Strange, I've been launching SFCOP.exe for over 5 years on 3 different PC's under 2 different OS's and never had a problem. Maybe your original CD that SFCOP.exe is coming from is fubar'd ?
No.. It has been a proven fact, even stated by David Ferrell, the entire Taldren Beta Test Team (myself included) and Kenneth Yeast.. the SFCOP.exe will cause problems in game, including bugs with fighters, loss of control on your ship, random crashing.. and the list goes on..
the SFCOP.exe file was never fixed since the game's main executable file is the starfleetop.exe..
When Taldren patched.. StarfleetOP.exe is the main file that they fixed. the SFCOP.exe file has never been fixed.
In Multiplayer games that you are hosting.. since your PC is the host and running on the wrong EXE file, you can cause others to have connectivity issues and bugs.. as well as yourself.
Do a search on these forums for the SFCOP.exe file for the last decade.. you will see many references to the bugs that file introduces to the game.