I have another workaround, but before doing so, make sure the implicated processes aren't running.
1) Open task manager and in the processes tab, click "Show processes from all users" and kill these if found:

OR restart computer, whichever is more convenient for you.

This is for 64-bit Windows. If using 32-bit, syswow64 = system32
2) Run command prompt as admin and type:
After entering the line, you should get SUCCESS. Take note of the quoted username given in the line.
Now type:
where (USER) is everything given in quotes in the SUCCESS message.

After entering the line, you should get processed file. Now type:
After entering the line, there won't be any messages, but gameux.dll should be renamed and hopefully SC will work now. If that still doesn't work, try repeating the process for system32 instead of syswow64.

I'm running on 64-bit, I'm getting an 'unrecognized command' error on the '/f' line. Is it supposed to be /f:on or /f:off?

Apologies, I've mistakenly left out the command for that line. Should be:

Bah. Getting an 'Access is Denied' on the last line. On both syswow64 and system32 attempts. Even though I ran cmd as admin. Did some quick googling and apparently windows is extremely overprotective of gameux.dll for some reason even though it's an obsolete file nowadays.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jun 24 2019, 9:27 pm by Pandut.

Does %username%:F work instead?

Negatory. Should've noted that I'm getting a 'No mapping between account names and security IDs was done' message after doing the cacls command, on both (USER) and %username% attempts.

Other than right-clicking on gameux.dll and trying to change the permissions directly through the properties screen as a last resort, I don't really know how to help you at this point. No clue why your Win7 is giving you so much trouble.

The patcher does not work at all, everytime I attempt to run it I get an access_violation exception

Edit: nevermind, the problem was UAC. Fixed the problem by disabling the damn thing.

Edit2: It appears that Stardraft patches do not open anymore no matter what version is used. Strange, using stardraft patches with starcraft version 1.07 used to work fine on windows 7.

edit3: It works, you need to disable data execution prevention: https://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-xp/disable-turn-off-dep-windows/

Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Mar 13 2022, 6:20 pm by Zincoshine.

It was reported on Discord that SFNoCD doesn't work with Windows so patches <=1.15.1 require a cd

EDIT: Not working on Windows 10 either actually

Is the installer patching StarCraft.exe with SFNoCD.exe every time the patch changes, or is it just placing SFNoCD.dll?



Post has been edited 4 time(s), last time on Mar 16 2024, 10:02 pm by l)ark_ssj9kevin.

Try installing BWAPI Revamped, it should fix any issues perventing the game from running smoothly on Windows 10/11 etc...

Also this gateway still works as a battle.net server in case you want to play online multiplayer on SC1 v16:


Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jun 5 2024, 10:42 pm by moataz.

Note to people having issues with the SFNoCD patch:

SFNoCD apparently doesn't work on versions prior to 1.15.2 if your computer doesn't have a CD drive. Mounting any ISO will resolve the issue, it doesn't even need to be a starcraft or brood war iso. In Windows 10 or 11 you can right click any .iso file and select "Mount", no additional software is required.

This is like "download more RAM" except now it's "download a CD drive"

Thanks for finally figuring out this bug!!

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Aug 10 2025, 1:04 am by l)ark_ssj9kevin.

Thanks to "Kyberilium08 (Ivan)" on discord for identifying the cause

It was an accidental discovery
I have 2 laptops - one old with a CD drive, and a new one without it. If a tool doesn't work on the new machine, I tend to blame it on compatibility issue and boot up the old laptop.
When it worked on older device, I was really confused; took a me a while to realize that a No CD bypass can be still looking for a CD for some reason

Glad to be helpful, have a nice day everyone!

Just created an account to say that this is still up, game works well and installer is fast with no weird things like browser etc

Thanks for this (and the CD mount bug report), video wouldn't have been possible without it because I don't have a drive on hand and the nocd weirdness almost made me give up immediately.

I can not create an account. It states file error make sure you can write on the cd.