Windows 7 problems

[AlkieDropout 0]

Heya,

I've installed SC4RH on my new laptop but it won't load. I get the the "bridge" flash screen then I get a black screen which flashes on and off before eventually closing completely. I did once get the EA sign but thats it.

I've installed all the latest drivers and updates for both Windows and SC4RH, there are no add-ons or anything.

oh, nearly forgot, I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.


Any ideas of anything else I could try???

I've looked online and found other people have had the same issues with Windows 7 however nobody seems to have found a solution.


Any help greatly appreciated.

[AlkieDropout 0]

I just found this exception report, posted it here if it's of any help

Exception time: 02/10/2010, at 22:15:28.

Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.

Current thread ID: 5016 (0x00001398).

Version information:

Application/module path: C:\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe

Application/module version name: SimCity 4

Application/module version: 1.1.638.0

System version: Windows NT 6.1

System memory: 2944 Megabytes total, 1668 Megabytes free.

Exception module: .

Exception address: 0x06300057. Sectionffset: 0x00:0x00000000.

Registers

EAX: 06d39cc0

EBX: 06d39d20

ECX: 06d39ce0

EDX: 06d39d00

ESI: 000000fc

EDI: 00000020

CS:EIP: 0023:06300057

SS:ESP: 002b:0018df98 EBP:0018df9c

DS:002b ES:002b FS:0053 GS:002b

Flags: 00010206

Loaded Modules

Address Size Module Path

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

0x00400000 8187904 SimCity 4.exe C:\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe

0x77d80000 1572864 ntdll.dll C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll

0x762f0000 1048576 kernel32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll

0x763f0000 286720 KERNELBASE.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll

0x75c60000 1048576 USER32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\USER32.dll

0x77230000 589824 GDI32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\GDI32.dll

0x77d50000 40960 LPK.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\LPK.dll

0x75ef0000 643072 USP10.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\USP10.dll

0x75980000 704512 msvcrt.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll

0x75d60000 655360 ADVAPI32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\ADVAPI32.dll

0x77960000 102400 sechost.dll C:\Windows\SysWOW64\sechost.dll

0x75e00000 983040 RPCRT4.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\RPCRT4.dll

0x758f0000 393216 SspiCli.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\SspiCli.dll

0x758e0000 49152 CRYPTBASE.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPTBASE.dll

0x756c0000 28672 WSOCK32.dll C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll

0x77920000 217088 WS2_32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\WS2_32.dll

0x760f0000 24576 NSI.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\NSI.dll

0x75a30000 999424 WININET.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\WININET.dll

0x77670000 356352 SHLWAPI.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\SHLWAPI.dll

0x75f90000 12288 Normaliz.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\Normaliz.dll

0x770f0000 1265664 urlmon.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\urlmon.dll

0x77700000 1425408 ole32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\ole32.dll

0x76100000 585728 OLEAUT32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\OLEAUT32.dll

0x75fd0000 1163264 CRYPT32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPT32.dll

0x75fc0000 49152 MSASN1.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\MSASN1.dll

0x77470000 2068480 iertutil.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\iertutil.dll

0x764a0000 12881920 SHELL32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\SHELL32.dll

0x71160000 466944 DSOUND.dll C:\Windows\system32\DSOUND.dll

0x72b60000 204800 WINMM.dll C:\Windows\system32\WINMM.dll

0x743f0000 151552 POWRPROF.dll C:\Windows\system32\POWRPROF.dll

0x772d0000 1691648 SETUPAPI.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\SETUPAPI.dll

0x75950000 159744 CFGMGR32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\CFGMGR32.dll

0x75fa0000 73728 DEVOBJ.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\DEVOBJ.dll

0x75470000 36864 VERSION.dll C:\Windows\system32\VERSION.dll

0x65cb0000 819200 OPENGL32.dll C:\Windows\system32\OPENGL32.dll

0x65df0000 139264 GLU32.dll C:\Windows\system32\GLU32.dll

0x726e0000 946176 DDRAW.dll C:\Windows\system32\DDRAW.dll

0x726d0000 24576 DCIMAN32.dll C:\Windows\system32\DCIMAN32.dll

0x726b0000 77824 dwmapi.dll C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll

0x731b0000 135168 MSVFW32.dll C:\Windows\system32\MSVFW32.dll

0x76260000 540672 COMCTL32.dll C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_5.82.7600.16385_none_ebf82fc36c758ad5\COMCTL32.dll

