Compatibility Issue following Windows Update (September 2015)

I'm posting this in a few of the older sections for reference. Hopefully, it'll be of assistance for anyone dusting off the older games in the series.

Download Automatic Fix

It seems that a recent Windows Update (KB3086255, September 2015) that's been pushed through for 7 and 8/8.1 is causing problems when trying to run older games in the series. This is because the update disables the service for the secdrv.sys driver, due to potential security risks. The problem is, any disc-based games that utilise certain types of anti-piracy copy protection (eg SecuRom, SafeDisc) will no longer run, and will display an error asking the user to "Please login with administrator privileges and try again":



A list of problematic games has been posted here. The affected games relevant to our community are:

• NBA Live 2004 (not listed there, but I can confirm that it suffers from the same issue)
• NBA Live 2003
• NBA Live 2001
• NBA Live 2000

Fortunately, there are a couple of workarounds.

1. Run those games in a virtual machine, using Windows 98/2000/XP

If you've got an old disc for Windows 98, 2000, or XP lying around, you can use WMWare to set up a virtual machine. Generally speaking, this is a good way of getting older Windows based games to work, though it does require a bit of computer know-how (and a legal copy of Windows). I'd definitely recommend setting this up if you have the know-how (or have a friend/family member that does) and enjoy retro gaming.

2. Reactivate the secdrv.sys service

This one also requires a little know-how, but it's a lot quicker to do than setting up a virtual machine. If you're not that savvy with computers though, I'd recommend getting someone who is to do it for you. The steps are outlined here on Microsoft Support: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3086255

...and here on My Online Security: http://myonlinesecurity.co.uk/september ... any-games/

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:

Code:

sc config secdrv start= disabled

To set the driver’s service to manual, type the following command:

Code:

sc config secdrv start= demand

To enable the driver’s service (and to set it to automatic), type the following command:

Code:

sc config secdrv start=auto

To manually start the driver’s service, type the following command:

Code:

sc start secdrv

To manually stop the driver’s service, type the following command:

Code:

sc stop secdrv

Use the sc config secdrv start= demand and sc config secdrv start= disabled commands, for an easy on/off toggle. To run an elevated command prompt, type CMD in the Search bar, right click the CMD program that it finds, and Run as administrator.

Note that there's also a potential security risk here (the update disabled the secdrv.sys driver for a reason, after all), so do this at your own risk! If you're unsure of how to run these commands yourself, try these batch files that automate the process. Please note that I take no responsibility for any damage that may be caused by using this method. If in doubt, look into setting up a virtual machine.

A note about cracks/No-CD patches

To pre-empt another suggestion that may be thrown out there: discussing cracks/No-CD patches is strictly against the rules in the NLSC Forum, and we won't provide any help or support for them. Please consider this fair warning of our zero tolerance policy regarding those discussions; barring the discovery of another legitimate workaround, the two solutions posted above are the only ones that may be discussed here.

Updated with amended instructions, and a link to an automatic fix I've created.

HI.
Anyone still Playing this on Windows 10? It looks like windows 10 not recognizing this game. lol.

Windows 10 removed support of secdrv.sys, so you'd have to use a virtual machine (like VMWare) with Windows 7 or older installed.

hey..... bought this game recently and set up a windows xp virtualbox

installed the game normally, got the option to actually "play" the game when i clicked on the nba2003.exe file.. the game would attempt to load and close on its own.

my cd drive is connected to the virtual box; is there anything i'm forgetting here?

Did you install DirectX to the virtualbox?

Did you install DirectX to the virtualbox?

knew i forgot something hahaha

got it working now, appreciated