VirtualDrive CD/DVD Emulator

I keep getting the following message: “This action is only valid for products which are installed.” How can I make the message go away?

If you received this message while installing VirtualDrive 11 or VirtualDrive Pro 11, please uninstall any previous versions of GameDrive/VirtualDrive and try reinstalling VirtualDrive 11/VirtualDrive Pro 11. If the message persists, your operating system’s default language may be causing the problem. Please refer to the question below related to supported operating system languages.

What languages do Vista-ready versions of VirtualDrive 11 and VirtualDrive Pro 11 support?

Currently, FarStone has Vista-ready versions of VirtualDrive 11/VirtualDrive Pro only in English and Chinese (Traditional & Simplified) language versions only. Additional Vista language support in German, French, and Japanese and additional languages will be available soon, and will be sold through our International Resellers.

How does VirtualDrive work?

VirtualDrive converts game and application discs into MP3-like files, or “virtual discs.” It also creates up to 23 "virtual drives" and fools Windows into treating them as physical CD/DVD-ROM drives. These virtual drives appear as drive letters in Windows Explorer. You can run several virtual CDs simultaneously (one virtual CD (VCD) per virtual drive), swapping them out via hot keys. Since virtual CDs play directly on your hard drive, they have much faster access rates than physical CDs in a CD/DVD-ROM drive.

Installing and Uninstalling VirtualDrive

How can I uninstall VirtualDrive?

You’ll find a shortcut to the VirtualDrive uninstall program in the “Add & Remove Programs” component of Windows Control Panel, or by clicking Start > Programs > VirtualDrive > Uninstall VirtualDrive. The uninstall program will purge all files created by VirtualDrive except .vcd files. You can import the .vcd files into VirtualDrive upon reinstalling the program or delete them in Windows Explorer without causing harm to your system.

Does VirtualDrive work with DVD movies and copy-protected games?

VirtualDrive works with all  major copy protections used on the most popular CD/DVD-ROM games: SafeDisk 1 and 2, SecuROM, Laser Lock, CD-Cops, SecuROM 5, SecuROM 7, and Starforce 1/2/3. Most DVD videos are copy-protected using CSS (Content Scrambling System), which VirtualDrive does not support. Copyright laws for movie DVDs do not allow you to legally create a Fair Use backup copy.

What if a game title doesn’t work with VirtualDrive?

For the best possible game support, please make sure you have the latest version of VirtualDrive. When you build a VCD, use the “SecuROM New” option for games using SecuROM 4.84 and newer. You can build all other games using Intelligent Extraction.

Games by Lucas Arts have downloadable updates providing additional copy protection that VirtualDrive does not yet support.

View current game support

How can I build a more reliable VCD?

Different build methods can affect a VCD’s playability. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get the best results.

1. Disable data compression before you build.
2. Find a free CD scanner online, and use it to determine the protection type on your CD/DVD. Build your VCD accordingly (use “Other Protected CD Type” instead of intelligent extraction to build a VCD).
3. Disable your physical CD ROM drives before running VCDs/DVDs. In VirtualDrive 10, go to VirtualDrive Manager and click on Tools. Select the “Disable IDE CD-ROM” function.
4. Go to VirtualDrive Manager. Click on View > Options, then click on the Device tab. Rename all of fields.
5. Create a custom VCD for a multiple disc game by compiling VCDs created from single physical discs. Delete non-play VCDs later to save hard drive space.
6. Should you continue to experience difficulties creating a VCD file, please submit a Support Ticket to contact FarStone

Why does it take so much longer to build protected VCDs than other kinds of VCDs?

VirtualDrive slows down while reading data from protected areas on a CD. After VirtualDrive has finished reading from these protected areas, the build goes much faster.

Does the time it takes to build a VCD depend on the quality of my computer’s CD/DVD-ROM drive?

Yes. The read speed of CD/DVD-ROM drives varies according to error-correction ability and other mechanisms. So build speed depends more on the quality of your CD/DVD-ROM drive than on VirtualDrive.

Can I convert a VCD file into an ISO file?

Yes, you can convert a VCD into an ISO 9660 CD file, as well as converting an ISO 9660 image file into a VCD.

1. In VirtualDrive Manager, select ISO Conversion
2. Click the Browse button to browse for an ISO or VCD
3. Select the desired ISO file, and then select Open to continue
4. Select Convert to start the conversion.
   Note: Audio, DVD and compressed VCD files cannot be converted into ISO files.

How can I create a hot key in VirtualDrive?

1. Right-click on a VCD and select Properties.
2. Select the “Settings tab.”
3. Click on the hot key box and assign a letter or key to the VCD. Press OK. 
4. To load and play the VCD, press <Ctrl>+<Alt>+ the letter or key assigned to the VCD.

