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.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

293 answers

Anonymous

2017-11-26T23:39:05+00:00

That you see a Microsoft logo anywhere while running into problems does not mean the problem is a Microsoft problem.

Security comes before compatibility.

Everyone else updated their drivers. Macrovision didn't. Blame Macrovision. Or EA or whomever else that packed a crap 'security driver' from Macrovision with the stuff they sold to you.

That said in addition to the instructions already here, I found out today on a Fall Creators Update 64-bit system the additional step that might be necessary is to copy the driver file to C:\Windows\System32\drivers and to update the driver service with that path:

copy C:\Windows\SysWOW64\drivers\SECDRV.sys C:\Windows\System32\drivers

sc.exe config secdrv binpath= C:\Windows\System32\drivers\SECDRV.sys

I will change that post to reflect this. Those instructions are on page 23.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2017-11-26T23:09:13+00:00

I stayed away from windows 10 and kept my windows 7. next stop Apple!

Yeah, going Apple will certainly solve your older Windows games issues !

New things are sometimes not compatible with old things, or not supported.

It's just how tech works. All tech. Not just Microsoft tech.

Work-around solution has been posted multiple times in this thread. (I admit, one must be somewhat tech to understand how to do it)
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2017-11-26T22:58:31+00:00

I stayed away from windows 10 and kept my windows 7. next stop Apple!
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2017-09-03T15:39:01+00:00

The only way to play games with this copyright protection on Windows 10 is to use a cracked executable for each particular game. Cracks for Taito Legends are here- http://www.gameburnworld.com/gp/gamefixes/taitolegends.shtml

Cracks for other games are also on that site; they've been around for years for people who pirated the games back in the day. None of the other solutions will work unless the game's publishers have released a patch which is unlikely for the majority of games. If you are not happy with using cracks you will have to buy a new digital copy of the game but quite why you would for Taito Legends I don't know when you can play arcade games using up to date emulators and ROMs. You can download torrents for arcade game ROMs (illegally unless you own the original hardware) at the Pleasuredome Tracker.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2017-09-02T04:48:04+00:00

If you can run *any* game that needs SECDRV, then the driver is installed quite all right. The screenshot also appears to show that you did it correctly. So what remains might not be a SECDRV issue at all.

Depending on the title, I for one found regularly it might need an old version of DirectX that you need to download, or an old C++ runtime that you need to download (search Microsoft.com for those), or it needs an old .NET Framework (install from Add/Remove Windows Features), or it might need to be run with compatibility configured in its shortcut properties.

Without knowing anything about the game you're trying to run, or how exactly it fails, there is no telling what you need to do to fix it. One source of information is the Event Log, if the error message isn't clear. Right click Start and pick Event Viewer, Windows Logs, Application and press F5 on it after trying to start the game. Regardless, having SECDRV working as you demonstrated, this might not be an issue for this precise forum thread.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments