every time I try to the speed.exe file, It just crashes my pc for a mid second then take me back to the system menu. Someone please help me.

I HAVE COMPLETED THIS GAME AND NOW I AM DOWNLOADING IT AGAIN AND WOULD LIKE TO
SEE HOW IT WORKS.

TRIED IT (UPDATED):
IT WORKS. 5 STAR

@Johnsen290 pretended like I knew it all and I had it all! I have been trying to find "Patch 1.3.exe" and I found none that does what you describe that it was suppose to be as if you same some sort of magical powers that suddenly created "WWOOOAAHH THERE WE GO PATCH 1.3"

cant find the key file rn.

I downloaded the game, and it works great, but I can't save any aliases, none. And autosave doesn't work. Can anyone help me?

it s going great intil i get into the game but then it starts to consistently freeze and i want to see if i can put controller controls in it

All I had to do was load this into WinCDEmu and play it as is without patches. First link that works massive thank you.

Personally, I used the Black Edition I found on this site too (NeedForSpeedMostWantedBlackEditionUSA) but this one works as well! Johnsen's instructions work for both versions.

I followed @Johnsen290 steps. Instead of installing on windows I thought I'd try putting it on my Steam deck. So far the games running well at maxed graphics. Here's the steps I used for installing:
1)Mount and Open the NFSMW.iso (I did this on a windows pc) copy all files in the .iso onto a USB device. I created a folder in my usb drive called "nfs-iso" and placed these files into the folder.
2)Also copy speed.exe, and Patch 1.3.exe to the USB (put these 3 files in a separate folder on the usb drive).
3)Eject the usb from your windows device and plug it into your Steam Deck.
4)Switch your Steam Deck to desktop mode mount the usb drive and open it.
5)Copy the "nsf-iso" folder from the usb to your steam deck desktop. Also copy Patch 1.3.exe to your desktop as well.
6)Go into the Steam program and add the AutoRun.exe as a non-steam game (there are many guides on how to do this online).
7)Switch the steam deck back to SteamOS mode. Navigate to your library and find the "AutoRun.exe" under Non-Steam games.
8)Click on the gear icon and force the AutoRun.exe to Proton Experimental. Then run AutoRun.exe.
It will begin installing and ask you for the CD Key. This can be found on the download file. Enter this key then the install should ask you where to install the game. I installed mine on my internal SSD. This is drive "Z" navigate to "Documents" and place the game there. For this step I created a Games/Need For Speed/ folder and placed the install there.
9)Complete the installation, but do not run the game (Quit). You can then delete "AutoRun.exe" then return the steam deck back to desktop mode.
10)From here repeat the same steps for Patch 1.3.exe. Add it as a non-steam game, and force it as a Proton Experimental, then run the Patch 1.3.exe from steam.
-This one gave me an error when it ran. It asked me to select two options (I can't remember what it said exactly). I left the first one selected and installed the patch.
11)After running the patch you can delete it and switch back to steam deck desktop. You may notice that there are a couple extra files located on your desktop. Copy and paste these into the Need For Speed game folder. Overwrite all files when it prompts you.
12)Finally, take the "speed.exe" file you copied from the download file (it should be on your usb). Copy this file into your Need for Speed game folder and replace/overwrite when prompted.
13)Again, add speed.exe as a non-steam game to your library, and switch back to SteamOS.
14)Find speed.exe in your non-steam library and select the gear icon again. At the time of writing this I forced Proton 8.0-2.
From here you should be able to run the game. Use your touch screen until you get to the main game menu. You should be able to use the steam deck buttons. You may need to play around with the controller setup.
I went into graphics settings and set them to max and found no issues in performance.
Good Luck!
If you want to add images to the steam game library you can use Decky. You can Google how to do this. It's very simple.

First off: thank you @Johnsen290 for compiling the valuable instructions! I was having (possibly unique) issues that I solved and I wanted to note here:

Burning this .iso to disk with Windows 10 was giving me "error 0x80004005 [couldn't burn]" so, this 'bad' disk can still be inserted into a drive to bypass "no/wrong disk" errors but the bad disk and its files shouldn't be used for installation purposes.

Even with Direct X 9.0c installed the EA installer might not recognize it. You will need to change a config file parameter from "DirectXVersion=9.0c" "DirectXVersion=0". This, like above, requires copying the .iso's contents to your harddrive before installation in order to edit that file.
(Oh, and also make sure Direct X 9.0c is actually installed too, there's a copy of the installer on the iso!)

The actual ISO from the disc itself.
(Also AntonGM, go burn in a fire, it's a bait everyone)
And here's a full guide on the how to install it for people who assume these are bad because they have no idea about InstallShield/EA AutoRun works, disrespecting the art of old installers:

Setup:
1. Once the files are all downloaded, mount NFSMW.iso.
(Windows 10 has a built-in ISO mounting/virtual drive so no need to download any virtual drive software, just double click any .ISO files, pretty convenient. but it's your choice if you wanna.)
(torrent is recommended because it's one download only, but the files you need to download are:
- NFSMW.iso
- speed.exe
- Patch 1.3.exe
- NFS Most Wanted - Working Key.txt)
2. Inside the mounted ISO, open AutoRun.exe.
3. On the installer, press Install.
4. You will be redirected to a CD Key section, find the key in NFS - Most Wanted Working Key.txt file.
(Here's an image of the CD Key section: https://ibb.co/CwVR5LR )
5. Copy the key onto the text boxes and then press Next>.
6. Accept the License Agreement.
7. Choose which directory you want it to be installed,
press Advanced User - Select directory or ignore it, then press Next>.
8. A new window will pop up, press Register Later.
9. Then, done! It's now installing, now wait for it.
10. After it's done, Press Quit and do not launch it yet.

Cracking:
- This is how cracking work on retail ISO installers of games, to make the game run even if the game disc is not mounted, this is how it is on the old days.
1. Go to the folder where you downloaded this.
2. Open Patch 1.3.exe, it will do its thing for a few seconds then closes automatically.
2. Find speed.exe that's beside NFSMW.iso, and not the one inside the game disc. (Usually, the .exe is actually inside the game ISO/disc itself, in a folder called "Crack"., this seems to be altered I dunno.)
3. Copy that .exe file to where you installed the game to. Replace the .exe that was in the game folder.
4. Done, you can now play!

(I like old installers, there's like a bit of exploring on what to do but it's still straightforward, and very amusing.)
(edited for even more detail, more friendlier approach lmao, thanks to the responses, btw this is not the black edition, just the vanilla one)

Is this the regular Most Wanted version or the Black Edition?

Really extensive.
and it really did work before you posted it lol.
even though theres one guy saying its not working i looked into the link and did say ip logger
always do your research folks But even so good job Johnsen290 i appreciate it
and if anyone is trying to install this on a modern laptop (like i have) use UltraISO's Built in Mount ISO feature
it really works out for me
Thanks.
-azatsky
P.S: If you want to contact me do it so on Discord
Username is: Azatsky#7479
It is for contacts and troubleshooting if you'd like

I second user Johnsen290's review.
Works great! A perfect preservation copy.
Kids these days don't understand how these installers worked in our day. :-D

its only one way to get it after digital version got removed
by EA in 2 years ago

Can't launch the game due to the laucner not beeing able to find the ISO image.

I fiex it by dragging the Speed.exe shortcut from the torrent folder to the installation location after compleeting the installation.

Whwere Could I Get no CD Crack

I got the no-CD crack and it worked fine