marcoo99 - That's a good idea to automate the service commands if that's the route you decide to take. I can't seem to find my CD's, but if anyone else wants to give marcoo99's batch file method a try and finds success I'll add the instructions and a .bat file to the first post.
If anybody is still paying attention to this thread: Steam's version is not really "complete" --- it's Conquests, which is not quite the same as what was the "Complete" edition which included the 3 games. I had the actual complete edition running on an older machine --- that installation I patched to the NOCD versions way before I did an upgrade to Windows 10, and it seems Civ3 still works fine in that computer. But the older computer I already promised as a gift to someone, and besides the screen is rather small to play games.
But anyway, my problem is that my shiny new MSI gaming laptop (which before realizing the problems I would have with Civ3, I upgraded to Win 10 almost as soon as I got it) no longer has the secdrv service at all, not in the services list, not in the registry, so I cannot even install my original CDs and patch to the NOCD version by disabling the service in some form, as it is non-existent in current versions of Windows 10. Removing the mentioned system update may not even be an option, as it is way past the time of the November release version of Windows 10, which seems to altogether operate without any recourse to that service, disabled or not.
I can't make a double partition machine and I can't set up a virtual machine, as I do not own a different copy of Windows other than the OEMs with their respective keys on all the machines I've ever owned. (There is no way of installing two versions of Windows with the same key, of course, as the license key is burned into the BIOS and a virtual machine is an actual different installation.) Linux is not an option either, as I have too much Windows stuff on this computer already --- I use Linux at work, but my new laptop I've left for mostly games, most of them Steam, and I already have more than 1TB of those. And it would be a pain in the @$$ to simply make a partition I don't need except for running one or two games using Wine.
I already tried installing Civ3 (really) Complete on the newer computer, and it simply will not do so properly --- let alone run, even with the NOCD executable extracted to the installation directory.
So, it seems I'm boned... or am I missing something? Could I just simply copy the installation directory and all its content from the older machine to the new one? I've tested the installation and it does work in that older little laptop after the Win10 upgrade. But the older laptop runs on an AMD chip, and my MSI is an Intel, so I am not sure if there's a 100% compatibility between the installations, because of CPU architecture and because it's a different "rig" in the rest of the hardware also.
If anybody has any advice, I'd be grateful.
P.S. Oh, by the way, I do have the Steam "complete", and that one runs fine on the MSI computer --- as it should --- but as I said, it really isn't the Complete Edition. And yes, Conquests should run older saved games of Civ3 vanilla and PTW, but you really have no choice if you start a new game as to what version of the game to play
The news that this won't work on Windows 10 is sobering. Closing security loopholes might be important, but it leaves a bad taste to remember that this did not happen while tons of people actually played these games and publishers who used safedisc would have had to face a much stronger reaction from their customers. With that in mind I have little confidence that any security issues with Steam will be addressed in a similar manner until 10 years from now when there will be just a handful of people still playing Steam games.
Hey I have a Surface Pro 4 running windows 10 and civ 3 Conquests works wonderfully from it and using the stylus pen is really convenient. All I did was run in compatibility mode with admin privileges. I am using the No-cd Version because well a Surface does not have a cdrom drive. Besides that have not done anything else.
I found a way of installing my old CD versions of my Civ 3 games on windows 10!
It's detailed in the last option in the following link -- it lists several already discussed above, I think, but the last (the fourth option, but beware, the options are not numbered, they are just described consecutively in the text) also has links to some utilities.
After installation and patching, I copied the NoCD executables, and then reset the permissions allowed by the software listed there --- I didn't want to allow secdrv.sys simply enabled once its job was done, of course.
Heck, I even installed everything on top of Steam's (not really) "Complete" version's directory (I saw no need for separate directories, since some of the files were already there anyway), and then re-verified the file cache to reset Conquests to Steam's version --- Conquests being the only one that comes in that distribution. So now I have the actual Complete set: Vanilla, PTW, and Conquests! I'm giddy
There has been several posts concerning problems running Civilization 3 under Windows 10 and more recently under older versions of Windows after a recent Security Update. I thought instead of having several disparate threads/comments concerning the problem I'd compile them here under one thread.
