Same thing happened me. Latest W7 updates stopped FS9 from starting. Grrr!!!

 

Did a system restore and everything working fine.

 

I only install what MS calls 'important' updates on a prompt. A lesson learned, no more updates.

 

*Just a word of warning about FS91upd.exe: it may not install properly over FS2004 addon files. The installer suggests you remove these before executing the application.

 

John

FS users worldwide! lol

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_qX22Fh5po

Windows XP Forever!

Windows XP Forever!

Nice!

 

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate. 

 

In the technical data for the KB3086255 it says all its doing is stopping a service.

 

To start the service and use the "original" FS9.exe -open the command prompt and type:  sc start secdrv

 

I just tested it on my machine.

We have had several individuals in this topic banned or warned about telling others or indicating use of a patch to get around use of fs9 w/o the cd's.  This is why the topic is now being monitored. 

I use WIN XP SP2 with no updates applied and as frequently stated, it's the best way to run FS9.

 

But for other Windows users there is a mature discussion of how to deal with Microsoft's update KB3086255, over at flightsim.com:

 

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?293089-Sim-won-t-load!

 

For some, this will provide the only path to keeping our favourite sim operational.

Further to FormerSF3's post above, here's Microsoft's advice on KB3086255:

 

Known issues in this security update

• After you install this security update, some programs may not run. (For example, some video games may not run.) To work around this issue, you can temporarily turn on the service for the secdrv.sys driver by running certain commands, or by editing the registry.
  
  Note When you no longer require the service to be running, we recommend that you turn off the service again.
  
  Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.
  
  To do this, 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: sc config secdrv start= disabled
  • To set the driver's service to manual, type the following command: sc config secdrv start= demand
  • To enable the driver's service (and to set it to automatic), type the following command: sc config secdrv start=auto
  • To manually start the driver's service, type the following command: sc start secdrv
  • To manually stop the driver's service, type the following command: sc stop secdrv