0x75c00000 393216 IMM32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\IMM32.dll

0x75b30000 835584 MSCTF.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\MSCTF.dll

0x75420000 307200 apphelp.dll C:\Windows\system32\apphelp.dll

0x65a90000 2195456 AcGenral.DLL C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.DLL

0x72ae0000 524288 UxTheme.dll C:\Windows\system32\UxTheme.dll

0x6cdb0000 61440 samcli.dll C:\Windows\system32\samcli.dll

0x74480000 81920 MSACM32.dll C:\Windows\system32\MSACM32.dll

0x73140000 12288 sfc.dll C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll

0x73130000 53248 sfc_os.DLL C:\Windows\system32\sfc_os.DLL

0x75710000 94208 USERENV.dll C:\Windows\system32\USERENV.dll

0x75700000 45056 profapi.dll C:\Windows\system32\profapi.dll

0x72690000 73728 MPR.dll C:\Windows\system32\MPR.dll

0x65a00000 573440 AcLayers.dll C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll

0x74fe0000 331776 WINSPOOL.DRV C:\Windows\system32\WINSPOOL.DRV

0x657a0000 2461696 AcXtrnal.DLL C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcXtrnal.DLL

0x65e40000 24576 SHUNIMPL.DLL C:\Windows\system32\SHUNIMPL.DLL

0x65e30000 53248 SortServer2003Comp C:\Windows\system32\SortServer2003Compat.dll

0x10000000 638976 ~df394b.tmp C:\Users\Clare\AppData\Local\Temp\~effd42\~df394b.tmp

0x77860000 536576 CLBCatQ.DLL C:\Windows\syswow64\CLBCatQ.DLL

0x73150000 28672 msiltcfg.dll C:\Windows\system32\msiltcfg.dll

0x72450000 2359296 msi.dll C:\Windows\system32\msi.dll

0x772c0000 20480 psapi.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\psapi.dll

0x75040000 1695744 comctl32.dll C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7600.16385_none_421189da2b7fabfc\comctl32.dll

0x74e10000 1003520 propsys.dll C:\Windows\system32\propsys.dll

0x75690000 135168 ntmarta.dll C:\Windows\system32\ntmarta.dll

0x76190000 282624 WLDAP32.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\WLDAP32.dll

0x74a90000 335872 rasapi32.dll C:\Windows\system32\rasapi32.dll

0x74a70000 86016 rasman.dll C:\Windows\system32\rasman.dll

0x776d0000 184320 WINTRUST.dll C:\Windows\syswow64\WINTRUST.dll

0x75550000 90112 CRYPTSP.dll C:\Windows\system32\CRYPTSP.dll

0x75510000 241664 rsaenh.dll C:\Windows\system32\rsaenh.dll

0x749d0000 94208 bcrypt.dll C:\Windows\system32\bcrypt.dll

0x74990000 249856 bcryptprimitives.d C:\Windows\SysWOW64\bcryptprimitives.dll

0x749f0000 229376 ncrypt.dll C:\Windows\system32\ncrypt.dll

0x74970000 90112 GPAPI.dll C:\Windows\system32\GPAPI.dll

0x74950000 114688 cryptnet.dll C:\Windows\system32\cryptnet.dll

0x75330000 24576 SensApi.dll C:\Windows\system32\SensApi.dll

0x6b690000 86016 Cabinet.dll C:\Windows\system32\Cabinet.dll

0x6ce00000 57344 DEVRTL.dll C:\Windows\system32\DEVRTL.dll

0x668e0000 4702208 SISUMD32.dll C:\Windows\system32\SISUMD32.dll

0x6ccc0000 835584 D3DIM700.DLL C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL

0x73250000 233472 MMDevApi.dll C:\Windows\System32\MMDevApi.dll

0x731f0000 221184 AUDIOSES.DLL C:\Windows\system32\AUDIOSES.DLL

0x75480000 278528 dnsapi.DLL C:\Windows\system32\dnsapi.DLL

0x75580000 114688 iphlpapi.DLL C:\Windows\system32\iphlpapi.DLL

0x75570000 28672 WINNSI.DLL C:\Windows\system32\WINNSI.DLL

0x6d510000 507904 DbgHelp.dll C:\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\DbgHelp.dll

Call stack:

(Debug information (.pdb files) appears to be absent).

0x0000:0x00000000 .

