SimCity 4 Keeps Crashing on multiple cores

[Jazzmaster 716]

I am running SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

My computer specs are:

Asus G73SW

Intel i7 2nd Gen 2630QM

8GB 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM

Nvidia GTX 460M 1.5 GB GDDR5

Full LED-HD 1920x1080

500 GB HDD storage/120 GB Intel 510 Sata III SSD boot

Blu-Ray/DVD RW

Windows 7 Home Premium

I highlighted two things, because I think I pretty much know the problem. Time and again I've read about SimCity 4 running poorly on multi-core systems but I never posted because I never had this problem until I got a new computer. The game is crashing a lot more than it did on my old, single-core desktop. I can't really hone any one problem...it'll happen while I'm saving, plopping a building, changing from day to night or vice versa, zooming in or out, changing camera angles...or entirely at random.

I keep going to set the affinity to 1 but everytime I do, I get this error message:

Unable to Access or Set Processor Affinity. X The operation could not be completed. Access is denied.

I tried running SC4 in Windows XP compatibility mode but that had no real baring on it's problems...which leads me to assume it's the processor's fault, but for some reason Win7 isn't letting me change that. I did mess around in the security settings and found nothing...internet isn't giving clear answers, either.

I hope someone has the answer to this...thanks in advance for any input.

-Ian

EDIT: Did some digging around and found this...

Seems I have the problem, but no solution...how can I allow access to give special permissions to SimCity 4?

  Edited July 5, 2011 by Yoshiisland  

[z1 566]

Just add "-CPUCount:2" (without the quotes) to the command line in the shortcut you use to launch SC4. This works regardless of how many CPU cores you have. It's also much easier than setting the affinity every time you run SC4.

  Edited July 5, 2011 by z1  

[Jazzmaster 716]

Oh, wow. SimCity 4 is the only game I know of (among a few) that lets you type in commands like that...so simple but probably so overlooked. I don't actually remember seeing that command line shortcut in the list of them I found on a website for SC4, either. But it works, thanks mate!

EDIT: Annnoying, the game won't stop crashing...could setting the game to compatibility mode for XP Service Pack 3 be causing this? Or any compatibility mode for that matter?

  Edited July 6, 2011 by Yoshiisland  

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Oh, wow. SimCity 4 is the only game I know of (among a few) that lets you type in commands like that...so simple but probably so overlooked. I don't actually remember seeing that command line shortcut in the list of them I found on a website for SC4, either. But it works, thanks mate!

EDIT: Annnoying, the game won't stop crashing...could setting the game to compatibility mode for XP Service Pack 3 be causing this? Or any compatibility mode for that matter?

Depends. If the crashes are random after you've been running a while, try doing an in-game save (CTRL+s) after you've done something you want to keep. I am currently running in windows 2008 R2 mode, and it seems fine, but I do crash if I don't save regularly. I don't think it matters if you set a compatibility mode under windows because it recognizes the 32-bit program header and acts accordingly.

If you haven't, you could add DirectX 9.0c to your windows environment. Both versions are able to run concurrently, and the earlier version has always been recommended for SC4.

EDIT: Whether one is given or not, all programs have a command line.

  Edited July 6, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[z1 566]

EDIT: Annnoying, the game won't stop crashing...could setting the game to compatibility mode for XP Service Pack 3 be causing this? Or any compatibility mode for that matter?

Possibly. The game doesn't need to be set to any compatibility mode in any Windows OS; it runs fine natively right up through Windows 7 SP1. People typically turn on compatibility mode for this game when they don't know what else to do, but the problem is somewhere else.

[Jazzmaster 716]

Depends. If the crashes are random after you've been running a while, try doing an in-game save (CTRL+s) after you've done something you want to keep. I am currently running in windows 2008 R2 mode, and it seems fine, but I do crash if I don't save regularly. I don't think it matters if you set a compatibility mode under windows because it recognizes the 32-bit program header and acts accordingly.

If you haven't, you could add DirectX 9.0c to your windows environment. Both versions are able to run concurrently, and the earlier version has always been recommended for SC4.

EDIT: Whether one is given or not, all programs have a command line.

I do save...'early and often' is becoming my latest phrase for computer software, lol. I installed 9.0c, I guess I'll have to see how it runs (haven't tried it yet).

Switched off compatibility mode, but I don't think it makes a difference at all. I have yet to install SP1 for Win7, and I am actually on a NEW new computer (the G73 got a fried GPU; CompUSA let me have a comparable Alienware M17X, it's essentially the same machine).