Why does the game application still ask me to insert the CD when the VCD is already inserted?

Try one of the following methods:

1. Change a CD drive´s drive letter by using "Disk Management" in Windows: right-click My Computer->Manage->Disk Management, right click the interested drive, select "Change Drive Letter and Paths" to change drive letter.
2. Use intelligent extraction to build the VCD.
3. Some programs must run from the same drive letter from which they were first installed. For example, if you installed a program from the “E”  drive, then your VCD must also be inserted into the "E" drive for the program to run.
4. If you have installed the game application from a physical CD-ROM, please remove it with its uninstall program, and then try to install from a virtual drive. Our VirtualDrive engineers are constantly testing popular CD/DVD-ROM titles to ensure proper support for them. However, it is impossible to test all of them in any given time frame. If you know of any CD/DVD-ROM title that does not run properly with VirtualDrive, please let us know, by submitting a Support Ticket. Your feedback will help our engineers to know which titles are popular among our customers.

Can I use VirtualDrive on a network?

To do this, you must own VirtualDrive Network, and not VirtualDrive personal. VirtualDrive Network provides the following features, among others:

• Click and play on client machines
• Full security control for VCD images
• Administrative program monitoring
• Embedded AutoRun for all CD-ROMs

Should I remove VirtualDrive before upgrading to another version of Windows?

Yes. You should first save your settings and configuration.

How can I save my current VirtualDrive Manager settings and VirtualDrive configuration?

Yes. Go to File > Export and you can save to a specified location the list of the VCD files that appear in VirtualDrive Manager. After you have reinstalled VirtualDrive, you can restore the list of VCDs by going to File > Import, then browsing for the saved file. You can also save your VirtualDrive configuration backing up two files available from the Start Menu. Type in: %Windir% Program Files\FarStone\VirtualDrive\Data.

Will VirtualDrive compress audio tracks into MP3 format?

Yes. But if you’re having trouble using this feature, please make sure you’ve installed Microsoft Windows Media Player MP3 groupware or other MP3 coding/decoding programs.

Windows Media Download Page

Can I use VirtualDrive to play audio CDs digitally?

Yes. But the build process must follow these two rules:

1. Use PCM wave format, 44.100kHz, 16kBit/s, stereo, 172kb/s
2. Include all sound tracks in the VCD

To play digital CD audio, right click on My Computer and select Properties. Go to Hardware->Device Manager to open a window like the one shown below:

Double-click on a virtual drive to open a new window and point to properties on it. Check the bottom box to enable digital audio for this virtual drive.

When I run a VCD, the system prompts me that the version of wnaspi32.dll is incorrect. How do I fix this?

In order to run a VirtualDrive VCD Windows 98/Me, you need the newer version of ASPI32, which you can download from the Adaptec web site.

How can I create more VCD drives?

Launch VirtualDrive Manager and click on Views > Drives. A dialog box will open and allow you to create more VCD drives.

How can I change the drive letter sequence (e.g., F: to E:)?

1. Right click on My Computer. Select Manage > Disk Management.
2. Right click on the virtual drive icon. Select “change drive letter or paths” from the dropdown menu.

Why is 23 the maximum number of virtual drives?

There are 26 letters in the alphabet. We assume that A: and B: are assigned to your floppy and CD/DVD-ROM drives, and C: normally reserved for the hard drive. This leaves only 23 letters — D: through Z:.

After I set the number and position of virtual drives on Windows 2000/XP, VirtualDrive treats one of the virtual drives as the physical CD-ROM drive. How can I correct this?

Either restart your computer, or refresh in the Device Manager.

VirtualDrive automatically plays a VCD at system startup. How can I stop the auto-play?

In VirtualDrive Manager, right-click in the virtual drive pane and uncheck AutoRun (all virtual drives) from the dropdown menu.

Can VirtualDrive automatically eject all inserted VCDs from all virtual drives when the computer restarts?

Yes. Go to View > Options > Miscellaneous settings in the VirtualDrive menu bar and uncheck the “Keep VCDs in Drive When System Boots”.

Does VirtualDrive support command interface programs?

Yes, with VDRIVE.EXE you can:

1. Insert a VCD into a virtual drive (by drive letter or ordinary number 1-9).
2. In a networking environment, the administrator can set up each CD title with a VDRIVE command batch file and double-click it from the client PC to start the CD-ROM
3. For more information on this topic, please review your VirtualDrive User’s Manual.

When I install version VirtualDrive 10, VirtualDrive still informs me that I need to remove my older version — even after I’ve uninstalled it. How can I resolve this problem?

