Method Three Guide

Introduction

Driver loading "Method Three" is for advanced users who are comfortable modifying their BIOS, have a decent amount of patience, and want Speeder's driver to work under VBS/HVCI. The good news is that once you have everything set up, your driver will load automatically at boot, so you will only have to do this once (per computer).

At some point during the setup, it is possible you will be unable to boot into Windows, but there is always a way to recover from this, so don't panic. It's important to follow the steps in order and to read carefully.

Explanation

Method Three uses an EFI bootkit to disable Driver Signature Enforcement for boot drivers. Because boot drivers load before HVCI, this effectively allows you to load Speeder's driver early and circumvent HVCI.

EFI bootkits are actually quite easy to install without Secure Boot. Once you install them as a boot option, they will simply load at boot every time without issue. However, as many games nowadays require Secure Boot, you will need to install the bootkit's certificate into your Secure Boot keys so that the bootkit will load with Secure Boot on. This isn't too challenging as the certificate will already be provided to you, and you simply have to tell the BIOS where it is. Once you install the certificate, you will be able to load the bootkit with Secure Boot enabled.

So far, the setup does not pose any risks. If you fail to set up the bootkit correctly, your computer will simply ignore it and continue to boot into Windows. However, the next part can prevent Windows from booting if something goes wrong.

The next and final step is to install Speeder's driver as a boot service. This is what allows it to load before HVCI. The danger here is that if a boot driver fails to load or fails its certificate check, Windows will not boot. Therefore, it is imperative you confirm the bootkit is working before installing Speeder's driver as a boot service. It is, however, recoverable if something goes wrong. You can delete the boot service from the Windows command-line or temporarily enable Test-Signing Mode, which will then allow you to delete the boot service once Windows fully boots.

Once done, the driver will automatically load at boot, and you are all set!

Setup Guide

Installing EFI Bootkit

  • 1) Run Launcher. Click on Download Files. Click "Download Bootkit Files." Click OK. If possible, I recommend saving everything on a FAT32-formatted USB drive so you can unplug it and prevent anticheats from ever scanning the bootkit, but I did spend a good amount of time obfuscating and randomizing everyone's bootkit, so if you have to use a regular drive (e.g., C:\), that should be fine.
  • 2) One of the downloaded files is BOOTICEx64.exe. Run this. Click on the UEFI tab. Click "Edit boot entries." At the bottom of the new window, click Add. Navigate to one of the other downloaded files, bootx64.efi. (You may rename this to anything you wish if you want your bootkit to have a different name.) Click on bootx64.efi or whatever you renamed it. Click Open. Where it says "Menu title," write in whatever name you want to remember your bootkit by, but also try to make it look legit (e.g., ACER, ASUS, MSI, etc.). Click "Save current boot entry." Click the "Up" button until your bootkit is at the top of the boot list. Click "Save current boot entry" again. Exit the program.
    • If you need to remove the bootkit, just click the "Del" button instead of "Add."
  • 3) That's it! Sort of. If you have a cooperative desktop computer, and Secure Boot is OFF, your bootkit should now load. However, as was the case with my laptop, many computers are locked down, and you have to manually enforce the boot order at least once. We also need to install the Secure Boot keys, but we will do this once we know the bootkit is loading properly.
  • 4) Click on the Windows start menu. Click on the power button. Hold down shift and click Restart. When your computer restarts, you will be met with a blue Windows screen. Click Troubleshoot. Click "Advanced options." Click "UEFI Firmware Settings." Click Restart. Your computer will now boot into your BIOS.
  • 5) Here is where things get harder. Everybody has different motherboards and has different BIOSs. Therefore, I cannot tell you exactly what to click on at this point. What you want to do is find an option for Secure Boot somewhere in the BIOS settings. It is usually located under a tab like "SECURITY." The Secure Boot setting itself is usually very simple. It is either Enabled or Disabled. For now, disable it so we can test the bootkit before installing the Secure Boot keys. We want to ensure that it loads properly without Secure Boot so that if there are issues later, we know the problem is not with the bootkit.
  • 6) Once you have disabled Secure Boot, SAVE your settings and restart. Now, if you have a cooperative desktop computer, the bootkit should load. You will see "SPEEDER-ELYSIUM HAS SUCCESSFULLY LOADED" printed five times on your screen during the boot process. However, if you have a locked down laptop like me, you will need to figure out the key to press that allows you to choose the boot order when your laptop first boots. For me, with an MSI laptop, the key was F11. As soon as your laptop turns on, spam the correct key, and a box will pop up, allowing you to choose the boot order. Choose the name of your bootkit you used in step 2. Now, the bootkit should load on your laptop. To figure out what key to press to choose the boot order, ask Google or an AI.
    • Another solution to the laptop lockdown is to use BOOTICE again. Click on the Windows Boot Manager. Uncheck the "Active" checkbox. Click "Save current boot entry." (Don't worry. Windows will still boot.) Again, make sure your bootkit is at the top of the list. Close BOOTICE and restart.
  • 7) Now that the bootkit is loading properly, the next step is to install its certificate into your Secure Boot keys so you can turn Secure Boot back on. If you don't care about Secure Boot (many games still don't enforce it), you can skip the "Secure Boot" section.