EDIT: Did some digging around on the Steam forums, to see if the Steam version of SimCity 4 was somehow more optimized for newer OS's and hardware. I found a new addition to the command line, ' -EH:off'. There was no clear answer as to what it did...but since applying it to my command line the game ran a good hour or so without crashing (saved about 3-4 times during that session).

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Yoshiisland  

[SimGuy23 67]

Yes, I've been having the same problem. Just a few months ago, I installed it on Windows 7 Home Premium, without compatibility mode. Asus, it's a gaming computer, and it's Windows 64 bit. Only until now (just a few minutes ago) it randomly crashed; I can load my city for about 30 seconds and it crashes each time. Should I get XP mode???

[simplybatman 1]

Adding -CPUcount:1 to the short cut fixed my crashes full stop. Its an old game designed to run on old machines. Be sure to add the space...just tack it onto the end of the target line. Right click on your short cut in start menu and bring up the properties box and tack that onto the end. Im running windows 7,it should fix it.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Well, here is my command line. This doesn't crash very often any more, but I have become a friend of CTRL+s (in-game save).

"C:/Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Apps/SimCity 4.exe" \

-intro:off -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32 -d:software \

-CPUcount:1

Some notes:

• I am on Linux which uses the solidus (/) as path separators. Multi-line commands are allowed in scripts so :--
• The reverse solidus (\) tells the command system to ignore the new line and run the associated line(s) as a single command.
• The syntax of the command is like a sentence. Each word is separated by at least one space.

If anyone has any questions about this command line, which is specialized in some respects for my hardware environment, please PM me and I will be happy to explain. Note, the CPU count is set to 1, not 2.

Yoshii: If you can't set affinity, maybe it wants you to be an administrator? Windows goes overboard on some security issues.

[Jazzmaster 716]

^No worries about that. Setting affinity is the scenic/long route since you have to do this everytime you start up the game. The -CPUcount: 1 function in my command line makes affinity settings unnecessary. Windows can be quite aggressive with security indeed. Here's my full command line:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -w -CustomResolution:enabled -r1600x900x32 -intro:Off -CPUCount:1 -EH:Off -CPUPriority:high

  Edited February 13, 2012 by Yoshiisland  

[aaaling 83]

Try using "-CPUCount:1" instead of "-CPUCount:2". It works for me!

[Jazzmaster 716]

^Please note the date this was posted...almost half a year ago. The issue has been resolved now, but thank you.

[darxtar 0]

I wish it was resolved, but I tried everything suggested in this thread to no avail. Running Alienware M17X and the game gets as far as displaying the regional map. As soon as I select a city area and click OK, it runs the load screen for about 5 secs and then crashes, returning me to the desktop. Tried running under both integrated graphics and NVIDEA processor, running as administrator, with and without compatability, added command line suggestions, along with the full range of in-game resolution and rendering options. Same result every time.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Try running with the -d:software option. This ignores your graphics setup. In any case be sure that all your fancy 3D features are turned off or set to 'application selected'. This is a legacy game and it requires TLC not a sledge hammer.

[7238320 77]

darxtar - that kind of crash can also be brought on when you have conflicting mods - usually terrain and or "God mode" trees.

Have you tried starting with an empty plugins folder?

  Edited September 8, 2012 by 7238320  

[darxtar 0]

Thank you very much, A Nonny Moose and 7238320. It was indeed a mod conflict, the offending culprit being the Diagonal Jagged Edges Mod. Returning to the game after a significant hiatus (I think the NAM was only about v11...), got excited at all the additional content (itching to see PEGs SPAM, always admired his work), and wanted to install just what I thought were the basic essential addons I'd need. Sorry for the panic and jumping the gun.

[7238320 77]

Glad to learn you got it figured out. Happy Simming!

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Good find! You should make sure that all your plugins are current.

[Fatherted 129]

Use "-CPUCount-1" to get 0 crashes.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Use "-CPUCount-1" to get 0 crashes.

Not guaranteed. I had one yesterday.

[Gonglo 0]

Dear All

First post here and I'm feeling a bit fool but how to get to "-CPUCount-1" because my game keep crashing on again and again whenever I tried to load the city. Can some one please guide me to that command line.

Regards

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Welcome to the conversation.

If what you say is correct you have a syntax error in your option, which might account for the game quitting.

The syntax of the command line is pretty easy. After the final quote of the pathname (it is in quotes because it has spaces in it) you can place options. Each option can be thought of as a word in an English sentence, so that means they are separated by spaces. The basic syntax is:

-optionname[:value] That is, a hyphen (dash) followed immediately by the name of the option. Then, if this option requires a value, a colon( followed immediately by the value. Note that there must be a space after that final quote. Here is my command line as an example:

"C:/Program Files/Maxis/SimCity 4 Deluxe/Apps/SimCity 4.exe" -intro:off -CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32 -d:software -f -CPUcount:1

All on one line in your shortcut target, please. This probably folded even with the smaller type as I have a rather wide screen. I've highlighted the option you asked about. What my command line says is:

Launch "C:/ ..." without the annoying movie, with a DVI screen at 1920 by 1080 with 32 bit colour depth in software rendering mode, full screen, and only one CPU please.

