Saved games crash...Help!

[Isak]

Originally posted by win
I have the same problem with save games and crashing; i thought it was a particularly bad cd so i went out and bought another cd; it happens the same way on the same files. So i can't finish a game. This happens on regular game generated maps and on gotm maps. I hate this. I spent all this money on a product that doesnt work. I'm pissed off at Firaxis.
Stop putting out products that dont work:rocket: :rocket:

The error message described above is a very general one and can happen for a number of reasons. In my case, switching of an Antivirus program made the game work, and after that I have had no problems whatsoever. I should add that I never had problems loading a savegame after one of these crashes, so indeed the error WWWeasel gets may be very different from the one I got, and perhaps even very different from the one you're getting.

It's probably not so much a case of the game not working (since this only seems to happen to a tiny fraction of the many people here who play the game) but rather a case of our systems not being able to handle the game in one way or another. So why not post some computer specs, error messages and crashing saves to add to the general knowledge about this bug instead?

 

[WildWeazel]

@ Isak:
Sorry about the delay- I just noticed the reply.

The error message is always: Exception number: c0000005 (access violation)
I don't have any antivirus software running (Yes, I know, thats bad) and AFAIK there was no new software added or changed anytime around when this started happening.
The saves I sent you were ones that crashed, usually during the first turn after loading, but sometimes later. I think all my saves crash within a short time of being loaded.
As for system specs, I know there is a way to get a full system report text file, but I don't remember how.

 

[WildWeazel]

*----> Task List <----*
0 System Process
4 System
336 smss.exe
400 csrss.exe
424 winlogon.exe
468 services.exe
480 lsass.exe
640 svchost.exe
684 svchost.exe
776 svchost.exe
808 svchost.exe
904 spoolsv.exe
1044 npssvc.exe
2284 Explorer.EXE
3248 techbox.exe
2360 msmsgs.exe
2196 OLFSNT40.EXE
2836 navapw32.exe
3252 OSA9.EXE
2456 IamSetup.exe
3672 csrss.exe
1800 winlogon.exe
2340 Explorer.EXE
924 techbox.exe
3616 msmsgs.exe
652 navapw32.exe
2972 HOTSYNC.EXE
1840 IamSetup.exe
3604 msoffice.exe
2896 Civilization3.exe
3972 ~ef7194.tmp
3904 drwtsn32.exe

I don't know what most of those are, could any be involved in the crash?
Also, I just remembered that the game crashed once a long time ago- it did the same thing on a certain game, only when I tried to change the worked tiles for a certain city.... strange.

 

[Isak]

Hmmm... i'll need to go through this list thoroughly, but two things stick out:

2836 navapw32.exe

and

1044 npssvc.exe

That's Norton Antivirus, and these particular exe files are in charge of scanning all processes so NAV could very well be interfering with your programs, especially if it's supposed to be uninstalled or deactivated.

If you haven't deactivated Norton Antivirus yourself it could also be a virus that did it. Quite a few recent viruses will deactivate your Antivirus, so you should scan your computer with an online-scanner (search Google for 'Online virus scan' and select the one that seems to suit you best).


Another process

2456 IamSetup.exe

Callwave's Internet Answering Machine is also a bit of a problem-child, especially if you have your internet connection running while you play. I suggest you deactivate it, or uninstall it if you don't use it at all.


And finally...

3248 techbox.exe

While I understand that an application like Tech-in-a-box does a lot of good, my personal experience with apps like these is that they also do a lot of bad stuff, like interfere with other applications. It's just a gut feeling that I have, I have no experience with Tech-in-a-box whatsoever, but try deactivating it too, and see if that makes Civ3 more stable.

Just some suggestions - let's see if we can make this baby run stable on your PC too