Older pc games (like Civ 3) use SafeDisc and SecuROM programs as a means of copy protection. Microsoft supported this in older versions of Windows through the secdrv.sys driver. However, it was found that that these two programs posed potential security threats.
Beginning with Windows 10, the secdrv service can not be run or installed on a system so any older games that use these programs will no longer work. Additionally, with the September 2015 Windows Security Update KB3086255, the service has also been disabled on older Windows OSs (Vista, 7, 8, 8.1), causing these games to no longer run on these systems either.
Options to correct this issue:
1 - The first and best option would be to download a copy of Civilization 3 without the DRM protection. Full game downloads without DRM can be found at places like Gamersgate and Steam. Additionally, if you already have the full game installed, then the german PC Games site has No-CD versions of Civilization III Vanilla and Conquests available here. Instructions for installing the No-CD patch are here. Civ 3 should also be installed in a location outside the C:\Programs (x86) folder. Puppeteer has a great video tutorial here.
2 - A second option would be to manually enable the secdrv.sys, or edit the registry as follows:
Spoiler:
To enable the service:
To work around this issue, you can temporarily turn on the service for the secdrv.sys driver by running certain commands.
Note: When you no longer require the service to be running, we recommend that you turn off the service again.
Warning: This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.
To do this, type the following commands at an elevated command prompt. You should press Enter after you type each command.
To disable the driver's service, type the following command: sc config secdrv start= disabled
To set the driver's service to manual, type the following command: sc config secdrv start= demand
To enable the driver's service (and to set it to automatic), type the following command: sc config secdrv start=auto
To manually start the driver's service, type the following command: sc start secdrv
To manually stop the driver's service, type the following command: sc stop secdrv
To edit the registry:
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
Or, you can edit the registry directly. To do this, follow these steps:
Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following subkey in the registry:
Type 4 to disable the driver's service, and then click OK.
Type 3 to set the driver's service to manual, and then click OK.
Type 2 to set the driver's service to automatic, and then click OK.
Exit Registry Editor.
3 - A third option would be to uninstall the Windows Security Update KB3086255 by going to Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features and clicking on "View installed updates". Find the update, right-click, and then Uninstall. However, I wouldn't recommend this option since this is a security update after all.
It should be noted that I haven't read of anyone having success running Civ 3 under Windows 10 even with the No-CD patch as of yet. But, installing Civ 3 as shown above in option 1 outside the normal C:\Programs (x86) location - either under the system drive or secondary drive - should work without any problems. However, I would still recommend waiting to update to 10 for at least a few more months until more bugs are worked out of the OS. There is also allegedly going to be a major update next month, which should fix many issues.
Working on a recently upgraded & updated Win8.1, I was unable to implement option 2 above in the command prompt - access denied. The registry edit had no effect, either.
Has anyone tried option 3? It makes me a bit nervous, but I'm willing to try it if others have successfully implemented it. I'm hesitant to spend the $5 on a full upgrade to Conquests (I've been playing Vanilla 1.29f), in case that doesn't work, either (not like $5 is a lot anyway). But I really want to continue playing on my large-screen desktop instead of my old, small-screen Win7 laptop without compromising security, if that's even possible. Anyone tried option 3?
(I apologize if I missed someone's response where it was tried.)
WeirdoJoker - Did you try the Vanilla No-CD patch available at the german PC Games site linked in option 1? That would be your best bet.
As I mentioned before in the OP, Option 3 isn't recommended although I know at least one person who went that route.
As for Option 2, you might try marcoo99's method in post #61 where he used a .bat file to start and stop the service. Otherwise, using the method outlined in Option 2 above, make sure you're running an elevated command prompt (i.e. with administrator level privileges).
WeirdoJoker - Did you try the Vanilla No-CD patch available at the german PC Games site linked in option 1? That would be your best bet.
As I mentioned before in the OP, Option 3 isn't recommended although I know at least one person who went that route.
