Download Driver: San Francisco

The game v1.04 with NoDVD has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 8 & 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11, it works fine. The game supports widescreen and high resolutions up to 4K. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details.

All versions of the game are multilingual. ISO image on our website has the game with 12 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech and Russian. You can select the language in game settings (Settings -> Language), some of languages are available with full audio & text translations, some as are text-only.

NoDVD for the game showed some generic warnings, here's the scan report. All warnings are generic, about suspicious/unsafe file, the usual case with NoCDs/NoDVDs, the files are safe to use, simply add it to antivirus exceptions. You can also use alternative NoDVD, it showed 0 warnings, but we cannot guarantee 100% work of the game with alternative NoDVD, because alternative NoDVD is for disc version and ISO image on our website is based on Steam version

Install & play guide:

• Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite. Or extract the files from ISO image with WinRAR or similar tool
• Install the game. ISO image on our website already features the game v1.04.1114, so you don't need to patch it. It is recommended to install the game not in default path, but in some other, non-system folder, like C:/Games/Driver San Francisco, so you won't have troubles with NoDVD or fixes & mods
• After that use NoDVD, simply copy the files from the archive and put in game folder, agree to replace the original files
• Then install Uplay & Deluxe Events mod. That mod restores the events from the Deluxe Edition of the game and Uplay unlockables that became unavailable after Ubisoft closed the official online servers
• Optionally install Post Process Re-Enabled mod that restores Post Processing effects that was presented in console versions but was missed in PC port. Even though the game works fine without that mod, we highly recommend to use it
• Open the game folder and find Driver.exe. Right-click on Driver.exe -> Properties -> Compatibility -> Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows 7" and "Run as Administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows 7 - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (like Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista)

About mods:

• The game has some mods that add new graphics features, like Shiny Roads mod that restores shininess effect on the roads from beta version of the game and E3 demo; or mods that add new mission or gameplay features, like Felony Rework mod, a complete overhaul of the game. You can find most of the mods on ModDB, NexusMods or Driver Madness community
• Fans also made a mod for multiplayer, after the official online servers were closed on October 1, 2022. It is called Alcatraz Launcher and allows to play the multiplayer with Driver Madness community users. Driver Madness hosts their own Alcatraz server, you can find the details on this page. For instructions how to install Alcatraz multiplayer mod - check this page, here's also a video guide

