into a drive to be read (any drive even the same one that burned it) and the reader can't even find it. So everyone (me included) who had this problem thought our DVD writers malfunctioned and died and went and bought new ones.  Though I am the only person of all the people I know personally who've had this problem that has other computers available to try the old DVD writer on. We wouldn't have thought to try it had it not been for the SecuROM issue. My husband probably would've taken it apart for parts at some point, if we didn't get curious to see if it would still work but on a computer that's not affected by SecuROM.  So he put it in his computer to try it and it worked perfectly and whatever he burned on disk using it, was readable here on my machine. Yet when it was in my machine and I burned disks on it after installing H&M & BV (bought those 2 at the same time) I couldn't read it here, nor could it be read elsewhere. He basically has the same set up as me - with the same operating system and utilities etc except he doesn't have any new games (his are all antiquated and ran on 386s - but he likes them, so what can I say?) hence no weird anti-piracy protection schemes to screw his system up, so the LG DVD writer works there, but not here.

Just for your information, since my new DVD writer does work even with SecuROM installed, and my old DVD writer didn't work on here, but still works on my husband's computer, he believes that SecuROM probably reads and disables certain ROM BIOSes of certain peripheral and not the software (like Nero - as Nero is the only burning software I have so was used on both). Or certain manufacturers (like in this case, LG as it's my old LG writer that won't work here anymore) may cooperate with Sony and put a code in their ROM BIOSes that can either read or be used somehow by SecuROM and deactivates on it's own.

Here's the direct link for the Alberta one, you can still use the one I posted earlier for the Feds as well (it'll help to get as many gov't bodies on their case as possible):

http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=section:consumers

It's always been Paysite-ish considering the only way you could gain access to it, was by registering a legitimate copy of their game(s) which you had to pay for.

That new SecuROM info release on their site is a lie as well. I know for a fact that it DOES disable DVD/CD writers (or the burning software - in my case it's Nero), because the old DVD writer that I had that stopped writing anything legible on here, is on my husband's computer and works perfectly fine there. In a little while I will be trying my new DVD writer to see if it writes anything that's legible or not. I am positive it won't though. So there was nothing wrong with my DVD writer that SecuROM didn't make wrong.

They are just trying to fiddle the numbers to make it look like it's no issue and are lying through their teeth when they say it doesn't affect any system hardware or other software and that it's merely their program's security protection. That's total 100% unadulterated BS.

To those requesting links and contact information for your protection agencies. I just did a quick cursory search in Google and came up with those for Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, the Canadian Federal Gov't and one that has a lot of links to various consumer protection agencies world wide and I will post them here:

The English version of the Quebec gov't site:

http://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/e_HotLine/map_Site.asp

Ontario protection agency:

http://www.gov.on.ca/MGS/en/ConsProt/050451.html

The one for Nova Scotia:

http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/consumer/abstracts.asp


The one for the Canadian Federal gov't:

http://kingston.cioc.ca/details.asp?RSN=21335&Number=63


And lastly the one for the list of links world wide:

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/55533


Hope that helps those of you who are having problems with Securom.

And to answer those who asked me about how you know you have Securom on your system.... You will find a folder in your  C:\Documents and Settings\username (whatever that is)\Application Data when you use the Windows search for SecuROM filename and tick the advanced search features to show hidden files and folders.

As you know each province has their own provincial legislatures and laws and agencies. Here in Quebec there is a consumer protection agency (it's a long French name that I don't remember now). Plus I believe the Federal gov't has agencies or departments that look into fair trade practices and breaches of such. So given the fact that I have no clue which part of Canada you live in, all I can suggest is that you look in the blue pages in the phone book under whatever appropriately named gov't departments you can find that will help defrauded consumers. Or if your province has all of their stuff on a website somewhere like the Cdn gov't does, perhaps you can find them online.

