Civilization 4 and Windows Vista

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ori, I finally figured out what the problem was. It was the darned video card. I borrowed the same type of video card from a friend and the game played pretty well. His card started to get really warm and the computer crashed. Civ IV must really put one hell of a load on a video card.

I found a good deal for a BFG 7300 GS 5121 MB AGP 8x at Fry's web site, so now I'm itching for it to arrive. :D

I want to thank you for the time you took trying to help me. You are a champ!
 
My configuration:
Home made desktop, consisting of Intel dual core CPU @ 3.0 Ghz (D830 or D920, can't remember right now), Intel 845 motherboard, 2 GB of RAM, ATi X800 video card, 2 hard drives (two partitions each), Viewsonic 1680x1050 monitor, ... and Windows Vista Ultimate (32 bit).

Well, the problems started after the upgrade (clean install) from Win XP Pro to Vista Ultimate (32 bit)... At the time, I had one old Hansol 17'' CRT monitor, 1 GB of RAM, and was happily playing all versions of CIV IV (including expansions) on 1024x768. The games were installed and patched on one of the partitions of the second hard drive, in order not to mess with C: drive, and it worked fine.


Then the Vista came.


After reinstalling the games and applying the patches, I tried to continue one of the BTS saved games - emphasis on "tried" - it would load fine, but when I tried to move any unit, the screen would flicker, and the game would sort of freeze. Alt+tab combination worked, and when I returned to the game, I could finish the turn. And then it would flicker and freeze again...

To cut the long story as short as possible: I've tried everything that I could think of - lowered the graphics quality, killed Anti-Aliasing, muted the sound, killed the antivirus and firewall, killed all the unnecessary processes, applied the latest drivers for Ati X800, applied latest drivers for my motherboard, downloaded and installed the latest DirectX 9.0c, bought 2 GB of RAM (replaced the old one), asked the local juju-man to sacrifice the goat...
No use. The game(s) (whether Vanilla, Warlords or BTS) would flicker and freeze, and, generally, be unplayable.

Right about then, I bought a new monitor (Viewsonic LCD 1680x1050), and got an idea: why wouldn't I make a dual-boot system? It did work fine on Win XP...

So I made a dual-boot system (Win Xp Pro installed on one partition on the second hard drive), installed the CIV IV Complete (yes, bought it in the mean time), and guess what? Everything worked like a charm. With highest graphical details on 1680x1050...

And it was fine (if one disregards the fact that I had to dual-boot because of the ******* game) until I had to reinstall the system recently. I have killed the Xp Pro, reinstalled Vista, and applied the Service Pack 1. Got everything to work as I wanted, and installed CIV IV Complete.
To find out that neither the Service Pack 1 for Vista nor the latest drivers for ATi X800 did the trick - flickering and freezing again...

Any ideas, people? ori? I would like to avoid dual-boot again, if possible...


SF
 
Hi everyone,

I read all the discussion carefully but it doesn't help me, I can make a mistake, I am not a professional in computers .

I try to install the game on my new notebook: an HP Pavillion dv9700 with Vista 32, AMD 64.

The notebook can't complete the installation shield : 'Civ 4 is not install properly. Try to re-install' What can I do to complete the installation?

Thanks a lot for your help! :)
 
For the record, it runs absolutely flawlessly on my x64 laptop. Haven't had any problems with Vista at all.
 
For the record, it runs absolutely flawlessly on my x64 laptop. Haven't had any problems with Vista at all.

That's right vista haters take that. :lol:
 
Actually, I happen to like Vista! Everything (except CIV) is working fine - just like XP, or even better...

It is CIV that's giving me a headache... :(

SF
 
Okay, my turn for CIV IV: BTS problems on a new Vista 64 bit OS...

After playing this game for years, I finally got a new computer so that I could run even bigger games - and now it doesn't work on my brand-new "kickazz" system...

The game Installs fine, and after downloading all the patches, DirectX file and playing with the compatibility settings, I can play vanilla and Warlords, but BTS still does not load... I am getting the "stopped working" message before the start screen loads.

"Help me Ori-kenobi, you're my only hope" :)
 
"Help me Ori-kenobi, you're my only hope" :)

:salute: :p

I hope not.
Anyways Vista is one of my weak spots - not running it myself might have something to do with is :mischief:

does the error say anything informative? Also does the windows event log include anything? Have you tried enabling logging in the game itself?
Are all your drivers uptodate?
 
does the error say anything informative? Also does the windows event log include anything? Have you tried enabling logging in the game itself? Are all your drivers uptodate?

