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Anonymous's avatar
Anonymous
10 years ago
Solved

RA2 no longer working after Windows 7 update

I'm running a Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit box with an intel i5-4690 CPU, 8 GB ram, and a Sandisk SSD. I've played RA2 on it for years, as recently as last week. It played fine with no audio or video problems. I do not play online, just on the computer. After the last Win 7 update it no longer started. I was able to uninstall it (retained the Westwood RA2 folder as I have a lot of games/stuff there) . When I tried to reinstall it, Autorun brings up the menu, but when I click on "install" the window goes away and nothing happens. The setup.exe file on the DVD will not run, the hourglass pops up for a second and then goes away.  When I run the task manager, setup.exe is not shown as running.

I coped the contents of the DVD to a desktop folder and get the same thing.

I tried disabling my firewall and AV programs but this does not change anything.

I've searched this forum and others and cannot find a solution. Any help is appreciated.

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    10 years ago

    I went through my last updates one by one and found uninstalling KB3086255 allowed me to reinstall the game.

    Apparently this has been a problem for others when I googled the KB number. I found this link and text on another forum posted 4 days ago:
    http://myonlinesecurity.co.uk/september-2015-windows-updates-kb3086255-breaks-many-games/
    "This update basically disables secdrv.sys which is an anti-piracy copy protection that is used by many games developers and some other software companies. The driver, secdrv.sys, is used by games which use Macrovision SafeDisc. Without the driver, games with SafeDisc protection would be unable to play on Windows."

    There have been many security issues with it over the years and Microsoft won't allow it to run or be be installed at all in Windows 10"

4 Replies

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    10 years ago

    Forgot to add I tried compatibility mode using Win 98 and XP and it still does the same thing (nothing).

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    10 years ago

    I went through my last updates one by one and found uninstalling KB3086255 allowed me to reinstall the game.

    Apparently this has been a problem for others when I googled the KB number. I found this link and text on another forum posted 4 days ago:
    http://myonlinesecurity.co.uk/september-2015-windows-updates-kb3086255-breaks-many-games/
    "This update basically disables secdrv.sys which is an anti-piracy copy protection that is used by many games developers and some other software companies. The driver, secdrv.sys, is used by games which use Macrovision SafeDisc. Without the driver, games with SafeDisc protection would be unable to play on Windows."

    There have been many security issues with it over the years and Microsoft won't allow it to run or be be installed at all in Windows 10"

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    10 years ago

    If the update has been installed, here is how to enable secdrv.sys (set it as "2" for automatic below):

    1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
    2. Locate and then click the following subkey in the registry:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\secdrv
    3. Right-click Start, and then click Modify.
    4. In the Value data box, do one of the following:
      • 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.
    5. Exit Registry Editor.
  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    10 years ago

    I had the the same problem , and was able to reinstall RA2, but now I get "Fatal Error - String Manager failed to initialize properly".

    I "Run as administrator" and use XP SP 3 compatibility on all *.exe files.

    Has ANYONE been able to to get RA 2 to run after

    MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3086255   ?

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