diff -Naur quake3-orig/code/qcommon/files.c quake3/code/qcommon/files.c
--- quake3-orig/code/qcommon/files.c	2006-08-24 02:17:46.000000000 +0200
+++ quake3/code/qcommon/files.c	2006-08-25 16:20:43.000000000 +0200
@@ -2906,6 +2906,13 @@
 	searchpath_t	*path;
 	qboolean			foundPak0 = qfalse;
 
+	// hobbes
+	// com_disablePak0check > 0 disables the check for Pak0
+	if( Cvar_Get( "com_disablePak0check", "0", CVAR_ROM )->integer ) {		// com_init did not yet happen, so get value directly
+		Com_Printf("Check for Pak0 disabled\n");
+		return;
+	}
+
 	for( path = fs_searchpaths; path; path = path->next ) {
 		if( path->pack &&
 				!Q_stricmpn( path->pack->pakBasename, "pak0", MAX_OSPATH ) &&