Hope this clears this up for you. Also, if you want, you can go look at all the options for the command line here.

[Gonglo 0]

Dear A Nonny Moose thanks for reply that fast. Actually I couldn't cleared what I wanted to say was how to access that file where I can change that parameter. And If I am not creating any problem for you I read somewhere that changing the rendering mode to software can also be helpful to avoid CTD. Would you please guide me how to make these changes as my game is completely unplayable as soon as I try to load my cities.

My System parameter are Core i5 @ 2.8 Ghz and 4GB Ram shared memory.

Very warm regards and once again thank you very much for your time and expertise.

Gonglo

[Screwballl 196]

Sadly, this game plays fine on my old systems. One was an AthlonXP 3000+ with ATI 9600XT and 1.5GB DDR which recently died (from a power spike, was still running like new until that day), and currently on my Pentium 4HT (3.06GHz), 2GB DDR, and a nvidia 7300GS with Windows XP (hooked up to my 32" LCD using my wireless mouse and keyboard). Game is stable and plays very well.

Now on my main desktop, game plays for maybe 5 minutes at best, and but more likely to crash every 1-2 minutes. This system:

E6600 dual core 2.4GHz

4GB DDR2

Win7 64bit Home Prem

1792MB evga GTX260 (nvidia)

I have never been able to play SC4 on this system in the 4 years I have had it (previously had a nvidia 9800GT which didn't let game play either). This game just does not like newer hardware. I had WinXP on this system until a few months ago and that made no difference, game still refused to play properly with this newer hardware.

So really if you want to play this game without crashes, find an old system for $100-150 on craigslist, (it would help if it had a few recent technologies like SATA and PCI-e video slot capability) and set it up:

Bump the memory to 2-4GB, but do not go over 4GB. Memory is cheap these days.

Keep it using Windows XP (but make sure you have a good antivirus like Avira and good software firewall like Comodo). Usually helps to do a fresh clean format and reinstall of XP, and just use it for file backup for your network and this game.

Find an older or basic video card, make sure it matches the system (AGP or PCI-e) and buy the cheapest one from newegg, they're always $25-30, sometimes free shipping.

If you want to stick with one monitor, get a KVM switch to share the keyboard, video and mouse between the 2 systems.

Now for some people with newer hardware, it plays fine, so I think it is just a very picky game.

  Edited October 17, 2012 by Screwballl  

[Indiana Joe 1,752]

Dear A Nonny Moose thanks for reply that fast. Actually I couldn't cleared what I wanted to say was how to access that file where I can change that parameter. And If I am not creating any problem for you I read somewhere that changing the rendering mode to software can also be helpful to avoid CTD. Would you please guide me how to make these changes as my game is completely unplayable as soon as I try to load my cities.

My System parameter are Core i5 @ 2.8 Ghz and 4GB Ram shared memory.

Very warm regards and once again thank you very much for your time and expertise.

Gonglo

Right click on the SimCity 4 Icon on your desktop.

Select Properties.

In the box labeled Target: add a space to the end and type -CPUcount:1

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

@screwball: This game will play on any windows system if you treat it properly. You probably need to set the -CPUcount:1 option as a minimum to get it going in a modern machine. Some operating system developers think they are smarter than the programmers and try things the program was never designed to do when dispatching it to a processor (or two, which is fatal).

You also should not play at very high speed for extended periods. Playing in Cheetah mode just overruns your computer and the program which may exacerbate its tendency to crash. This is also true of machines faster than the old Pentium it was written on.

While playing, every time you do something major you'd prefer to not redo use the in-game save (CTRL+s). This does a garbage collect of a kind, and cleans things up somewhat.

Some crashes are caused by conflicting plugins. It might be worth a scan of the documentation for your plugin suite to see if there are any compatibility notes, although this kind of crash is more usual during the launch of the program. Care and feeding of plugins is something that has to be approached with full forethought.

[Gonglo 0]

Thank you Indy its accepting it after the quotation marks("). is it OK?

Regards

[mizzum727 2]

my game crashes all the time but i dont understand any off yall post to try to solve the problem, is there a video on how to do so?

[jason leo 485]

my game crashes all the time but i dont understand any off yall post to try to solve the problem, is there a video on how to do so?

What are the details of your computer ?

[lhrob 213]

*never mind*