Running CFS3 in Windows 10: solved for now

**hairyspin** · August 4th, 2015, 11:39

It had to happen sooner or later...

I'm running Windows 10 on a separate HD from my trusty Win7 setup. This is not an upgraded setup, it's a new, clean install for evaluating the new OS.

Yesterday I got CFS3 installed from scratch on my Windows 10 hard drive and the installation went smoothly. BUT... CFS3 won't run in Windows 10. It doesn't seem to know how to look for the CD to authenticate the install each time it runs. FS9 users have reported the same problem with their CDs.

The answer is well known to many of us, and it's the no-CD patched version: CFS3 starts and runs with that every time. I don't see any reason ETO, MAW and the rest shouldn't also work that way.

As many of us also know, discussion of this patch on SOH is barred as a longstanding policy. Please refer to Tom Clayton's post in the FS9 forum for the reasons and do any file hunting away from SOH.

Thank you!

Edit: Recent updates borked that too, see hypercide's post (#13) below for the current answer.

**Daiwilletti** · August 4th, 2015, 12:56

Hi Hairyspin,

My dvd copy of CFS3 comes with the no-CD/DVD version as standard, so the game does not need to refer back to the installation disk. Perhaps SOH might reconsider its approach to discussion on the subject.

All of my separate installs use the later official cfs3.exe which is just over 4Mb in size, whereas the original cfs3.exe was IIRC 4.6Mb. Sounds like the smaller, later exe version might be needed for Win10?

**hairyspin** · August 4th, 2015, 13:08

Some are lucky to have that DVD version David, mine is the two CDs from way back.

**NSS** · August 4th, 2015, 21:42

Likewise mine.

I believe that the DVD version was put out by UBISOFT, and like the original is still available on a certain well known selling site.

I am still awaiting for my Windows 10 "Upgrade".

Really quite pleased about that as many of the wrinkles should have been resolved before I do install it.

Kev