Cannot start game

[DrPepper836]

So I preloaded the game on steam, great. It activated automatically, but I can't play the game. As soon as I run it in either mode, Windows pops up with a box that says "Sid Meier's Civilization V has stopped working". It doesn't give me a reason why. I let steam verify the integrity of the game cache, and it found one weird file, but it replaced it.

Vista 64 bit
NVidia 8600 GT
Pentium E5200 dual core 2.5 GHZ
4 gb ram

 

[uncarved block]

I'm having the same problem. Everything seems to be working just fine, until it comes time to start the game proper. I've uninstalled and reinstalled it after upgrading to Vista SP2, and upgraded my video drivers as well, but still no luck. Will fiddle around with other other options to see if anything helps.
Most curious to see if others are having this same issue.

 

[DrPepper836]

Here, maybe this will help:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: CivilizationV.exe
Application Version: 1.0.0.7
Application Timestamp: 4c92b5f3
Fault Module Name: d3dx9_42.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.0.6001.18000
Fault Module Timestamp: 4791a783
Exception Code: c0000135
Exception Offset: 0006ecfb
OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 9d13
Additional Information 2: 1abee00edb3fc1158f9ad6f44f0f6be8
Additional Information 3: 9d13
Additional Information 4: 1abee00edb3fc1158f9ad6f44f0f6be8

 

[The_J]

Please update your DirectX9 installation first, because it seems the error lies in one of its .dll files.

 

[DrPepper836]

Well, Civ installed a DX update. I've tried a few other 3d games, and they still work. On this thread here: http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87738 , a few people have fixed the same issue by doing weird things. I'm re-downloading the game now, but maybe someone else will have some luck.

 

[Leeksoup]

I have the same problem. Oddly enough, when I first got the game it ran just fine! I played a while, then I had to go to work. When I got back, nothing. Can't play at all; I don't even get to the intro movie before it tells me "Civilization 5 has encountered an error and has to close". This happens in both DX9 and DX10/11 modes. All my drivers are up to date; I made sure of that. I have re-installed Civ. Nothing is working, and that makes me angry. If anyone gets a workaround, please tell me!

 

[Spark026]

I have this exact problem, but it wasn't exactly unexpected. I have a Trojan on my computer that cannot be removed by anything. Trust me, a prof tried.

I'll be reloading Vista from scratch this Friday (having to wait for a CD copy to be sent out). I know the Trojan has corrupted files within Windows on my comp, as well as other important app files such as Dx9 most likely. I expect starting fresh will likely fix my problem.

I hope you guys problem is not due to similar reasons, but it is possible that you have virus that you're unaware of. My comp runs absolutely fine, and you would never guess it's sick unless you try to play certain games on it.

Try some good removal programs, then uninstall, then reinstall ur important drivers.

 

[jepsan]

Same problem here. I updated both direct x and my nvidia GPU drivers, but it doesn't seem to do the trick.