Error message: "Sid Meier's Civilization 4 : Beyond The Sword has stopped working" :rolleyes:

Event Log:

Faulting application Civ4BeyondSword.exe,
version 3.1.3.1,
time stamp 0x48317e8a,
faulting module ~df394b.tmp,
version 0.0.0.0,
time stamp 0x4306003f,
exception code 0xc0000005,
fault offset 0x00078c9c,
process id 0xc8c,
application start time 0x01c8e233afaeb94e.

I do not how to enable logging in the game :confused:

I also ran 'Update Driver Software' in the Device Manager for all the hardware.

A 5.7 System rating and I cannot even run the game...
 
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/228985 said:
program name has caused an error in ~DF394B.tmp

CAUSE
This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
• You are not using the game disc to start the program.
• The CD drive is incompatible with the program.
• You are using a copy of the program CD.
• You are not logged on to the computer as an Administrator.
• The program or programs are interfering with the game startup that is running but is invisible to you.
• You are running a Microsoft Windows XP Home account that uses "fast user switching."
• The CD drive is using outdated drivers.

it is a safedisc error - cryptic really in Vista, but hey, in essence the game thinks you are not running it with a genuine disc in the drive. If you have a genuine copy try to remedy the above things, if that still does not work - post back :)
 
it is a safedisc error - cryptic really in Vista, but hey, in essence the game thinks you are not running it with a genuine disc in the drive. If you have a genuine copy try to remedy the above things, if that still does not work - post back :)

I have always used the original disc, not copies.

• You are not using the game disc to start the program - Yes I am. (I even tried the other one just to make sure). Also, the disc loads the start page when the tray is closed due to autorun.

• The CD drive is incompatible with the program - How do I test this?

• You are using a copy of the program CD - Nope - I always use the original disc.

• You are not logged on to the computer as an Administrator - Yes I am, and I set the .exe file to run under admin as well.

• The program or programs are interfering with the game startup that is running but is invisible to you - I ran msconfig and disabled EVERYTHING and after a reboot it did not run.

• You are running a Microsoft Windows XP Home account that uses "fast user switching." - Nope, I am running Vista :crazyeye:

• The CD drive is using outdated drivers - I ran the driver update in Device Manager to check for the latest drivers.


A strange thing happens when I fiddle with the 'compatibility mode' settings... The game still does not run, but I get a different error message:

"Cannot locate the correct CD-ROM"

Is this closer to fixing this or even further away?

Thanks for the time and effort :goodjob:
 
1) what is you cd drive? sometimes the producer has newer firmware than what is installed - if you do not know run dxdiag (type it into the search box)
2) I would have recommended fiddling with the compatibility mode - but you did already
3) do you have more than one cd-drive? or a virtual drive installed?
4) sometimes antivir/anti-malware/firewall software interfers with this check - can you disable that (if you did not do already)?
these are the things I can think of right now.
 
1) what is you cd drive? Samsung SH-S203B 20x Speed Plus DVD-Writer SATA (TSST corp CDDVDW SH-S203B SCSI CdRom Device)

2) I would have recommended fiddling with the compatibility mode - but you did already Yes, running in NT mode with admin rights was the only way I got the vanilla version and Warlords working (after the DirectX update and patches), but now they are displaying the same error messages as BTS!!! :mad:

3) do you have more than one cd-drive? or a virtual drive installed? Only one drive and no virtual drives - and no imaging software that I know of.

4) sometimes antivir/anti-malware/firewall software interfers with this check - can you disable that I tried that when I disabled all programs with msconfig and rebooted.


How about the other message I am getting? "Cannot locate the correct CD-ROM" Is this closer to fixing this or even further away? Are these errors related?

Unbelievably, this is the 2K Games Technical Support’s response to my email inquiry for this “known” issue:

“Make sure the 'play' CD-ROM is in the CD-ROM drive as they could have been labeled incorrectly” and “Make sure the CD-ROM disc is clean" :rolleyes:
 
the other error is the same - in a different disguise - microsoft has implemented a dozen of those just to make things more confusing. I am just now in a bit of a hurry and won't be online again today - I'll post back tomorrow morning - if not remind me :)
 
the other error is the same - in a different disguise - microsoft has implemented a dozen of those just to make things more confusing. I am just now in a bit of a hurry and won't be online again today - I'll post back tomorrow morning - if not remind me :)

