A solution for SafeDisc-protected classic PC games: introducing SafeDiscShim

[Alfonso Maruccia]

In context: SafeDisc was a copy protection designed to hinder or block unauthorized duplication of PC games released on optical disks. The controversial technology was retired in 2009, and modern Windows editions aren't officially compatible with the DRM solution, making life for retrogaming enthusiasts much harder than it should be.

When it was first released back in 2015, Windows 10 brought some new headaches for gamers because of its inability to run games protected with SecuROM and SafeDisc by default. Modern, internet-based DRM solutions like Denuvo don't pose the same issue, and DVD releases of newer games are essentially extinct in the mass market.

SafeDisc can still be a significant issue for users trying to run one of those disk-based games, though. The anti-copy protection created by Macrovision Corporation in 1998 works by detecting "burned" and illegal disks, running the insecure driver "secdrv.sys" to check if said disks weren't manufactured by the original developer.

The secdrv.sys "Macrovision Security Driver" is not supported in Windows 10 and later Windows editions, though resourceful users can resort to some workarounds to ease the pain a bit. SafeDiscShim is a new open-source tool designed to increase compatibility with SafeDisc-based game releases with no need for cheap tricks or insecure drivers anymore.

The program does not bypass the security mechanisms employed by SafeDisc, the developers say, and users will still need to have their original CD or DVD in the optical drive for a particular game to run. SafeDiscShim automatically loads in memory when a SafeDisc-protected game is launched, intercepting any communication request by a game's encrypted executable file seeking the original driver's response.

Once installed on the system, SafeDiscShim should automatically run when a SafeDisc-based game is loaded in memory. "Most" protected games are compatible with the new driver bypass method, the developers explain, while a few releases using older SafeDisc v1 tech may not work without first deleting the "drvmgt.dll" file they have installed alongside other game's data.

Before a tool like SafeDiscShim came to be, gamers interested in revisiting classics such as Command and Conquer: Generals, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and XIII were either forced to install the insecure secdrv.sys driver or download a "cracked" exe from potentially dangerous online sources. SafeDiscShim should make both of these questionable solutions completely useless.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/101790-innovative-solution-safedisc-protected-classic-pc-games-introducing.html

 

[Neatfeatguy]

That's cool.

I suppose this would be something I could make use of, but I'm not looking to keep swapping out my old game discs when I want to play an older game. I've got 3-4 dozen older games now that I've created .iso files for and found ways to play without the game disc.

But, that doesn't mean I won't take a look at this program. I may find use for it.

Interestingly enough, I haven't had much of an issue getting older games to run from disc on Windows 10 because of the DRM on the disc. I've had more issues getting these older games to run on a 64bit OS and they've required work arounds. the oldest games I got to run off disc without issues on Windows 10 so far is Thief: The Dark Project, Darkstone, Soldier of Fortune and Diablo II. All those games came out around the end of the '90s or at the start of 2000s .

 

[hahahanoobs]

Lol I remember this. Back then the optical burner mattered as the good ones were rated as, for example "2 sheep burners" to get by the protections so you could rip them. Back when Lite-On and Plextor drives were the hotness. I think I went with LG. The one I had wasn't reading the RiData discs I was using until a very convenient firmware came out and I was able to update it and they started working. CloneCD, AnyDVD were tools of choice. Those were the days...

 

[gamerk2]

Interestingly enough, I haven't had much of an issue getting older games to run from disc on Windows 10 because of the DRM on the disc. I've had more issues getting these older games to run on a 64bit OS and they've required work arounds. the oldest games I got to run off disc without issues on Windows 10 so far is Thief: The Dark Project, Darkstone, Soldier of Fortune and Diablo II. All those games came out around the end of the '90s or at the start of 2000s .

For reference, the PcGamingWiki is an excellent resource that often links various fixes to get older games running on newer versions of Windows. When a game is giving me issues, it's the first place I go to.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Lol I remember this. Back then the optical burner mattered as the good ones were rated as, for example "2 sheep burners" to get by the protections so you could rip them. Back when Lite-On and Plextor drives were the hotness. I think I went with LG. The one I had wasn't reading the RiData discs I was using until a very convenient firmware came out and I was able to update it and they started working. CloneCD, AnyDVD were tools of choice. Those were the days...

learning about DVD readers saved me so much pain . The off the shelf PC I had , had unknown to me a crap DVD reader , so trying to time move audio of CDs I got from the library could be a pain if scratched .
Those were the days when a 64bps wma file equalled CD quality !. Hard drive space was an issue for even audio collections.
learning about was it C1 and c2 errors and correcting.
think I got a liteon first , then a plextor ( one of the cheaper later bluray ones , not the classic ) .

Seeing them chewing through most disks quickly without errors was a joy.

Getting a DVD onto a 700Mb was fun with DivX - I used to remove all credits etc

Plus burning CDs/DVD etc was a art and science - right media for right drive , right speed then a recheck .

Still may be harder to read on another drive . Add in DVD/CD rot etc - safe to say I don't trust burnt discs . all these promises on archival quality for 100 years sounded like so much BS to me

 

[mrtraver]

Interesting tool! I think I had cracked .exes for most of the the games I installed from disc; I had a teen son who was careless with discs and I wanted to preserve the physical media.

It does seem like there was something I wanted to play a few years ago that I had on disc but would not play nice with Windows 10, and I could not find a crack. Gonna have to dig thru the closet to see if I can find it.

I have read about games the would work fine but the 16-bit installers would work on Windows 10.

 

[Hotlynx16]

That's cool.

I suppose this would be something I could make use of, but I'm not looking to keep swapping out my old game discs when I want to play an older game. I've got 3-4 dozen older games now that I've created .iso files for and found ways to play without the game disc.

But, that doesn't mean I won't take a look at this program. I may find use for it.

Interestingly enough, I haven't had much of an issue getting older games to run from disc on Windows 10 because of the DRM on the disc. I've had more issues getting these older games to run on a 64bit OS and they've required work arounds. the oldest games I got to run off disc without issues on Windows 10 so far is Thief: The Dark Project, Darkstone, Soldier of Fortune and Diablo II. All those games came out around the end of the '90s or at the start of 2000s .

Have 3D Ultra Pinball Creep Night edition From 1996 that I read an article years ago on how to run it from my hard drive and moved those files from each computer upgrade and I am still able to play it in 2024!

 

[ZedRM]

Wondering how well this will work? Remembering the past nightmare of making DRM work makes me think this will not be as easy or straight forward as they want us to believe. I hate to say this, but it is more likely easier to use the old No-CD "Patches".