Civ 4 will not launch

[mjsachse]

Civ 4 will not launch at all for me. I don't get any error messages or anything. Civ 4 had been working fine, but then stop launching. I reinstalled several times and installed the latest patch, but it still doesn't work. I enabled logging but I since it's not launching, it's not even creating a log. I installed Civ 4 on an older PC with no trouble.

After the uninstall, I did not see any directories left to delete. There were no items left in the C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games directory. I reinstalled again with no luck. I'm having the same problem with the patched and unpatched versions of the game.

[crunch]

The other civ directory to delete should be here:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Games\
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\My Games\

[mjsachse]

Thank you, I didn't know about those other directories. Those directories are not even being created when I do the install. Maybe that is clue about what is going wrong. What should I try next?

[crunch]

Well, no clue. The directories are not supposed to appear after installing, but only after the first successful launch of the game.

OK. now... let's see. What have you done to your system when civ used to work and doesn't work now? Think about it and try to undo the changes.

This logging that you have tried... have you followed this procedure: http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_logging.htm? It is likely that you won't have any ini file to modify, try to take it from the other computer, put it into analogous folder, etc.

Also, when launching civ, watch processes in the task manager, can you see Civilization4.exe flashing in and out? If you launch the game via desktop shortcut, will the disk start spinning in the drive? Copy protection might cause your trouble, have you installed some cd-related software recently?

[mjsachse]

The problem is I went several months without playing Civ 4, so there no telling the point when it stopped working. I have ripped many CDs onto my iPod, so it's possible I pick up something from them. I also watch DVDs on my PC. Is there a way to tell if there is copy protection on my PC?

I copied all the files over from those two directories and still no luck. As a test, I even copied over the fies from the Program Files directory. Civilization4.exe never appears in the task manager and there doesn't seems to be any attempt to access the CD.

That is the logging procedure I followed. I did it again, but no logs are being created. I did do that once before. The original files must still have been there at the time.

Thank you very much for your help.

[jami80]

Originally Posted by crunch

The other civ directory to delete should be here:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\My Games\
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\My Games\

Hi i have the same problem. (i think )
But i can use this solution because i can find this files.

I have used this solution :
http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_logging.htm

but i can open this file : _Civ4Config because it's a "short cut" file (sorry for my english ^^)

And i can found my log files because i never launch the game.


Where is the problem?
thx for answer.
And sorry for my english

[wapamingo]

I've had the game installed previously (warlords). It worked great, no problems. I wanted to make some more space on my computer and ended up uninstalling the game temporarily. I reinstalled the game (had to get civ4 CD from my bro since I scratched up mine). I patched up the game. Installed expansion. But I now get the same error as these fellows here (or at least I think I do). The game does not start (civ 4 does, but not warlords). It just gives me an error that the game had to shut down due to an error, would you like to send a report out.

I deleted the cache as a member suggested. It did not help. I enabled logging. I got this:

[516276.736] DBG: CIV Init
[516276.736] VERSION: App: C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Warlords\Civ4Warlords.exe
[516276.736] VERSION: Build: Tue Jun 27 05:53:04 2006
[516276.736] VERSION: 2.0.0.0
[516276.756] VERSION: Mod Loaded: none
[516276.766] DBG: FILE Cat Init

That's it.

I tried copying the ini file from civ 4 into warlords cause the ini file was quite bare. It did not help.

I would appreciate any help. I reinstalled the games 2 times already. It has worked before. I dont know what to do...