Another note on this - someone mentioned that it could be that I am only using a CD-ROM drive that has 'write' ability, and the new Safedisc software does not like that... Make sense? Would installing a $20 CD-ROM 'read-only' drive help? :confused:
 
I doubt it - my drive is a cd/dvd read/write combo and it works fine. The problem is most likely that your drive is not compatible with the current version of safedisc - regardless of write capability. In this respect any new drive *might* work...
at http://samsung-odd.com/Eng/ under firmware -> firmware downloads there is firmware dated may 08 - is that the version you have? if not try updating the one for your drive :)
 
at http://samsung-odd.com/Eng/ under firmware -> firmware downloads there is firmware dated may 08 - is that the version you have? if not try updating the one for your drive :)

I had an older version!

I will install the latest firmware - Once this is done, should I uninstall all the CIV IV games and start from scratch? If so, what is the best way? E.g. Do I install in a certain compatibility mode?
 
first try whether it works after the firmware update. After that you *could* try a complete reinstall - I am not sure as to the chances of that solving it - but if you do follow the below list. Make sure you run the installs and patches with administrator privileges.
Note: this is not the first time I post this list - so some things (like the directx update) were already done...

install the most recent version of DirectX 9c from Microsoft

then do the following for a clean reinstall:

Uninstall and Reinstall Civ4 Warlords BtS :

Try to follow this order when doing stuff:
Use Control panel to uninstall Beyond the Sword, then Warlords, then Civ4
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\my documents\my games\sid meier's civilization 4" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\my documents\my games\warlords" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\my documents\my games\beyond the sword" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\application data\my games\sid meier's civilization 4" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\application data\my games\warlords" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\application data\my games\beyond the sword" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\local settings\application data\my games\sid meier's civilization 4" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\local settings\application data\my games\warlords" manually
Delete "...\documents and settings\<username>\local settings\application data\my games\beyond the sword" manually
(note: application data is a hidden directory so you need to configure windows explorer to show hidden files, also these directories in application data are sometimes removed by the uninstall routine)
Delete "...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{CFBCE791-2D53-4FCE-B3FB-D6E01F4112E8}" (Civ4)
Delete "...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{3E4B349F-10B5-4586-9D99-489A90A8B228}" (Warlords)
Delete "...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{32E4F0D2-C135-475E-A841-1D59A0D22989}" (BtS)
(note: InstallShield Installation Information is a hidden directory so you need to configure windows explorer to show hidden files).
Install Civ4, immediately patch it to 1.61 (download it fresh from here)
Install Warlords, immediately patch it to 2.08 (download it fresh from here)
Install Beyond the Sword, immediately patch to 3.17 (download it fresh from here).
 
first try whether it works after the firmware update. After that you *could* try a complete reinstall - I am not sure as to the chances of that solving it - but if you do follow the below list. Make sure you run the installs and patches with administrator privileges.

I updated the CD-DVD drive firmware. I also manually checked the drivers for my graphics card... the 'Update Driver Software' function in the Device Manager DOES NOT WORK as it claimed the driver was the latest version even though I found a more recent version online, which I also installed.

I then uninstalled everything as you described (except I couldn't find the matching {CFBCE791-2D53-4FCE-B3FB-D6E01F4112E8} type files - would Vista have different ones?) I can see hidden files.

After that I reinstalled and patched as described… I can run the Vanilla version and Warlords, but still no go for BTS :cry:

One note - After installing BTS, it never added a shortcut (didn't ask) and there wasn't an .exe in 'Run' 'All Programs' 'Firaxis Games' for BTS - which is odd... I had to go find the BTS .exe in Windows Explorer, which was in the sub-directory for Civ IV, and add a shortcut manually.

I am still getting the ‘Cannot locate the CD-ROM’ window with the “Please insert the correct CD-ROM, select OK and restart application” message when trying to run this BTS .exe :mad:

Any other things I could try?
 
Whenever I play CIV 4 (Warlords or BTS), the game will play fine for about 120 turns or so, then Vista gives me "Civ 4 Warlords has stopped working, looking for a solution... blah blah.." It has happened with both modded and unmodded games. Following is my system info.

OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Version 6.0.6000 Build 6000
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name
System Manufacturer Sony Corporation
System Model VGN-AR730E
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.10GHz, 2101 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies LTD R2080J8, 12/26/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6000.16407"
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 3,069.81 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.97 GB
Total Virtual Memory 6.17 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.98 GB
Page File Space 3.29 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Anyone seen this problem before? Thanks all.
 
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