Installing Secure Boot Keys

Installing your bootkit's certificate into your Secure Boot keys allows your bootkit to load with Secure Boot enabled. If you don't care about this, you can skip this section.

  • 1) One of the files you downloaded from the first section is "cert.der." This is the certificate we need to install into your Secure Boot keys. Place it somewhere easily accessible (on the FAT32 USB drive is fine, or somewhere like C:\) and remember its location. Boot back into the BIOS the same way we did in step 4 in the previous section.
  • 2) Look for something related to Secure Boot keys. On both my ASUS desktop and MSI laptop, this is under the "BOOT" tab. You may have to press a special key to enter "Advance mode" for this. Click on Secure Boot here, and if you have a cooperative desktop computer, you should see four categories of keys. If you have a locked-down MSI laptop like me, you will need to first press a special key combination before it will allow you to modify your Secure Boot keys. For my MSI laptop, this was ALT + RIGHT CTRL + SHIFT + F2. So, yeah, don't panic if you can't see the keys. Your computer is probably just locked down, and you'll need to figure out how to unlock it (Google or AI).
  • 3) The only two key categories we need are KEK and DB. Click on KEK first. Click Append Key. Click "No" to load from external media. Locate cert.der wherever you put it. Click OK. The file format should be "Public Key Certificate." Click OK. If it asks for a GUID, just click whatever one it gives you and click OK. Now, do the same exact thing for the DB key.
  • 4) You're all set! You can now enable Secure Boot, and the bootkit should load fine. Remember to spam the key to force the boot order if you have a finicky laptop like mine.

Installing Driver as Boot Service

Once the driver is installed a boot service driver, Windows will fail to load without the bootkit. Make sure the bootkit is installed and loading properly before beginning this section!

It is EXTREMELY important you remember your driver's name because if something goes wrong, you will need to remove it, and you don't want to start deleting random drivers because you can't remember the name.

  • 1) Run Launcher. Click Method Three. Click Load Driver. Click OK. Type CONFIRM. Click OK.
  • 2) That's it. Restart your computer, and if the bootkit runs correctly, your driver will now load at boot. To test, you can run Launcher and click "Test Driver."

Your driver will now load automatically at boot, and you never need to load it with Launcher again!

To uninstall the boot service, simply click Unload Driver in Launcher and then the Unload Driver button.

Problems

Windows Will Not Boot

If you have installed your driver as a boot service and find yourself stuck at Windows' automatic repair, it's usually because the bootkit did not run at boot. You have a few options to resolve this.

  • 1) The simplest solution is to get your bootkit to run at boot as it should be. If you are on a laptop, be sure you are pressing the key that allows you to choose boot order when the laptop first restarts. In the Windows repair menu, you can also choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → UEFI Firmware Settings → Restart. In your BIOS settings, ensure the boot order has your bootkit listed at the top. The boot order is usually listed in the main menu or under the "BOOT" tab.
  • 2) If you really can't get your bootkit to run for some reason, in the Windows' repair menu, choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart. Once restarted, press 7 to disable Driver Signature Enforcement. This should allow Windows to boot as your driver's certificate will no longer be checked. Once fully booted → run Launcher → click Unload Driver → click Unload Driver button. You can now restart your computer, and everything should be back to normal.
  • 3) If method 2 does not work, you can manually remove your driver from the registry. In the Windows repair menu, choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Command Prompt. Type "regedit" into the command prompt and press enter. The registry will now open. Click "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE." Click File → Load Hive. Navigate to your Windows drive and find "C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM." Load it and name the hive something like OFFLINE. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\OFFLINE\ControlSet001\Services. Find the key for your driver (whatever you named your driver in Launcher) and delete the entire key. For example, if my driver were named "mydriver," I would locate the key called "mydriver" and delete it. Do not delete anything else.
Computer Freezes During Boot

I have not encountered this, but if there is a problem with the bootkit, the computer will freeze. This is easy to resolve if you placed your bootkit on a FAT32 USB drive. Simply unplug it. However, if your bootkit is located on your main drive, you will need to enter the BIOS and place the Windows Boot Manager above your bootkit in the boot order (usually located in the main menu or under the "BOOT" tab). This will skip your bootkit and allow the computer to boot normally. Let me know if you encounter this issue as I may need to update the bootkit to support your Windows version.

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