1. Download RemoveVGD.zip
2. Extract the contents of the compressed archive to a new location, then launch RemoveVGD.exe. You’ll be prompted to select a version to be removed; if your version is earlier than version 8, please select Remove VirtualDrive 8, as this will also remove older versions of VirtualDrive. Should you for any reason still experience this issue, search for and delete the following files from your system: cda.pdr , cdant.sys and cda.sys. Then restart the computer and retry the installation. If you continue to experience this issue past this point, please contact FarStone’s Technical Support department.

Does VirtualDrive support compression?

Yes. VirtualDrive’s average compression ratio is usually about 10-30%. For the uncompressed CD titles, the compression ratio can be as high as 50%.

How much memory does VirtualDrive use?

VirtualDrive is a new device for your system. It uses 64 KB of memory to cache the most recently used data for each VirtualDrive.

Can I build a VCD from selected files on my computer, network server or CD-ROM disc?

Yes. You create an ISO9660 CD-ROM image file from the selected files by using a CD-R burning software (for example, Adaptec Easy CD Creator). And then use the "Convert ISO9660 image to VCD" function of VDN admin program, to import it into the VDN file CD jukeboxes.

What is the difference between the VirtualDrive evaluation version and the licensed version?

VirtualDrive evaluation period consists of a 15-Day time limit, creation of 1 virtual drive and a limit of 2 VCDs can be created. The licensed version of VirtualDrive imposes none of these limits and allows for the creation of up-to 23 virtual drives and an unlimited number of VCD files to be created.

When I am launching VirtualDrive, a message saying "The number of users for this copy of VirtualDrive exceeds the number of licensed users!" pops up and the program cannot be started. What should I do to solve this?

This problem occurs when VirtualDrive is installed on more than one computer on a network with the same serial number. To solve this problem, you must purchase an additional serial number with more licenses from FarStone, and then select Help from the VirtualDrive interface and enter the new serial number to ensure multiple copies of VirtualDrive can be run simultaneously on a network.

I want to install VirtualDrive on Windows 2000. Is there anything I should pay attention to?

Before installation please be sure Service Pack 4 or Higher has been installed. If you plan to create multiple virtual drives while installing VirtualDrive on your computer, do not restart the computer (you will be prompted) until the setup process is completely finished.

After I installed VirtualDrive/GameDrive, I received an error message saying "Unable to initialize drive, you may need to reinstall". How do I fix this?

With VirtualDrive/GameDrive installed, open the control panel and open ADD/REMOVE HARDWARE. Select "Yes, I have already connected the hardware". Then select the entry "FS_SCSI7 FS_CDAWDM_2000CD SCSI CDROM Device".

I’m receiving an Error Code: 0x28 when attempting to launch Live Update. How do I resolve this error?

Email Technical Support. Please include the date of your last Live Update Renewal (or when it should expire) and the email address you used to register for Live Update (if the email address is different from the one you’re currently using).

I received the Error: 1904 Module C:\Windows\System\VGDshell.dll failed to register; how do I resolve this error?

To resolve this error, please review our Updates & Patches page, where you will find a download and instructions.

When attempting to launch the Live Update service, I receive the following: Error Code: 205001; how do I resolve this error?

To resolve this error, first please try these steps:

1. Try disabling your Firewall and Pop-up Blockers and attempt to re-launch Live Update.
2. Try rebooting your computer and pressing F8 before you see Starting Windows XP displayed on your monitor; when the Boot Options menu appears, select Safe Mode with Networking. After Windows has started in Safe Mode, proceed to re-launch Live Update, and attempt to retrieve the latest updates.
3. Some users have reported a conflict with Sonic software and that uninstalling the Sonic software allowed them to complete Live Update.
4. If the issue persists, please contact Technical Support.

Why is it that sometimes I cannot play customized audio CDs?

The latest version of VirtualDrive does not change the default setting for Digital CD Audio; this setting must be enabled from the virtual drive’s Properties window. In order to play your customized audio CD, the disc image needs to support both Digital CD Audio format and the Analog CD format. Please make sure the digital playback setting of the virtual drive and your media player are set accordingly. Changing device settings may require you to restart your computer.

To change this setting, right-click on a virtual drive-select Properties-click on the Hardware tab-locate the virtual drive in the list of available disk drives and then click the Properties button-this will bring up the Properties window for the virtual drive you selected-click on the Properties tab and there you’ll find the option to enable Digital CD Audio for this device.

What can I do if the VCD being used is incompatible with VirtualDrive(for example, low running-speed or pending)

For VirtualDrive11.7 or later version, you can shift to compatible-mode through modifying registry. But some encrypted VCD may not be supported under compatible mode.

Do the following three steps to modify registry:

1. Click Start >Running >type"regedit"
2. Search for the following characters"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet
   \Services\FVXSCSI\Parameters\GSmode9"
3. Modify GSmode9 value as "1"