Stack data: (ESP is 0x0018df98)

0x0018de18 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018de38 00000000 000040c4 000040c4 000040c4 000040c4 00004044 00004044 00004044

0x0018de58 00004044 0000803f 0000803f 0000803f 0000803f 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018de78 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 0000803f 0000803f 0000803f

0x0018de98 0000803f 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018deb8 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018ded8 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018def8 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018df18 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018df38 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018df58 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018df78 00000000 34fdffff e4020000 34fdffff cc020000 19000000 00000000 00000101

0x0018df98 80037606 c09cd306 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018dfb8 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

0x0018dfd8 00000000 a4cec706 01000000 ece01800 fcdf1800 18ccc706 00007606 6422ee05

0x0018dff8 00000000 303d9466 00003006 00000806 00200000 00010000 20006a04 a0cec706

0x0018e018 00010000 6ce01800 03000000 20000000 00000000 00010000 01000000 40294301

0x0018e038 f4c8ed05 00000000 01000000 00000000 05000000 00000000 1f000000 00000000

0x0018e058 01000000 00000000 00000000 02000000 00000000 6422ee05 30654701 f0e01800

0x0018e078 8955a566 b400e705 12000000 a0cec706 a0cec706 30654701 00000000 00000000

0x0018e098 d58c9a75 0cc9ed05 38cec706 00000000 20005e05 00010000 c0c2c466 03000000

0x0018e0b8 01000000 580fdf05 ffffffff 04000000 00000000 00000806 00200000 b408e705

0x0018e0d8 00000000 6422ee05 80010000 f8040000 a8304801 6ce71800 9820a566 b400e705

0x0018e0f8 0cc9ed05 01000000 a4cec706 a0cec706 88e71800 88e71800 88e71800 b442a566

Instruction data: (EIP is 0x06300057)

0x06300000 0f 28 35 c0 c2 c4 66 0f 28 3d d0 c2 c4 66 8b 35 64 66 ec 05 0b f6 0f 84 14 00 00 00 8b 3d d4 91

0x06300020 ec 05 8b 45 00 8b c8 8b d0 8b d8 e9 27 00 00 00 8b 3d d4 91 ec 05 8b 45 00 8b 75 70 83 ee 02 8d

0x06300040 0c 38 0f 48 c8 83 ee 01 8d 14 78 0f 48 d0 83 ee 01 8d 1c 79 0f 48 d8 0f 12 80 00 00 00 00 0f 6e

0x06300060 80 08 00 00 00 0f 16 81 00 00 00 00 0f 62 81 08 00 00 00 0f 12 92 00 00 00 00 0f 6e 8a 08 00 00

0x06300080 00 0f 16 93 00 00 00 00 0f 62 8b 08 00 00 00 0f 28 c8 0f c6 c2 88 0f c6 ca dd 0f 29 05 00 0b c5

0x063000a0 66 0f 29 0d 10 0b c5 66 0f 7f 05 20 0b c5 66 0f 7f 0d 28 0b c5 66 0f 29 3d 30 0b c5 66 0f 6e 80

[velcrosnap 0]

Unfortunately, unless someone who was on the SimCity 4 dev team would happen to appear, exception reports are rarely much of a help.

What model is your laptop?

The latest version of SC4 is 1.1.640, which means you don't have the BAT patch installed. This isn't a real biggie though at the moment,. nonetheless I would recommend installing it.

Have you tried running it as administrator?

Just listing off a few things.

[AlkieDropout 0]

Heya, thanks

I'm trying it in compatibility mode as XP SP2 and a as an administrator. I've also tried various combinations of the other tick boxes.

I'll try the bat patch,

I did notice on the log that there is an ACCESS_VIOLATION error, but I cannot see what it cannot access. If can write to the documents folder as this is where the exception log is.

thanks again

[AlkieDropout 0]

Heya Again,

I've installed that patch but sadly it's still the same fault (

[velcrosnap 0]

I didn't think the patch would do much.

What is the model of your laptop?

I also believe changing the CPU affinity is worth a try, but first I want to know what your hardware is.

[Nick9099 2]

Hmm... Windows 7 itself shouldn't be much of a problem, I'm running SC4 Deluxe on 7 and have no problem. Where did you install the game? Windows 7 is confusing in that it has two Program Files folders. One, called just "Program Files" is for 64-bit programs. The other, "Program Files(x86)" is for 32-bit programs. SC4 is a 32-bit program, so it won't work if you installed it in the "Program Files" directory.