Well the law is simple that they violated. They willfully and knowingly disabled and perhaps damaged private property (it's like as if you suspected one of them of something and just based on pure suspicion without having any actual proof of them having done it, decide to go and smash their car windows and tires - that's illegal - pure and simple).  If they suspect anyone or a bunch of anyones of piracy or breaching their copyrights (and if that bothers them so much why are they letting TSR operate and get away with it?), they have legal recourse to go after them on it, but they do NOT have the right to deprive someone of use of their own personal property (as in disabling CD/DVD writers), or damaging their personal property (by making their computer and other software nonfunctional to the point where they have to reformat and maybe lose data etc on account of having to do that). That is ILLEGAL and I'm sure it's not just illegal here in Canada but perhaps world wide.

I will definitely be going to the Cdn gov't consumer protection agencies about them now, whether or not my DVD writer works or not after the little experience I just had while trying to post the following on the Maxis BBS about the whole issue....

As far as I'm concerned since I do now know that SecuROM IS on my system (despite what was written in another post posted elsewhere on the net), that if it
disables my NEW DVD writer that I bought (because my other one wouldn't burn anything readable so I bought a new one to replace it, not knowing about the
SecuROM issue when I did),  I for one won't be bothered contacting you nor anyone else here. I'll simply report the problem to our Canadian  gov't consumer
protection agencies and let them deal with you and have you remove all of your goods off the Cdn store shelves, like they did with Sony and their stuff that damaged
and disabled people's equipment.  I have simply had it with all the problems and cr*p I've had to put up with this game and all things associated with it. FYI my net
name is  netseeker2.  The law  is the law and I don't know how you nor anyone else would feel if any of us started slashing your tires and breaking  your car
windshields just because we percieved that you might be doing us wrong (whether or not you actually are is irrelevant because disabling and destroying someone
else's property is illegal - period - if you *think* someone is doing you wrong it's up to you to persue them via legal channels and not disable and destroy their
personal property). That was the reasoning of the law used against Sony and it'll be used against you too when the gov't removes your products from the store
shelves here in Canada. Hopefully every other country in the world also has consumer protection agencies that consumers can complain to too and have your
products removed from their shelves as well. Maybe then you'll smarten up and get the message. Ban me I don't care, might as well. I'm used to it now after the run
in with an arrogant so and so on TSR.

--------

As soon as I hit the button to post it, I got a "Document Contains No Data" reply and everything locked up and my net connection stopped responding - including my firewall.  I copied and pasted that into a text file to save - that's how I managed to have it now (I'm used to that after my experiences on TSR believe me because I knew that most of the time whatever I posted would be removed or not get posted to begin with). So obviously they didn't want it posted and didn't want me to be able to post it elsewhere and tried to shut me down completely by disabling my firewall etc.... I've literally had more than enough of my fill with all the BS associated with this thing called "a game", in more ways than one too.

I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that the license agreement that was in effect when I bought and installed the game is the license agreement that I agreed to and not a new one that comes into effect AFTER I've bought and installed it. You can't agree to something that hasn't been put forth to be agreed  upon yet. So even if they change the EULA now, that's still not going to save their ass from people like me who purchased and installed it BEFORE they made their new license agreement.

As I just finished writing this to a friend about this very subject, I decided to post it here. Because if any of you have consumer protection agencies in your respective countries, you might be wise to use them especially if after what Sony did was deemed illegal in your country. Anyhow here's what I just wrote to a friend about this and what I intend to do if my DVD writer doesn't work on account of BV & H&M recently being installed:

