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SECDRV.SYS Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of older games.
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Anonymous
Hello,
I have discovered an unfortunate problem with Windows 10.
Many games from the early-mid 2000's used Macrovision's SafeDisc (version 2) as a means of copy protection. At game startup, Windows loaded SECDRV.SYS to verify an original game disc was in the drive, after which the game would start.
When you try to run ANY game which uses this SafeDisc form of copy protection in Windows 10, the following happens:
- You get an error window that tells you to log in with Administrator Privileges and to try again. This happens on any account, even those with Administrator access. The game fails to start.
- If you then set "Run as Admin" compatibility mode on the game's startup file, the message disappears, but the game doesn't start.
- Keeping a window open for C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\DRIVERS shows SECDRV.SYS appearing at the moment you try to start the game. Based on its size, it appears to be the file that is present on the game disc (tested across several games), even though I see no disc activity and cannot find the file elsewhere on my system.
- The Windows event log shows that SECDRV.SYS failed to load.
- This happens both with an upgraded install (Windows 8.1 > Windows 10) and with a fresh Windows 10 install, with one of the games being installed immediately upon the fresh install completing.
- On my Windows 64-bit 8.1 system, C:\WINDOWS\WINSXS has a folder called amd64_macrovision-protection-safedisc_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16384_none_4e6b3758913c9240 with a SECDRV.SYS in it, presumably the one that ships with Windows. Windows 10 had such a folder in early builds, but it is missing from the release build. It appears SafeDisc support is missing entirely.
OTHER TESTING I HAVE DONE:
- I updated one of the games to a version that no longer required the CD check, and it started immediately and ran perfectly once the check was removed. However, this is possible only with a very limited number of games, or resorting to fixes that violate the game's EULA or put the user's system security at risk.
- I tried disabling driver signature verification and installing one of the games again; same problem.
- Multiple compatibility modes; same problem. XP (Service Pack 3) mode and / or Run as Administrator mode make the error message go away, but the games still fail to launch.
SIGNIFICANCE:
Unless this is fixed in Windows 10, a massive catalog of older games will cease to function in Windows 10 for the simple reason that they cannot pass the SafeDisc copy protection check. I am accustomed to some games breaking with every new version of Windows as technology progresses (for example, the loss of the ability to run 16-bit programs in 64-bit Windows), but this seems to be an unnecessarily harsh change.
Windows for home | Windows 10 | Gaming
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293 answers
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Anonymous
2015-09-10T13:57:06+00:00 -
Anonymous
2015-09-10T19:02:49+00:00 I wonder if this thread is finally going to derail...
there is a solution to the original posted problem, hence people still complain and sh... on MS about an issue that's not in their responsibility!
Remind you are complaining about a kernel near driver that was used a decade ago - not even coded by MS, still they rolled out hotfixes for this company in the past via Windows Updates. Best thing: With some magic - as described in this thread - secdrv.sys will still work in Windows 10, so most ragers just rage for the sake of raging.
Have fun playing around with your Win 7, soon enough it is end of support like XP. Windows 10, with some adjustments made is the best Windows I've seen since 3.0 - just my 2 cents.
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Anonymous
2015-09-10T20:11:45+00:00 I have the same issue with the latest patch to 8.1, with exactly the same results described by Gamboleer.
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Anonymous
2015-09-10T21:42:50+00:00 I guess by "best" you mean the decreased functionality and user-control is a plus in your 2-cents. Being forced to take any and all updates MS wants you to take, when they want you to take it, having to live with unwanted handwriting pop-up if you want touch services, burying formerly easy and readily accessible settings in obscure locations...
Windows 10 is simply the next step in the strategy to move all MS stuff to the "cloud" so that any time a bit flows in either direction between you and MS, they get to charge your credit card. Software-as-service is all about making all your computing "experiences" (at least from a licensing and billing standpoint) just like you cell phone.
And based on the competing official statements from MS and Rovi (the "evolved" Macrovision) you can bet the SECDRV blacklisting is all about money, not so much about security. I suspect there is a a dirty little war going on in the markets Rovi serves, and MS, in their usual way when the want a market, is creating the market fear - in this case "Rovi is a security risk, and always has been" - so they can move MS products and services to the front-runner market spots. The time and effort it took to retroactively (back to Windows 2000) "blacklist" SecDRV a couple days ago and all the workarounds to allow use of products dependent on it with Win 10 dwarfs the effort it would have taken MS to fix any "vulnerabilities" in SecDRV - which, according to Rovi, MS has done two time before. That clearly smells more like an issue of money and market bullying than security.
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Anonymous
2015-09-10T21:59:57+00:00 One of the marketing features Ubisoft offered with their recent bundle of old games was they had no DRM. Meaning that no issues should experienced.
Of 12 games, only one from 1998 would not run right, and the old Rainbow Six flickers, but so does Rise of Nations
The old Aquanox from 2001 actually runs at 1920x1080 which is many years before that resolution became widely supported. Back in 2001 most were still using CRT displays.