I don't want to read 3 pages so I'll ask for a TL;DR version: what the hell is going on in this thread and should I even bother trying to discuss anything with other people here?

Config.sys and Autoexec.bat

I literally had to learn on my own. The only things I used were the big manual that came with DOS like hedwards said, the /? & dir commands, and the in-editor help file. Worked on my first PC in 3rd grade and just basically taught myself.

I started playing back in the late 80s and early 90s (back in the monochrome, CGA, EGA days) where I learnt the very basic commands on how to start a game after seeing what my uncle always typed when I wanted to play a game: dir/w, cd\ commands and the like.

It was in the early 90s when I had my very first PC when I had a pro-DOS friend teach me stuff like editing Config.sys to run the game. I guess I was lucky. I went to buy Dummies books and books from the library to learn more about editing Autoexec.bat editing and QBasic programming. Not long after, that got me and my other classmate banned from the computer labs for sometime then because we changed a good deal of autoexec.bats in the computer lab.

Since the early 80's of PC gaming there has been some sort of DRM for games, whether it used code-wheels, look up answers in the manual or the disk wouldn't correctly copy it's contents. It's always been around. I understand that publishers have a right to protect their IP's, but today they have gone hyper paranoid about their protection schemes.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't mind the old days, yeah the days when you went out to your local computer store and purchased the game, and actually owned it. My only gripe about PC games in this era is all the bullshit you have to go threw just to play the game you just bought. I hope i didn't stray to far off topic /end rant

Even then it was often times easy enough to memorize the keys. And then some games would just do something like damage your city or spawn some barbarians.

What's more because of the method that they used, it was a lot easier to get a spare key if yours was destroyed from a friend.

Depending on the game, disk check, serial number, word check (reading through manual and finding line,paragraph,word - back when they actually bothered with manuals)...etc

Even in the earliest days of PC gaming, I remember copy protection schemes where the publisher would literally put physical defects on the disk during duplication, and the game would check for a faulty sector at a certain location. They also made disks that used proprietary, non-standard formats that could be booted from, but couldn’t be read by DOS. In both cases, you couldn’t copy the disk – so if your original game disk went bad, you had to write a letter to the publisher begging them to give you a replacement copy (which usually cost at least $10). That’s not too far off from modern day limited-activation DRM systems, where you have to email the publisher and beg to have your activation limit reset. Of course, there were eventually programs that could work around these kinds of systems. But in the days before Web access was ubiquitous, it could be a tricky proposition to get your hands on such programs unless you had friends with the right connections.

We didn't call it "DRM" back then, but the concept has been there in various forms since the earliest days.

They are trying to seal a deal, 200 donkeys for 500 EUR each. It is still being discussed.

Jep, disc checks were just unnecessary and a huge pain in the ass. And a few scratches later, the CD was unreadable.

DRM is something you hardly notice nowadays.

On topic:

No.

Yes, of course CD-check is pita. But you can easily make an ISO and use that.

DRM is not something you hardly notice, when you have activation limits, when you have to be online, when a program install its device drivers to your computer and irritatingly always runs on background, decide you are a thief or not...

It is not something you hardly notice. CD-check sucks does not mean DRM not sucking.

Point taken. I think the reason the terms are often interchanged is because the end result is often the same: both create an extra layer of hassle for the legitimate users while doing little to stop piracy. The user sees both as "Dude, why do I have to jump through all these hoops to play my game?"

The point I was trying to make was that since the earliest days publishers have been using all kinds of crazy schemes to keep people who haven't bought their software from using it. Back then it was copy protection. Nowadays its DRM. In the future we'll probably have neural scans or something.

The old days where much more a hazzle then today. Copy protection - required either the disk or a code in the manual, not forgetting , [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_wheel]code wheels (remember the black on black ones?) etc. They either did not work properly, or you lost them / broke them and the game was unplayable.

I much prefer the DRM of today - clients (Steam / Origin) works nicely, as do activation codes. Always-on DRM is a bit of a bother, but I only play those when at home when I am always on anyway.