I read parts of the thread that I found at the URL you gave me and from what I know, here in Canada it's illegal. I don't know if Securom is on my copy of the game or not, because I haven't tried to burn anything on my new DVD writer yet. But the other burner that I had and got rid of burned things just that they weren't readable on anything afterwards. And I'm not sure if it started acting like that before or after I installed BV on here. I am pretty sure it was before I got BV but I could be mistaken. Anyhow I know for sure this drive that's in the machine now is brand new and so if it doesn't burn anything that's readable on it, I'll know why and I have a bill to prove that it's brand new to Maxis too (which is after the date of the bill I have for Bon Voyage). Sony (which I guess is the maker of Securom)
tried this shit before here in Canada and got sued and all their products that had things (because they also had implanted noise signals in things) that disable or damage a persons hardware or sound/entertainment/tv system removed off the Canadian market and it's illegal to sell anything like that here now. So if Maxis embedded this Securom thing and it prevents me from using my writer which I bought and paid for (and since I have other uses for it like to save data and my digital camera pictures for safekeeping and NOT for pirating their f'ing lousey crappy software that I probably couldn't sell pirated copies of even for less than the cost of
the f'ing CD it's written on) I can go to a Canadian gov't consumer protection agency (I don't even need a lawyer) and have them ban all of Maxis' products and have them removed off the shelves and sent back to them, in Canada if I want to. And if I can't use my new burner when I go to burn my next DVD that's precisely what I'm going to do. Let the Cdn gov't fix their wagons at least here in Canada. That'll be 30 million less potential people they'll be able to screw over and annoy and aggravate the f out of. And if other people use the same recourse or equivalent thereof in their countries, pretty soon the only market that they'll be able to sell to
will be the US market (because there they don't have consumer protection agencies and if you want to go after a company you have to do it out of your own pocket and hire a lawyer yourself). So that'd be one way to show Maxis enough is enough. Maybe I'll post my intentions on their BBS and see what happens and how many other people want to do the same thing.

Believe me after all of the problems I've had with the Sims 2 crap and all their addons, I will NOT ever buy ANOTHER Maxis EA product again. NEVER. Sims 9,999 could come out and it could be completely ew aw holographic and you could interact with it like the STNG hollodeck and I still wouldn't buy it, because I know with my luck I'd find a bug where I'd get stuck in it and never be able to get back to reality again.  I definitely won't be buying Sims 3 either, whether I have a computer that handles it or not. After all the problems and BS I've had with TS2, I've had wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than my fill of it and am not going to spend more money for yet more aggravation. I can get anyone I want to aggravate me and it'll be free, all I have to do is antagonize them a little bit and whoopie cayou away we go, they'll be all too happy to aggravate and annoy me all I want and it won't have cost me anything at all. Or better yet, I can send flaming emails to Thomass and Atwat and they'll be happy to aggravate and annoy me right back. Well at least I'll some scapegoats to vent my anger on anyhow.

Tracking devices???

Yup, they have plenty of those but those are adwares and spybots and come from their site and advertisers sites, but there aren't any inside the zips. If there were your anti-virus software would detect them as soon as you scanned them as the CRC checksums wouldn't add up.

This BS was started probably by Thomas, to scare y'all to make you think twice before you shared their files - thinking that the person(s) doing the sharing would get scared of losing their accounts and stop sharing on account of these alleged tracking devices (which is all a bunch of hooey).

First he was saying that time date stamps allowed them to track who was sharing but when I pointed that was a bunch of BS out to someone, I guess he had to come up with a new idea on how they were tracked as a means of "knowing" (which is again is BS and just wild stabs in the dark really) who was sharing their software.

If you don't believe me that he's not doing that, just search the net using a seach engine for anything that could be used as a tracking device to track zips (without said "device" being detected by anti-virus software) you'll see that there isn't anything that does that *yet* unless he & Per created something like that but I doubt Thomas has the brains to do that.

You make some nice lots too, I know cuz I have them!

As I said in my thread but am reposting here....

Anyone wishing to report TSR for their crimes - copyright infringements, non-repayment of funds, income tax/tax etc, etc.... May do so at either of these two places, Swedish Prosecution Authority on registrator.int-stockholm@aklagare.se and the Swedish police authorities on polismyndigheten.stockholm@polisen.se.

Anyone wishing to report TSR for their crimes - copyright infringements, non-repayment of funds, income tax/tax etc, etc.... May do so at either of these two places, Swedish Prosecution Authority on registrator.int-stockholm@aklagare.se and the Swedish police authorities on polismyndigheten.stockholm@polisen.se.