So, to take the things from the beginning: The crack that worked for me is at:
http://m.spacetarget.com/games/pc_co...rally_04.shtml
After that, I had the problem with the black screen on the beginning of the game. In
http://www.codemasters.co.uk/support...hp?gameid=1288
I found the solution of this problem, which is the one I mentioned above. My personal shortcut target is the following (which naturally depends on where the game has been saved):
"C:\Games\Codemasters\Colin McRae Rally 04\cmr4.exe" NOVIDEO
What you actually need to change is only the ending:
...\cmr4.exe" with ...\cmr4.exe" NOVIDEO
(the " and the space afterwards are needed)