Do you have an original copy? Use the v1.7 patch. You shouldn't need to use compatibility settings for a GOG game.

It appears that dark reign by gog uses a trick to circumvent the copy protection of the original.
The trick does not appear to work when there are windows open of some other applications.
Close applications and the trick will work again.

That error is common, try to launch from GOG GALAXY. That is FIXED :D

The gog version of Dark Reign doesn't work on newer Windows! Use as said the dark reign ws solution. I also posted a fix for savegame error on windows 10.

EDIT: That fix doesn't work sorry! It did at first but the next day it had the same error.

So.... is there just not a fix for this?

Seems not.

Virtually every single "game which won't play on modern systems" ultimately comes down to one of two issues...

1) "Copy protection" schemes which are now broken, or assume you're running the original CD on then-contemporary hardware.

Or..

2) Microsoft's ever-changing DirectX contents. The vast majority of issues I've had in that regard, until upgrading to Win7, involved "DirectX3" games not running on DirectX9, or the like. Today, it's roughly half-split between "games which need earlier versions of DirectX" or "games which need DirectDraw" (long since removed from DirectX, and implemented as a "hacky emulation in Direct3D"). The solution to MOST of these is to use a Direct3D wrapper, a DirectDraw wrapper, or a combination (often, today, also including a GLide wrapper). That is, something which intercepts the calls to those older APIs, and reinterprets them (in a fast and lightweight fashion) to commands recognized by more current DirectX implementations.

In the case of Dark Reign, it's BOTH. And, unfortunately, they implemented this in a single EXE file (or rather, a single EXE file for each of the two game version... original or expansion). And the "fix" for the "there's no such thing as DirectDraw" issue, which means you get emulation which is prone to pallet corruption (due to only allowing a single pallet on the entire system at a time... while multiple applications use pallets, including, apparently, the icon bar in Windows Explorer, regardless of what your desktop resolution is!)

So, the "kludge" they used to get around this is to hard-shut-down Explorer (meaning, any windows you had open before are lost, your task bar goes away, etc), then "fudge" the "the correct CD is present" response to the popup window (even though the Window itself remains open until you shut down the computer, hidden as it may be!), then run the game (without any graphical fixes, which means it will show up in 16:9 "stretched out" format rather than the design-intent 4:3, unless you're actually running a 4:3 monitor... and who is, these days???)... and THEN (assuming nothing went wrong) it will restart Explorer once the game exits properly (but will still require a log-out/log-in cycle to get your task tray looking as you expect it to, and to restart all your resident applets, and so forth).

This is simply a BAD SOLUTION. I'll work it out sooner or later... likely by getting ahold of a CD ISO file, though, and running with that mounted, rather than by usign GoG's kludged "fix." And with dgVoodoo, I'll see the graphics uncorrupted and unstretched.

But I should not HAVE to do that.

I also should not have HAD to do that to get F-18E Superhornet working, but GoG never did fix that, though I was able to get it 100% running (using a graphics wrapper, as described above).

my solution is to go to the 'v more' menu next to the galaxy play button, at the bottom of this there is a sub menu called 'other' and you can run the shadowhand expansion from there.

this appears to behave and does not ask for the cd, however it craps itself if you try to save.

cheers,
mugsy

there is unfortunately no solution because gog refuses to admit that the problem exists.

on the other hand: if enough people contact support regarding this issue, then they have to realise it.

Amazing. Just press 'Yes' when it asks if you have the CD and it will work. This issue is entirely user error.

That is bullshit;it might work for you but it does not work for me or for a lot o f other people.

I tired reisntalling it thourgh Galaxy, and form me at least, it worked. No NO CD meassage if you run it using the Play button in Galaxy or the desktop icon you can have Galaxy place on your desktop.
Do not however, try to start the game from the exe files in the game folder, Not only will it not work..you get the no cd message, but it screws up the Galaxy exes, and you will have to reinstall the game . Only start it from Galaxy or the Galaxy placed Desktp Icon.
of cours,e this leads to the question of why GOG did not fix the exes in the game folder as well......

As it is I can get it running for single player with GOG galaxy but not the expansion.

Anything else doesn't work at all.

https://github.com/timb3r/DarkReignPatch

EDIT (one day later): doesn't work for me, hangs the Explorer and the entire system, I had to use Reset button. Maybe the reason in my case is my WinXP OS, so it probably can work for you.