Now here is something for our old-school PC gamers. RibShark has just released a beta version of SafeDiscShim, a tool that will allow you to run and play SafeDisc-protected games on modern Windows.
For those unaware, SafeDisc was a DRM that was featured in a lot of of games that came out in the late 90s/early 00s. However, in 2015, Microsoft decided to block all games that used the SafeDisc DRM. Microsoft cites security concerns over the software due to the way in which it becomes “deeply embedded” in the system.
According to its creator, 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. The tool then sends the expected response itself, allowing the game to boot.
Previously, you could use a NoCD/NoDVD crack to run your older titles. These cracks, more or less, did a similar job to SafeDiscShim. The main difference is that SafeDiscShim will not crack the DRM. As such, you’ll still have to put your CD/DVD on our drive.
In short, this is a legal way via which you can replay your older games. So, go ahead and download the tool from this link.
Lastly, for a few games utilizing SafeDisc v1, SafeDiscShim may not work properly without first deleting the “drvmgt.dll” file that is located in the same folder as the game executable. So, make sure to delete that DLL if your game crashes or does not launch.
Have fun!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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