SECDRV.SYS Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of older games.

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.

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293 answers

Anonymous

2015-08-13T23:58:20+00:00

well that's good to know. site I saw didn't mention was fixed. so why doesn't Microsoft respond?
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Anonymous

2015-08-14T05:06:45+00:00

For anyone curious, Medieval 2 Total War does not work on Windows 10 because of this issue, but for some reason, the Kingdoms expansion pack does.

Since the kingdoms.exe is used for most mods, and not the medieval2.exe, the game can run perfectly fine. In fact, the "Grand Campaign" of the medieval2.exe exists as a mod called "Bare Geomod" by Gigantus.

This game somehow scrapes through, but earlier games in the series are not so lucky. Users will be forced to install dreaded Steam, should they wish to play them.
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Anonymous

2015-08-14T07:59:07+00:00

Dear reecew37,

please know that you can redeem a fully functional copy of Medieval 2 Gold and / or Rome 1 Gold on Steam,

by activating your legacy retail key via Steam. This became possible due to the Gamespy bancruptcy and shutdown of their services.

Medieval 2 and Rome 1 Gold releases will work under Windows 10, with a minor exception for Rome 1 Gold.

You can find a workaround elaborated by HazardHawk and written down here:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=469123565

Cheers,

Karl (better known as "al Qamar" within the TW Community)

P. S follow me on TWCenter.net or Steam for more interesting technical stuff around your TW games.
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Anonymous

2015-08-17T06:00:07+00:00

A workaround is to copy secdrv.sys from a windows 8 / 8.1 machine, self sign the driver, and enter into testsigning boot mode.

You can do this manually or use 3rd party programs to do it.

First copy secdrv.sys from a windows 8 machine to c:\windows\system32\drivers. You can also download it here. Same file as the one I got from a vanilla windows 8.1 install v 4.3.86.0 md5 3ea8a16169c26afbeb544e0e48421186

Then self sign the driver. You can use a program Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider to do this: http://www.ngohq.com/?page=dseo

Or read about doing it yourself here. You will also need to make the certificate.

Then enable TESTSIGNING boot mode by opening an admin command prompt and typing: bcdedit -set testsigning on

Now safedisc games should work.

You will get an annoying watermark in testsigning mode. You can remove it using this program. Or read about removing it manually here.

I tested secdrv.sys and the above programs in Windows 10 Pro x64 and confirms that it does work.
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Anonymous

2015-08-17T14:26:37+00:00

Thanks for all the good information and full references.

Is there any reason I can't use the secdrv.sys from the windows.old folder and save the hassle of signing et all?
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