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe as Administrator and in Compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• For owners of disc version: the installer on disc versions refuse to run on Windows 8 or later and show the error "The installer cannot run in this UI Mode". The solution is to run Setup.exe on the disc in Compatibility mode with Windows 7 (right-click on Setup.exe -> Properties -> Compatibility), if it didn't help - additionally select Windows 7 compatibility mode for Setup.exe in Disk1/InstData folder. Another possible method is to run the installer with -i GUI command line argument
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and NET Framework for the correct work of the game. Also it is recommended to install K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of in-game videos
• The game works on DirectX 9, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
• If you can't install the patch and patch installer shows error: run it in Compatibility mode with Windows 7 and as Administrator (right-click on exe-file -> Properties -> Compatibility)
• The game was using Ubisoft Connect DRM which required always Internet connection; use NoDVD to "break" the DRM protection and play the game. If you see the error that there's not enough space on the hard drive when you copy NoCD files - re-install the game in non-system folder, like D:/Games/Driver San Francisco, Windows Protection may block copying of files to system folders (like C:/Program Files or C:/Windows)
• If the game crashes to desktop when you start the story mode: download the latest version of dgVoodoo 2, copy d3d9.dll from MS/x86 folder and put in the folder with installed game, next to Driver.exe. That crash usually happens on Windows 10 or 11 with hardware that has compatibility issues with old versions of DirectX
• Also, we recommend to run the game with dgVoodoo 2 if the game doesn't run, it shows poor performance, has graphical glitches or similar issues. The game with dgVoodoo 2 has been tested on Windows 10 and 11, it worked fine
• If you run the game but see only the black screen (you hear sounds but don't see video): that happens on some systems when the game run in Fullscreen mode. To fix it you need to switch the game to Windowed mode in config-files - go to Documents/Ubisoft/Driver San Francisco, open graphics.ini in Notepad and change Fullscreen = 1 to Fullscreen = 0. Now the game will be starting in Windowed mode, and there should be no black screen. To play the game on full screen, use one of apps that allow to run games in Borderless Windowed mode, and run the game through it in in Windowed mode, that way the game will be displayed on the whole screen in Borderless Windowed mode
• Console versions of the game Post Processing effects such as color correction, film grain, saturation, sRGB gamma correction and vignette effects, that was missed in PC port. That effects are crucial for the tone and presentation of the game, so we highly recommend to install Post Process Re-Enabled mod to restore Post Processing effects (plus the game looks better that way)
• There was extra challenges in Deluxe Edition of the game, plus the game had extra challenges that could be unlocked in Uplay/Ubisoft Connect. All that challenges became unavailable after Ubisoft closed the official servers of the game, use Uplay & Deluxe Events mod to restore them
• If the game doesn't save the progress: re-install the game and make sure that the installation path has ONLY the English letters, and better to install the game in non-system folder, like C:/Games/Driver San Francisco. If it didn't work - check your system username, if it has any non-English symbols - create a new user profile in your system with only English letters in the username, and play the game from that new user profile
• The game supports high and wide screen resolutions up Ultra HD 4K. There could a black borders with certain aspect ratios, if you have black borders - use this fix, it includes fixed executables for 4:3, 5:4 and 16:10 screen ratios. That fix requires the patch v1.04
• In-game image in ultrawide screen resolution is stretched, if you play the game on ultrawide display - use Ultrawide Fix or Flawless Widescreen app. If you play on multi-monitor setup, use Flawless Widescreen app; as alternative you can also edit the game files with CheatEngine, visit WSGF page for instructions
• On Windows 8 and later, on some systems there could be a little shaking of in-game image when the game runs in Fullscreen mode. That issue is random, it seems it usually happens if framerate drops less than 60 FPS. To fix it download this archive and put the files in game folder, next to Driver.exe, and disable Vertical Sync (Vsync) in game; additionally disable or enable Vsync in control panel of video card (try both variants, see which one will work). If it didn't help - use one of apps that allow to run games in Borderless Windowed mode, run the game through it and enable Windowed mode in game settings, also enable Vsync. That way the game will run Borderless Windowed mode instead of Fullscreen mode, and there should be no shaking image
• The game can be played with framerate up to 120 FPS. If you enable Vertical Sync (Vsync) in game settings, the framerate will be capped at 60 FPS (at 50 FPS if you play in 1920x1080). By default the Vsync in game is enabled, if you have low framerate - disable it, also check that Vsync in control panel of video card is disabled too. If you still have a low framerate - download the fix for shaking image (from the note above) or run the game with dgVoodoo 2
• In Fullscreen mode, the game will always run with ~100 Hz screen refresh rate, even if you have a screen with higher screen refresh rate. To run the game at screen refresh rate, you'll need to use SpecialK utility or ForceFix, check this guide for more details
• If you hear that sounds get mute on focus lost, use Special K utility, follow this guide
• The game has full controller support for different kind of gamepads. If the game doesn't recognize your controller - try to use one of the additional tools from PCGamingWiki guide for controllers. If you have DualShock 4 or Dualsense gamepad (from PS4 and PS5), it is recommended to use DS4Windows utility, you can additionally install PS3 Buttons mod
• The game also can be played with gaming steering wheel, but the game support not all models of steering wheels. If you have Logitech G920 or Logitech G29 steering wheel, you can download these fixes. If you have the other model of steering wheel - follow this guide if the game doesn't recognize it
• If icons in Windows system menus are not removed after you un-installed the game - you need to clear Windows Registry data, follow this guide
• The game can be installed & played on Linux, via Wine or CrossOver 17, you can find installer for Linux here (FlatImage pack) or here (CrossOver 17 pack). We also recommend to check Lutris page, also you can try to use Heroic Game Launcher for easy installation of the game on Linux. If you installed the game on Linux/SteamOS and the game crashes in story mode - download the latest version of DXVK API and copy d3d9.dll from x32 folder to the folder with installed game, next to Driver.exe
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles with the game, also check Steam forums, also check Driver Madness community and Steam forums

Notes:

• This Mac installer is a "cracked" variant of Mac version from Steam, it can be launched without online connection. Check this page for detailed installation instruction
• Mac version should work fine on MacOS 10.6.7 to 10.10.4, probably will work on MacOS 10.10.5 too. We recommend to check this and this threads for more details, also check Steam forums
• Users of MacOS X may have a problem when the game starts only with white screen and sounds. A possible fix is to adjust system settings - go to System Preferences and open Energy Saver, and untick Automatic graphics switching