SH4 - U-Boat Missions - Intel i7 Skylake 6700K -BIOS issue - SecuROM issues

[Front Runner]

I finally got my Silent Hunter 4 U-Boat Missions to work on my i7 Skylake rig. This is a BIOS problem, not a Windows 10 problem.

I recently decided to install SH4 on my recently constructed rig as I missed playing. I have all the original DVDs and downloads and keys.

I installed the SH4 original game and encountered a SecuROM 8016 error. Bad news. I then installed the 1.4 update patch. It worked! Great, now I'm making progress. I then installed the U-Boat missions add on and, whoops, I encountered the SecuROM 8016 error yet again.

I tried several times, using different parameters and each time I got the same result. So, in researching the problem, I discovered a solution. Apparently, the i7 Skylake 6700K (as well as some other Intel processors,) have a known problem with SecurRom which result in this particular error. The execution of the SH4.exe file hangs when it checks for the serial number key for activation resulting in the SecuROM 8016 error.

I discovered that I was using an old BIOS (v2.00) and that there was several BIOS releases that I was not aware of. The newest BIOS for my particular Motherboard (ASROCK Z170 OC Formula) is V7.40.

This morning I followed the Motherboard manufacturer's recommendations to update my BIOS and successfully updated the BIOS with no complications.

I then reinstalled Silent Hunter 4 U-Boat Missions and it now woks perfectly.

I know there is another Sticky Thread (Ensign Dunsel) here that addresses Windows 10 issues but this is not an OS issue but a hardware BIOS issue that prevents Silent Hunter 4 from launching. I also saw Rodger Dodger's request for Technical Assistance. I believe that a BIOS update will fix his problem as well.

I am a happy Captain once again!