I'm with Bucko on this one. There is not going to be a crack for every version of every Safedisc or Securom protected exe ever released. The majority of top/popular games will have lots of choices, the more obscure you go the less thats out there.

And just because its listed on some warez pre database does not really make it "available" to the average person. Especially for free. Often gcw or the like will take the cracked exe and put it up for DL. But this is far from an automated process, and is actually just visitors and volunteers sending in stuff that worked for them.

Earlier versions of safedisc had unpackers that stripped the protection and could be used by just about anyone. But as the complexity of the protections grew, these more simple and automated tools disappeared.

This is one update that won't be on my retro windows 7 machine when it comes time to build it.

And just because its listed on some warez pre database does not really make it "available" to the average person.

Exactly, I did say "at least not on GameCopyWorld". It's not on MegaGames either. Good luck finding it with Google.

Another example of the hit and miss of cracks - Test Drive Unlimited v1.66a [MULTI7] No-DVD/Fixed EXE by Hatred (again on Gamecopy World). Appears to work until you get into a race then the whole thing is bugged/messed up. Luckily it turns out Windows 10 isn't incompatible with earlier versions of SecuROM so this one is fine.

At least the hack I found for Prince of Persia Sands of Time seems to work.

I have to agree going forward you can't expect Microsoft to support features forever, or for them to support the more devious versions of SecuROM, but silently disabling it in Windows 7 and 8 and breaking a bunch of old games does still seem like a dick move to me.

And just because its listed on some warez pre database does not really make it "available" to the average person.

Well. I help average persons figure out how to turn on their computer ever day. If the average person could figure it out is a metric I try to avoid in technical discussions.

It is available, if you needed it you could track it down. Pirates didn't, as you said they did "go on to the next free booty". But after 9 years, they stopped maintaining the old one.

Its just putting the old DRm aside for the new DRM thats called the cloud really

DosFreak wrote:

GTA IV steam copy doesn't work on Windows 10, uses SECUROM. Works fine with the crack which is the way I've always played it.

GTA IV on Steam works fine for me, same with EFLC.

NOCD enhances the retro PC gaming experience quite frankly, even for titles that are non DRM but insist you insert your original media or copies thereof. I have a few which initially required you to either insert a CD (original or copied) or mount an ISO image to resume play (Turok 2, Serious Sam First & Second Encounter, Call of Duty United Offensive, Kill Switch, Need for Speed II). All those ISOs start to unnecessarily eat up drive space after a while.

I still scratch my head trying to figure out what was the point of making me insert a CD to resume play if the CD has no copy protection.

Norton Commander wrote:

NOCD enhances the retro PC gaming experience quite frankly, even for titles that are non DRM but insist you insert your original media or copies thereof. I have a few which initially required you to either insert a CD (original or copied) or mount an ISO image to resume play (Turok 2, Serious Sam First & Second Encounter, Call of Duty United Offensive, Kill Switch, Need for Speed II). All those ISOs start to unnecessarily eat up drive space after a while.

I still scratch my head trying to figure out what was the point of making me insert a CD to resume play if the CD has no copy protection.

Isn't insterting the DVD/CD copy protection in itself?

MrEWhite wrote:

Isn't insterting the DVD/CD copy prtoection in itself?

Copy protection=protect DVD/CD from being copied, like Starforce/Securerom. The titles I mentioned don't prevent piracy in any way since their unmodified ISOs can be readily shared with the entire internet. In other words, they don't check to see if I have inserted the original purchased media or a copy downloaded from a warez site. Again I ask, what's the point?

Norton Commander wrote:

I still scratch my head trying to figure out what was the point of making me insert a CD to resume play if the CD has no copy protection.

This approach was widespread before CD burners became mainstream and CD media became cheap. And way before internet was in every house and everything was on the internet.

and harddrive space was considerably far less to make the modern day mounting approaches practical. In 1995 there's no possible way to completely install Wing Commander III or IV 😀

leileilol wrote:

and harddrive space was considerably far less to make the modern day mounting approaches practical. In 1995 there's no possible way to completely install Wing Commander III or IV 😀

Among 5 games he've listed 3 were released in >=2001 year, not 1995. In that times using of ISO was practical already and CD-R were common. 2 of that games are even from 2004.

My point exactly with the vintage of the afore mentioned games. What were the developers thinking? "We will make them insert the original or a copy of the game for <INSERT REASON HERE>". Maybe the games were rushed out before they could apply copy protection, or couldn't afford SecureRom/Starforce's licensing fees.

More likely a case of "old habits die hard".

proper cd check protection wasn't a mainstream thing until 1997, just around the time when hard drives got big enough and burners became more accessible. Later games on CD without CD checks were for the customer's goodwill, i.e.some of the more niche Interplay games

This is very easy to address.
Hell, I wouldn't even call this "workaround".
http://community.pcgamingwiki.com/topic/1340- … tion/#entry6687

That link just goes to a bunch of MGS pictures.

The workaround is to uninstall the update anyway, but in Windows 10 you're basically screwed if you can't find a no-CD, such is the price of progress I suppose.

Now if they could just patch away Steam, Origin and UPlay we'd be set.

BuckoA51 wrote:

The workaround is to uninstall the update anyway, but in Windows 10 you're basically screwed if you can't find a no-CD, such is the price of progress I suppose.

I'm pretty sure the workaround in the KB should work for 10 as well.

BuckoA51 wrote:

That link just goes to a bunch of MGS pictures.

Sorry, sometimes the server just locks up. Try again (after a refresh with ctrl+r perhaps)

BuckoA51 wrote:

The workaround is to uninstall the update anyway, but in Windows 10 you're basically screwed if you can't find a no-CD, such is the price of progress I suppose.

The workaround actually even update the driver, so since we are speaking of security it ain't all that bad.

It's just a dropdown menu away from being restored then if you see.

The Windows 10 workaround requires you to self sign a driver, that means early boot menu every time and "disable driver signature enforcement"...hardly "very easy to address" unless I'm missing something?