---------------Verb Usage--------------
A 4am crack                  2016-03-06
---------------------------------------

Name: Verb Usage
Version: 08.17.87
Genre: educational
Year: 1982 (according to title screen)
      1987 (according to credits page)
Publisher: Hartley Courseware
Media: single-sided 5.25-inch disk
OS: Diversi-DOS (T02,S02 has the string
  "C1983 DSR" backwards)
Previous cracks: none
Identical cracks:
  #635 Verbs
  #629 Little Riddles
  #603 Reading for Meaning Level 1
  #575 Milt's Math Drills: Addition and
       Subtraction
  #451 Antonyms/Synonyms 1
  #420 Fact or Opinion
  #246 Kittens, Kids, and a Frog
       v01.11.85

This program was originally a multi-
disk set, but I only have disk 3.

                   ~

               Chapter 0
 In Which Various Automated Tools Fail
          In Interesting Ways


COPYA
  immediate disk read error

Locksmith Fast Disk Backup
  unable to read any track

EDD 4 bit copy (no sync, no count)
  works

Copy ][+ nibble editor
  modified address and data epilogues
  ("DA AA EB" instead of "DE AA EB")

Disk Fixer
  ["O" -> "Input/Output Control"]
    set Address Epilogue to "DA AA EB"
    set Data Epilogue to "DA AA EB"
  all tracks readable
  T00 -> looks like a DOS 3.3 RWTS
  T11 -> DOS 3.3 disk catalog
  T01,S09 -> startup program is "HELLO"

Why didn't COPYA work?
  modified epilogue bytes (every track)

Why didn't Locksmith FDB work?
  modified epilogue bytes (every track)

EDD worked. What does that tell us?
  no half or quarter tracks
  almost certainly no nibble check
  (just structural changes to epilogue)

Next steps:

  1. capture RWTS with AUTOTRACE
  2. convert disk to standard format
     with Advanced Demuffin
  3. patch RWTS to read standard format

                   ~

               Chapter 1
In Which We Attempt To Use The Original
    Disk As A Weapon Against Itself


[S6,D1=original disk]
[S6,D2=blank disk]
[S5,D1=my work disk]

]PR#5
CAPTURING BOOT0
...reboots slot 6...
...reboots slot 5...
SAVING BOOT0
CAPTURING BOOT1
...reboots slot 6...
...reboots slot 5...
SAVING BOOT1
SAVING RWTS

]BRUN ADVANCED DEMUFFIN 1.5

["5" to switch to slot 5]

["R" to load a new RWTS module]
  --> At $B8, load "RWTS" from drive 1

["6" to switch to slot 6]

["C" to convert disk]

                 --v--

ADVANCED DEMUFFIN 1.5    (C) 1983, 2014
ORIGINAL BY THE STACK    UPDATES BY 4AM
=======PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE=======
TRK:...................................
+.5:
    0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012
SC0:...................................
SC1:...................................
SC2:...................................
SC3:...................................
SC4:...................................
SC5:...................................
SC6:...................................
SC7:...................................
SC8:...................................
SC9:...................................
SCA:...................................
SCB:...................................
SCC:...................................
SCD:...................................
SCE:...................................
SCF:...................................
=======================================
16SC $00,$00-$22,$0F BY1.0 S6,D1->S6,D2

                 --^--

]PR#5
...
]CATALOG,S6,D2

C1983 DSR^C#254
058 FREE

*A 004 HELLO
*A 017 CREDITS
*A 047 CREATE LESSON
*A 043 SKILL1
*A 021 STU PLAN
*A 017 PWL
*B 002 IR
*B 007 SMALL CHARS
*B 009 LGCHRS
*B 003 GARBAG
*B 004 MOUSESQ
*B 004 HRBV
*T 043 STU.FILE
 T 003 LESSONS
 T 018 FILE1
 T 020 FILE2
 T 020 FILE3
 T 019 FILE4
 T 018 FILE5
 T 019 FILE6
 T 020 FILE7
 T 019 FILE8
 T 019 FILE9
 T 020 FILE10
 T 011 FILE11
 T 011 FILE12

]RUN HELLO
...works...

The reason I always do this is to see
whether there are any runtime checks
for subtle differences in the original
DOS. If the program runs after booting
from a third-party disk, I can
eliminate a whole range of possible
secondary protections.

[S6,D1=demuffin'd copy]

]PR#6
...grinds...

My copy can't read itself yet. This is
not unusual.

                   ~

               Chapter 2
 In Which We Remove All Traces Of Copy
Protection Using An Automated Tool That
   I Wrote For Just Such An Occasion
   And Updated Very Recently To Make
            This Look Easy


[S6,D1=demuffin'd copy]
[S5,D1=my work disk]

]PR#5
]BRUN PDP

; fix non-standard epilogue bytes
T00,S03,$91 change DA to DE
T00,S03,$35 change DA to DE
T00,S02,$9E change DA to DE

; ignore disk volume numbers (original
; disk had a non-standard disk volume)
T00,S08,$12 change B148 to A900

]PR#6
...works...

Quod erat liberandum.

                   ~

              Usage Notes


When you're asked to enter your name,
you can type "MENU" to access the
management console. The console allows
you to rename lessons, add and remove
students, and print student progress
reports. There is no password.

Student information is stored in the
"STU.FILE" text file. I confirmed that
there is no personally identifiable
information lingering in this file. It
is so large because it has placeholders
for future student records.

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A 4am crack                     No. 636
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