How to Play StarCraft Without a CD

Last Updated: December 20, 2020

Some people don't know about this helpful tip. This has been released as an official patch from Blizzard. This is legal and for those who have cracks or hacks you have to have an actual cd and cd key.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Windows Users

1
Make sure you have "Hide extensions for known types" unchecked. To do this please use the following steps:
2
Click Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer

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3
Click on Tools -> Folder options (Windows Vista users may have to press the Alt key to see the tools option at the top of the window)
4
Click on the View Tab In the list, look for the "Hide extensions for known file types" option, and make sure that it is unchecked.
5
Click OK to save the changes.
6
Now you will need to copy some files from the Game CDs
7
If you own only StarCraft, copy "INSTALL.EXE" from the StarCraft CD to your StarCraft folder and rename it to "StarCraft.mpq".
8
If you own StarCraft: Brood War, copy "INSTALL.EXE" from the StarCraft: Brood War CD to your StarCraft folder and rename it to "BroodWar.mpq". If you wish to play the StarCraft original missions then please copy and rename the install file from the original StarCraft CD as well, as listed directly above.
9
Run the latest patches of StarCraft and/or Brood War for the software to detect the ".mpq" files.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Mac users

1
If you own only StarCraft, copy "StarCraft Archive" from the StarCraft CD to your StarCraft/StarCraft Files/ folder.
2
If you own StarCraft: Brood War, copy "Brood War Archive" from the StarCraft: Brood War CD to your StarCraft/StarCraft Files/ folder. If you wish to play the StarCraft original missions then please copy the Starcraft Archive file from the original StarCraft CD as well, as listed directly above.

Community Q&A

Question

I bought StarCraft and played often, but my new computer has no CD slot and I cannot play the games I legally and rightfully purchased. What do I do?

Community Answer

You can buy an external CD drive to plug into your new computer.