SafeDiscShim lets classic disc-based games run on modern PCs

If you have been a PC gamer for a long time, you probably have a bunch of old game disks lying around somewhere. Sadly, many of these games are no longer compatible with modern versions of Windows. This is mostly due to the anti-piracy solutions that were included with these games. One of these solutions is SafeDisc, and thanks to a developer called RibShark, these classic disk-based games are now compatible with Windows once again thanks to SafeDiscShim.

SafeDisc games no longer work on modern versions of Windows due to a driver vulnerability. This vulnerability caused Microsoft to block SafeDisc support on modern versions of Windows in 2015, securing these OS’ by blocking the insecure Macrovision Security Driver. This made SafeDisc games incompatible with newer Windows OS’.

SafeDiscShim allows SafeDisc games to function without Macrovision’s insecure drivers. This restores the compatibility of SafeDisc games in Windows, giving PC gamers a reason to utilise their old game disks.

SafeDiscShim is a compatibility tool that allows for SafeDisc protected games which utilize the insecure Macrovision Security Driver (“secdrv.sys”) to run on modern versions of Windows which have said driver blacklisted. Previous methods to restore functionality to these games relied on forcefully installing the driver, potentially opening security risks.

In contrast, this tool does not rely on any drivers to function. Instead, it automatically loads alongside SafeDisc protected games and intercepts any communication requests that would have been sent to the driver, instead sending the expected response itself and allowing the game to boot.

(Examples of SafeDisc protected PC games)

A lot of old PC games utilise SafeDisc, including classics like Command and Conquer: Generals, Civilization IV, and XIII. It is great to be able to play these games from their original disks again. While digital game distribution has made PC game disks mostly irrelevant, it is satisfying to be able to install classic games as originally intended, even if it is just for nostalgia’s sake.

PC gamers can download SafeDiscShim from the program’s GitHub page.

You can join the discussion on SafeDiscShim on the OC3D Forums.