Also, I've noticed that in your exception report (wich I am not able to deceipher), your paths are a mix of "System32" and "sysWOW64". now the thing is, the operating system uses the system32 directory for its 64-bit library. sysWOW64, on the other hand, is for 32-bit applications. Confusing, I know. but if it's going into system32, then there may be a problem.

Hopefully that can help.

[AlkieDropout 0]

Heya

Here is the spec of the laptop - I've just increased virtual memory to see if that helps. *crosses fingers*

OS = Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit

CPU = Intel Celeron D 220 (1.2GHz)

RAM = 3.0GB

HDD = 250GB

GFx = Onboard sharing 128MB of RAM (haven't seen an option to change this )

Model = ASUS X5DC

[AlkieDropout 0]

Set virtual memory to 4096 on both drives and still no joy (partitioned drive not 2 seperates)

Any other thoughts?

[AlkieDropout 0]

And just to make matters worse, I thought I'd install it on my XP desktop.

It didn't install, just got as far as disk 2 then froze ... didn't even get chance the install the XPack

I'm doomed never to play SC4 again

[swags 0]

Hey guys,

I actually have the same problem as you Alkie. I'm running Windows 7 Pro 32bit. It does the same thing to me, bridge screen, flash to black screen once or twice, and then nothing. I actually did have it running once, but never again since then.

I have a feeling it might have something to do with the video card/driver, but I can't be certain. However, not running in compatibility mode, it will go as described, and then a message will come up saying "Sim City 4 will run with the software driver when next launched." What puzzles me about this message is that it wasn't showing up before, but now it shows up every time. Very frustrating. Hope you guys can help.

Edit: FYI, I have an ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics card.

[AlkieDropout 0]

I've got it installing onto my XP Desktop at least, needed to run the install from the HDD.

Even copying the files off the disk kept crashing Windows Explorer, which is strange because no other CDs/DVDs or Games have this problem

Just need to fix Windows 7 Laptop now

[Slashback 136]

https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=24&threadid=113253&enterthread=y

I've made this thread about common technical issues with SC 4. Check it out...

[psander5 195]

I'm not sure how much help this will be (I know very little about technical stuff), but until today I've been having the same problem as the OP - I was getting the bridge screen, then a brief flash of the EA symbol spinning into view, then it cut back to desktop.

I spent hours searching random techie forums for solutions, and tried them all. It turned out though to be a relatively simple problem with the sound. The game was cutting at just the point where the first sounds kick in (that annoying "EA Games, challenge everything"). It was because my motherboard's on-board sound had been disabled. Once I re-enabled it (or rather, got my brother to do it for me) and downloaded the latest drivers for it, the game loaded up just as it should.

I didn't even have to run it in compatibility mode or as administrator. I hope this helps anyone else who's having the same sort of issue. It took me ages to think of sound. I was stuck on blaming graphics or Windows 7!!

[pagenotfound 53]

If i recall correctly, SC4 Rush Hour is incompatible with Windows 7, however the Deluxe version is indeed compatible. You should get the Deluxe version and install that.

[Nuclear550 3]

Yeah my deluxe runs fine on my laptop.

Specs:

Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

i3- 2.13ghz

RAM: 4gb DDR3

Ati Raedeon Mobility 4380 DDR3

[AlkieDropout 0]

heya,just tried SC4 Deluxe Edition and that has the same fault too

[SC4BOY 20]

There are 10's of thousands of people working the game fine.. why do think your problem is unique? RH, Deluxe, even people playing plain vanilla.. I mean really!

[AlkieDropout 0]

Originally posted by: SC4BOY

There are 10's of thousands of people working the game fine.. why do think your problem is unique? RH, Deluxe, even people playing plain vanilla.. I mean really!

quote>

What's with the attitude?

I'm having a problem playing SC4 on my Laptop and was asking people for advice on getting it working.

I know it does work as I have been doing a lot a research into it on other websites, I can also list countless people who are experiencing the same issue as my own.

I'd assumed that this, being the probably biggest collection of SC players, was a good place to ask for advice as there is a higher chance that somebody here may have had and fixed the issue.

[tungston 19]

You laptop might have a wide screen, so you may need to use a custom resolution.  Right click on the game shortcut, and choose "properties", in the target box add the tag to the path.

"C:\Program Files\Simcity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -CustomResolution:enabled -r1440x900x32 -f -intro:off

-w = windowed
-f = full screen
-r = resolution

Add a space after the quotation marks of the path. and one after each tag.  Use a resolution your monitor can display.