As for Option 2, you might try marcoo99's method in post #61 where he used a .bat file to start and stop the service. Otherwise, using the method outlined in Option 2 above, make sure you're running an elevated command prompt (i.e. with administrator level privileges).
OK, it turns out I had not run the command prompt as administrator before. It appears to be working now, though I may find out for sure when I restart. Thanks!
Option 1 means "buy a new copy of the game from Steam".
The new copy does not need the CDROM disk. Yes, it means paying more money,
but it is the only stable, long-term answer.
I don't know whether there are restrictions based on the country where you live.
if you already have the full game installed (i.e. via CD installation), then the german PC Games site has No-CD versions of Civilization III Vanilla and Conquests available here. Instructions for installing the No-CD patch are here.
Are you running different operating systems on each laptop? Windows Vista, 7, 8, & 8.1 will allow you to delete Security Update KB3086255 permanently. Windows 10 will not allow you to delete any security update permanently (There are workarounds, however). The latter sounds like what you're experiencing with the CQ62. In any event, I've already said this many times, but I wouldn't recommend deleting any security update. Especially, if you're not particularly computer savy, where you could inadvertantly open yourself up to a hack.
I got the the 'Admin privileges' message (on my Win8.1 box, with the KB**** update applied) when I tried to run a 'naked' Civilization3X.exe (for Play The World) copied from a CD, that used secdrv.sys (described in one of my posts above).
Assuming that you're applying the 'official' NoCD patch from the PCGames website linked in the first post of this thread, if you're getting that same message, that strongly suggests that your computer is actually still trying to run the original (CD-requiring) Conquests.exe, rather than the NoCD-patch. So I'd ask whether you tried to open the game by double-clicking on the patch itself, or did you simply click on a pre-existing shortcut (e.g. on your desktop or Start-menu)? Because if you did the latter, without having first adjusted the shortcut's properties to point to the noCD file, it will still be trying to use the old file directly.
To fix that, you can either:
Create a new shortcut by right-clicking on the NoCD.exe in its current location (it should be in the same directory as the DRM'd Civ3Conquests.exe*), and choose 'create shortcut', then drag that new shortcut icon to wherever the old one was, and replace the old one with the new one
or
Adjust the existing shortcut to point to the NoCD.exe rather than the original file, by right-clicking on the existing shortcut icon, choosing 'Properties' from the menu, finding the 'Target' file-path and changing the filename from '.../Civ3Conquests.exe' to whatever name you've used (e.g. .../Conquests NoCD.exe) for the NoCD patch, e.g.:
Spoiler:
*Footnote to bold text above:
Spoiler:
When I applied the Vanilla1.29 NoCD patch to my Win8.1 installation (as shown in the spoiler'd screenshot above), I found that it did nothing if the original (DRM'd) Civilization3.exe was not in place and correctly named (I had temporarily renamed it as "Civilization3 SECDRV.exe" before I started the patching process, to prevent accidental overwrites). I didn't need the Conquests NoCD-patch (because my Civ3Complete installation came from GamersGate in the first place), but if it works the same way as the Vanilla patch, then your original Conquests.exe should probably also be left untouched.
And just for the record, I am not particularly computer-literate either.
That security update only affects CD-based installations, and only those which use(d) the 'SafeDisk' and/or 'SecuROM' DRM-software. This copy-'protection' was applied to many CD-based games published between about 2000 and 2010 -- but not to all of them. I have read (in this thread, IIRC) of several CD-versions of C3Complete which continued to work following the update, the implication being that those versions did/do not use SecuROM. So yes, if you're fortunate enough to have one of those unaffected versions, with which you could replace the affected 'Civ3 Vanilla + Conquests' installation, this may well be a viable solution for you.
You would need to completely uninstall the broken version first though... so before you begin doing that, be sure to copy anything you want to keep (e.g. your savegame-, mod- and downloaded unit/art-folders) over to your desktop (or a flash-drive) first. Once the base game has been reinstalled (also recommended: install somewhere outside the default 'C:/ProgramFiles[x86]/...' directory -- e.g. ask the installer to create the directory 'C:/Games/Civilization3/'), you can then paste all of those folders/files back into the new installation location.
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