Instability Running RifE on Win7

rocklikeafool

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I've experienced several CTD's with RifE, using Windows 7. I have set BTS (and FfH2) to both run without Data Execution Protection. (It won't let me run the RifE launcher without DEP, presumably because it gets data from an external site.) I have graphics all the way down to low (to make it run faster, since my laptop doesn't see a huge improvement with high graphics anyway /shrug ), and my PC handles huge maps just fine. I should note that I'm running CivIV under Compatibility mode (Windows XP, SP3).

Any ideas on how I can get RifE to run with more stability? It's kind of annoying to have to go back to my last autosave/regular save every time it crashes. :sad:
 
I run on Win 7 64 bits no prob. I've tried with and without DEP and it works ok.
Are you on 32 bits?
Are any other games causing you the same problem?
 
I am running 32 bit Windows 7, yes. No other games cause me the same issue. In fact, I can run other mods in Civ4 just fine. It appears that the issue is only with RifE. I keep getting the error "memory allocation failure", which is something I've never had occur with a game (especially a game running on lowest graphics settings).
 
I am running 32 bit Windows 7, yes. No other games cause me the same issue. In fact, I can run other mods in Civ4 just fine. It appears that the issue is only with RifE. I keep getting the error "memory allocation failure", which is something I've never had occur with a game (especially a game running on lowest graphics settings).

Sounds like some corrupted files lurking about. Have you tried uninstalling the mod and reinstalling the latest patch?
 
Sounds like some corrupted files lurking about. Have you tried uninstalling the mod and reinstalling the latest patch?
Worth a try...
 
That didn't actually do anything.

Also, oddly enough (I just never paid attention before), Muris Clan goblins show up as red blobs, indicating that their art files are missing. But I found the exact art files...:confused:

Edit:
After a bit of searching, I decided to try and use PakBuild (a la this post) to unload all the Art files. Hopefully, this will fix the Muris Clan goblins and resolve other issues. From what I can tell, all my issues are probably graphics-related...
 
That didn't actually do anything.

Also, oddly enough (I just never paid attention before), Muris Clan goblins show up as red blobs, indicating that their art files are missing. But I found the exact art files...:confused:

1)That bug was solved long ago. What is the version of the mod you're playing now? (RifE 1.4, Rife 1.41 or AoE 13.10?)

2) The solution with pakbuild you read in noxic's post is worth a try in case the source of your problem is hardware limitations. Nocix and I spent several hours fighting his bugs, and unpacking solved it.

I linked it in the 1st post, right in the middle of the installation process:
Ronkhar said:
[*]For players with low-end computers (only one known victim so far): By default, the mod textures are compressed in a package file to accelerate game loading. Some computers can't handle it --> the menus do not appear when loading the game. In that case, please follow the procedure at the end of Noxic's post
 
1)That bug was solved long ago. What is the version of the mod you're playing now? (RifE 1.4, Rife 1.41 or AoE 13.10?)
Well, I was using RifE 1.4. I'm now downloading AoE 13.10.

The issue seems to be that Windows 7 thinks the RifE Launcher is incompatible with Windows 7. I've set up compatibility to run as "Windows XP, SP2" and as the Administrator. So, the Launcher starts up and does what it is supposed to. But the issue is that, when the game runs (with RifE 1.4), it crashes occasionally. I do save a lot, but still... it's kind of annoying...

2) The solution with pakbuild you read in noxic's post is worth a try in case the source of your problem is hardware limitations. Nocix and I spent several hours fighting his bugs, and unpacking solved it.

I linked it in the 1st post, right in the middle of the installation process:
Yeah, that's what I was trying. Turns out that didn't solve anything. /shrug

The only hardware "choke point" would be my graphics chip, because it's just a basic chip and has no dedicated VRAM. However, I've never had issues with graphics before, when playing Civ4, and it's not like RifE is graphics intensive.

Edit:
When trying to start a game in AoE 13.10, I've gotten the below error twice. (See attached .jpg.)

Edit2:
Seeing if re-installing Visual C++ 2010 Distributable fixes it...
 

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I got AoE 13.10 working. It's still kind of buggy, in that it CTD's at times. But I guess I'll just save a lot.
 