You must start the game with the shortcut at least once for the change to take effect.
 

[AlkieDropout 0]

You could be right *slaps forehead* it never occured to me that the widescreen monitor is the problem.

Cheers, i'll try it tonight

[AlkieDropout 0]

heya,

I tried it but still didnn't work, I was sure that one was going to be the issue

I even dropped the resolution to 800x600x32 and windowed mode ..... still no joy

[AlkieDropout 0]

Update: ---

Well, I've found a "sort of" solution, I downloaded VMPlayer from www.vmware.com and installed XP SP3 into that.

Running SC4RH in an XP Window within Windows 7 appears to work, this rules out any hardware conflict and leaves me with a software based problem.

I only ran SC4RH for about 5 minutes last night on a completely blank but patched install, it was late, so I cannot confirm stability yet.

Either: -

- A Windows 7 driver is duff but the XP one is OK

- Windows 7 itself has an issue with some aspect of SC4RH combined with the driver whereas with XP and the same combo of driver and SC4RH is OK.

- I set the resolution to 1024x768 in the window, trying to set this to 1366x768 tonight to check widescreen.

I dunno who's problem it is to fix it now.

New Driver?

New Windows Update?

New SC4RH patch?

No idea ... at least I can play it a little now.

[rjr1469 4]

I just brought my computer a week ago. (Windows 7 64bit, Radeon 5770) Simcity Deluxe loads fine and runs fine for about 5mins. then I encounter graphic problems, black screen and shadows, black boxes on and off freezes. I have also installed Sim Societies, which plays perfectly. So, I am not sure how to fix the Simcity problems.

[Slashback 136]

I had the same issue as you, my game won't work if my headset isn't plugged in (weird).

[Slashback 136]

I've listed up how you can get your game running in W7 (i've had some problems too), just go to this thread (i'm linking to it because it has an instruction that a don't want to type twice...

https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=24&threadid=113253&viewresults=y

Please use the edit function, instead of making sequential replies.

tungston

[rjr1469 4]

Thanks....I will try your suggestions!

[8thstretch 0]

I used to have crashes all the time with windows 7 (pretty much every 15-30 mins) but ever since I set the game to high affinity it hasn't crashed once
It has something to do with the dual core systems, simcity 4 wasnt designed for them, so it cant handle it.

Here's the link to do it: www.vistax64.com/gaming/197915-setting-processor-affinity-made-easy.html though it may or may not help you guys.

[MsProll21 0]

Well, I'm having the same issue.

Yesterday I upgraded my OS from Vista HP to Win 7 HP, 32-bit. Same problem as the OP, pic of bridge flash, blank screen, then desktop reappears with message box 'Can't initiate Direct Draw'. I'm running a dual-core AMD CPU, the 4200 chip (2.2GHz), so I disabled one of the processors and changed the affinity priority. This allowed the game to start and get as far as selecting a city to open, then it crashes while loading back to the desktop. I'm running the SC4 Deluxe version btw.

My graphic card is a Radeon X1650 w/512mb or vram. Since Win 7 runs DirectX11, I figure I should piggyback to DX9 or DX10 so I'll give that a try. Updating the video card drivers didn't help, so i rolled back to the previous version, since that worked before. Someone mentioned in this thread about changing the screen res if your monitor is a wide screen, which mine is. It's currently running on 1980x(? can't remember this number) which is the highest setting, so I'll piggyback that down to 1280x980, it's worth a try.

I wasn't a fan of Vista by a long shot, but now I'm sorry I even upgraded. At least SC4 was working properly. I've been all over the internet searching for a solution, so hopefully when I return back home, I'll give some of the suggested mentioned here a go, as well as rolling back the Direct X, even reinstalling my graphic card.

[MsProll21 0]

After HOURS of research, retrys, reboots, I finally got the game to work. And wouldn't you know it had absolutely nothing to do with the game & Win 7 compatiability issues, it had nothing to do with my graphic card, and nothing to with which Windows version I run SC4 on. So what was the culprit you wonder?

My plugins folder.

My plugin folder has over 3GB of goodies. It later dawned on me to remove the folder and start up the game. No crashes, no slowdowns, quick loads played for a good 20 minutes until I started missing my goodies. Now to go through the task of finding which download(s) are faulty. That can take a while, so I'm in no hurry.

I was at the point of going back to Vista but now I don't have to.