Using the protections scanners A-Ray and Protection ID is both simple and very helpful. You can download both from
HERE. ClonyXXL is also another popular protection scanner, but as it is outdated and very unlikely to be updated, I will not explain how to use it here.
A-Ray Scanner
A-Ray scanner is my personal favorite, as it does not need the game installed to detect which protection is on it. It is also the simplest to use. When you first launch A-Ray, you will see a screen similar to the one below.
Now, you need to select the drive with the disc you want to scan.
After you’ve done that, you only got to click the button: Scan CD.
If it asks if the game is installed (which is rare and only happens if the protection cannot be found on the disc. ie., the .exe file is compressed), you will need to point it towards the installation folder. Now you’re done! See, simple wasn’t it?
Protection ID
Protection ID isn’t quite as simple, it also requires that the game be installed first. When it loads, it will look like below.
Click scan, and select the installation folder of your game and find the .exe file that is used to run the game.
Protection ID will then display the results.
You’re done!