By default, the games autosaves every 4 turns.
You can change it in the ini files to autosave each turn:

C:\Users\You\Documents\My Games\Beyond the Sword\CivilizationIV.ini

Code:
; The maximum number of autosaves kept in the directory before being deleted.
MaxAutoSaves = 5

; Specify the number of turns between autoSaves.  0 means no autosave.
AutoSaveInterval = 4
 
I got AoE 13.10 working. It's still kind of buggy, in that it CTD's at times. But I guess I'll just save a lot.

That is strange. I have not seen a single CTD yet. But then I am running Civ4 on Win7 64-bit with 4 GB RAM and nothing running in the background which means that Civ gets all the memory it can address.

32-bit Windows 7 is not a good platform for Civ4. Win7 eats more RAM/address space than WinXP, and thus increases the risk of MAFs if everything has to be squeezed into the 32-bit address space. However that problem goes away if you go 64-bit, then the situation is actually better than on WinXP (32-bit).

Also you should not use "compatibility mode". It is completely unnecessary and is likely to cause problems. I don't use compatibility mode. "Run as administrator" is unnecessary too. If you want to play older games always simply install them in C:\Games and not in the special "Program Files" folder where Windows plays sheriff. You wrote you have DEP turned off, that's good. But what about UAC? It is a major cause of problems with older games, I have it turned off.

Last but not least updating Windows and your drivers is always a good idea. My system is current.

EDIT: Oh, and are you running a virus scanner in the background while playing? Don't do that, those things can crash even harmless office apps.
 
That is strange. I have not seen a single CTD yet. But then I am running Civ4 on Win7 64-bit with 4 GB RAM and nothing running in the background which means that Civ gets all the memory it can address.

32-bit Windows 7 is not a good platform for Civ4. Win7 eats more RAM/address space than WinXP, and thus increases the risk of MAFs if everything has to be squeezed into the 32-bit address space. However that problem goes away if you go 64-bit, then the situation is actually better than on WinXP (32-bit).
Hmm...well, if I had ~$100 for Win7 64-bit, I'd already have it. Being a poor university student, it's not really an option yet. Maybe I should get paid to give plasma. :lol:

Also you should not use "compatibility mode". It is completely unnecessary and is likely to cause problems. I don't use compatibility mode. "Run as administrator" is unnecessary too.
Yeah, I decided to turn both of those off. It didn't improve performance, but it didn't lessen it either. So, why do I need those on?

If you want to play older games always simply install them in C:\Games and not in the special "Program Files" folder where Windows plays sheriff. You wrote you have DEP turned off, that's good. But what about UAC? It is a major cause of problems with older games, I have it turned off.
I always have UAC turned off. Hmm...I'll try installing the game in C:/Games.

Last but not least updating Windows and your drivers is always a good idea. My system is current.
Yeah, I check for updates on everything weekly.

EDIT: Oh, and are you running a virus scanner in the background while playing? Don't do that, those things can crash even harmless office apps.
I'm running Avast, which has a silent/gaming mode that prevents it from being intruvise like most Antivirus programs. However, it may be a good idea to completely disable it while running Civ4. It's not like I'll be running the internet or anything while also playing the game. /shrug
 
Excellent idea, copx, installing Civ4 in C:\Games\. I'm having no issues now. I also decided to install CivII: ToT (a game I have a fondness for, because the Migard scenario is so well done, imho) in C:\Games. I think I'll install all my older games (except Steam games) in C:\Games, from now on. Thanks!
 
I'm still getting "Failure to Allocate Video Memory" errors. Any ideas?
 
Reduce the graphics quality and/or try a smaller map size.
Already at low graphics. Guess I'll try a smaller map. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that. /sigh
 
Civ II: Midgard ... lovely memories..
 
huh ...
i find it quite strange that the civ shouldn't work in C:/Program Files/[..] - the application (Civ4BeyondSword.exe) shouldn't need to write anything there (except for managing modules in the launcher itself - but that shouldn't crash the main game); and the only other problem i could see there would be too long path - but it would have to be really long path

as to "Failure to Allocate Video Memory", i'm afraid there's no way we could help you - rife has quite a bit of content
 
Well, a friend of mine is giving me a valid Windows 7 64-bit cd (with a valid accompanying Windows 7 key). So, RifE should be running a lot smoother after I install 64-bit.
 
No doubt. 32.bit with large civ mods -just forget it. I had not end of problem with large mods/maps on my old system. When you get the chance, (I got my computer specifically to play civ 4 mods) you want as fast a cpu as possible, lots of ram (8 gb's plus) and 64bit operating. Having these has all but eliminated my problems.
 
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