Starting error.

[Feline Innocence 0]

Hello,

   I'm not exactly sure if this has been spoken of already, but searching turned up little value. This p.c. is pretty much brand new, all though its not exactly top of the line. I've just installed SC-4 onto the machine, as well as checked for any patch's off the official website. Which i did download and install SKU1_TO_P1_B638. Now to my issue, whenever i load SC-4 it displays a small window of a suspension bridge with traffic flowing to and from, then.. nothing happens. Ive loaded it from the CD itself, and from the .exe file in "apps." I really want to play this game, I'm a big fan of the older Sim Cities.

System Specifications:

Compaq Presario 061

AMD Sempron Processor 3400+

512mb RAM

NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE

Page File: 317mb used, 4143mb available

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c

Edit: 4080mb Virtual Memory.

[tungston 19]

Your memory is borderline, so try starting the game with the shortcut and the intro off.

"C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -intro: off

[no space after the colon, that's there to keep the smilie away]

Correct the path to suit your installation.

[Feline Innocence 0]

Thanks for the reply, but it didn't work. It still just brings up the bridge and.. nothing happens.

[Zeth 23]

Sometimes when this has happened to me in the past, I can get past it by ctrl+alt+deleting, manually killing the SimCity4.exe process, and then trying it again.

Unsolicited advice: Stick to playing medium and small city tiles. Your system is going to struggle with large cities as-is, and would be hopeless with the NAM. And save frequently, because once your cities get up there in population, you're going to be introduced to the crash-to-desktop bug.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Set your virtual memory to maximum (initial, maximum) = (4096,4096).  Do not try to open the largest city tile and you should be OK.  You need at least another 256MB of RAM to really run this memory hog.

Laptops are also not the best choice because of possible overheats of the CPU.  In SC4 your CPU will go to 100% and stay there.

[tungston 19]

Originally posted by: Feline Innocence Thanks for the reply, but it didn't work. It still just brings up the bridge and.. nothing happens.quote>

 

I forgot to mention, you need to start the game at least once with the shortcut, anytime you add a tag to the shortcut path.

[Feline Innocence 0]

For some reason whenever i set my V.M. to 4096, it only goes to 4080. As for the city tile size, i wouldn't mind playing only medium and small. It's just the game never actually opens. I've kept trying as Zeth advised however no luck. It seems the game just.. wont load. No main menu, no EA logo. Juust.. the bridge. I'm aware of my system needing a few more shots of RAM. however shouldn't this be enough to open the game itself?

[MayorTim 16]

I doubt memory is a problem here, I played SC4 on a machine with only 256mb RAM for several years, with RH and a large plugins folder.

This sounds like either a graphics issue (most likely) or some incompatible plugins.

Do you use any plugins? If so, remove them, and see if it works.

If not, I'd suggest uninstalling and reinstalling.

If your still having problems, its probably an issue with your graphics card.

Try updating your drivers or, if you have the newest drivers out, roll them back to an older version.

Also, I forget - is the Sempron a dual core CPU? No right?

[Feline Innocence 0]

Installing the driver updates worked! However, whenever i try to select graphic options it crashes to my desktop. Any help?

[dada222 9]

As mayor tim said, you don't have a RAM problem : I have 246 (?) and I never had this problem (it's a bit choppy, but whatever).

On to your problem, first of all try reinstalling the game. When I updated my drivers and then the game would crash randomly.

[Feline Innocence 0]

Thanks for all the help, the game is running smoothly. I haven't tested a large city tile yet, however medium and small work fine.