after CD installation civ 4 will not run/1.74 patch error 1706

[chubert]

Recently I got a new laptop, the specs of which are included in the DirectX diagnostic thingy that you guys told me to attach. Previously, Civ 4 was running fine on another laptop that had Windows 7. This laptop is also running Windows 7. When I installed Civ 4 on my current laptop, it ran fine. I played the start of a game, admired my shiny new graphics, and thought, "hell yeah."

The next day, it did not work. I think there was a windows update when I shut the laptop down for the night. I have no idea how this might have caused the game to stop working.

Anyways, I uninstalled and then re-installed. Installation works fine, but when I try running the application nothing happens, not even an error message. I look online and I find a thread saying that I need to get the 1.74 patch. Try doing that, and get the same error 1706 that a bunch of other people seem to have gotten: it says that it's done installing, but an error message appears. The game still does not open. The usual fixes do not seem to be either applicable or working, because I'm 100% certain my DirectX is up to date, check the attached file to confirm, and I don't think I have any installation problems. I'm not even sure if the 1.74 issue is even related to me being completely unable to open the game in the first place.

I tried using the logging feature, but that didn't work because CivilizationIV.ini doesn't exist. Why? Because the Sid Meier's Civilization IV folder in my My Games folder doesn't exist. So yeah, so much for that.

I have no idea what's going on.

 

[mintegar]

Try to use the System Restore feature of windows to restore the OS to the state it was on the date it was working, then reinstall civ4 with patch again.

 

[chubert]

I thought about doing that, but it seems kinda, um...drastic. Well, not really, considering that this thing is only a week old, but still. Are there other solutions? I'm definitely keeping that in mind, but I'm afraid that I'll something up.

EDIT: Wait it doesn't change my files? Sweet, I think I was confusing it with something else.

 

[Furiey]

From searching this forum for 1706 it seems to be an issue with directx9c. Update your directx9c with the latest from microsoft, it is seperate from dx 11 so although that may be up to date your dx9c may not be. It seems the warning can then be ignored. Search this forum for 1706 for more info.

The .ini file does not exist as it is created when the game is run for the first time. You can create it yourself and just put in what you need.

 

[chubert]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried the 9.0c fix for error 1706, and nothing happened, but I am not entirely confident that I've been doing it right--namely, I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to download, because I'm not that bright.

So basically when I'm looking through the Microsoft website to find the "latest version of dx 9.0c," I get http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/search.aspx?q=directx%209.0c%20full%20download that. There are a bunch of software development kits, and I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to get those. There are a bunch of "redistributables," which I'm pretty sure are what I want, but there is also the "end-user run time" thingy, and I have not single ing clue what that is, but it says it'll update my current version of DirectX. Now, I don't know if that will just update me to 11 or 12 or whatever the , which will be useless, or update 9.0c. You got any idea which one's which?

System restore is not an option, as it turns out. I don't have any restore points from before the problem started.

Also, I'm still...like, not sure if the 1.74 patch is needed to run Civ IV on Windows 7. For reference, this is vanilla from the game of the year CD edition. I've only found one dude on the internet saying that that's case. Anyone know if I need 1.74, or is it just a wild goose chase? Civ IV worked fine on my other Windows 7 laptop, and it was running 1.61 from the CD.

EDIT: So I snooped around on Wikipedia and found a version of DirectX 9.0c from February 2010. The "End-user runtime" does not have Windows 7 under its "supported OS," so that's not very promising. I tried the Feb. 2010 thingy, still getting 1706. You mentioned in the http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=371455 other thread about some "advanced>about this build" thingy, but I'm not, uh, really sure what that means. Do I have to be able to run Civ IV in the first place to get to that? In the other thread, the person with the problem had to also delete the installshield directory, but I'm not super-certain where that is or what he meant...

 

[Furiey]

This is the version of DirectX 9c from Microsoft that you want.

This post describes what someone had to do to correct this error: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=9380465&postcount=5

Sorry, I was late for work before so didn't post a link then.

You do usually need 1.74 to run on Win 7. Mine would not work without it. The advanced about this build thingy is from the Civ menu so yes you need to run the game, but if you look in add/remove programs in Win 7 and scroll across it tells me my Civ 4 version is 1.74 so you may find it there.

The civ 4 installshield directory is:

...\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{CFBCE791-2D53-4FCE-B3FB-D6E01F4112E8}
(or Program Files (x86) if you have Win 7 64)
It is a hidden directory so you will need to make sure that you have hidden files and folders displayed.

 

[chubert]

Add/remove programs says that I'm on 1.74. Just to be sure, I downloaded the DirectX updater, reinstalled 1.74 over 1.74 again, and deleted the InstallShield directory. I restarted the computer. It still does not work.

 

[Furiey]

OK, so you've now updated to 1.74 and have the latest dx9.0c. At what point does it fail when you start Civ, do you see anything?

 

[chubert]

I see nothing--wait, no, I see the tiny Windows 7 spinning blue wheel which disappears a second later. I don't even get the tiny gray window with the loading bar. No error messages.

 

[chubert]

I apologize for the double-post bump, but I'd really appreciate it if anybody had any sort of idea what's going on. Again, the problem is that nothing is happening. I double click and the screen just stares at me.