So, next time you boot up Bayview and hear Riders on the Storm , thank the modders and crackers of 2004. They freed the game from its plastic prison. Do you still have your original Disc 2? Or did you rely on a crack back in the day? Let me know in the comments (if this were 2005, on a GameFAQs forum).

So, even if you have the original Disc 2, Windows won't run the DRM.

You swap the discs. It works. You finish the install. You click the desktop icon. And then—another punch to the gut—the game asks you to (usually Disc 2 or a specific CD) just to boot the menu.

It’s 2004. You’ve just bought Need for Speed: Underground 2 . The box art is shiny, the manual smells like fresh print, and you’re ready to slap a giant spoiler on a Toyota Corolla. You install Disc 1. The progress bar hits 100%. Then, the dreaded prompt appears: