Game won't start

[cancard 2]

I bought a brand new system with Windows 7, 64 bit. Other than whatever Acer packs it with, there are no programs but IE and SC4. Not even email. I have SC4 Rush hour and have used it for years on my Vista machine. On this new system I can't even get the game open. The screen goes black, as usual, the EA icon starts to show and then it closes. No warning, no problem box nothing. I have installed the updates and there is no custom content, just the game. I have installed and uninstalled five times now. Any ideas? Please be gentle with the jargon. I'm old and don't know much bout computers. Thanks in advance.

[Magneto 316]

Several users reported problems running SC4 under 64 bits systems. I can't really help as I don't have Win 7 installed, but maybe you could try to run SC4 on a single core (the game was designed to run with only 1 cpu).

To do this, right click on the SC4 shortcut on your desktop, and in the Target field, add at the end this: -CPUCount:1

Make sure you put a space before the -

You can also add other commands, just keep them separated with a space between them

I recommend -intro:off (will skip the intro) & -CustomResolution:enabled (will enable custom resolutions) followed by the resolution of your screen -rXXXxYYYxBB where XXXX is the first value of your res YYY the second value and B the color bits (either 16 or 32)

Example of my shortcut:

"C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe" -CustomResolution:enabled -r1280x800x16 -f -intro:off

This command will cut the intro and enable 1280x800 resolutions.

Hope it helps

  Edited August 8, 2012 by Magneto  

[kaotikone 0]

I dont have any problems on mine, now my best friend installed it from a flashdrive since my disk got scratched real bad so i cant actually say how he did it other than it does work.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

You have to have accelerated sound configured and connected. The game won't run without 3D graphics and accelerated sound.

On your 3D GPU controls make sure that all 3D effects are set to 'application selected' or equivalent wording. SC4 doesn't tolerate even anti-aliasing.

Other than that, I can't think of anything that would cause a failure at that level.

What is the build level of the game? To find this, use windows explorer to navigate to C:\Program Files....\Apps\SimCity 4.exe and hover your mouse over the file. The readout will give you the version which, fully ready to go, will be 1,1,640,0 or greater.

[cancard 2]

My sincerest thank to those that have attempted to help me with this issue. I have tried your various suggestions however the same problem is occuring. Below is a copy of the header of the exception report:

Exception time: 08/09/2012, at 15:01:18.

Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.

Current thread ID: 4208 (0x00001070).

Version information:

Application/module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe

Application/module version name: SimCity 4

Application/module version: 1.1.610.0

System version: Windows NT 6.1

System memory: 4096 Megabytes total, 4096 Megabytes free.

Exception module: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.

Exception address: 0x008768cf. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x0046f8cf.

From what I have found the exception cod refers to McAfee Anti-virus, but I do not have McAfee. Any ideas?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

My sincerest thank to those that have attempted to help me with this issue. I have tried your various suggestions however the same problem is occuring. Below is a copy of the header of the exception report:

Exception time: 08/09/2012, at 15:01:18.

Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.

Current thread ID: 4208 (0x00001070).

Version information:

Application/module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe

Application/module version name: SimCity 4

Application/module version: 1.1.610.0

System version: Windows NT 6.1

System memory: 4096 Megabytes total, 4096 Megabytes free.

Exception module: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.

Exception address: 0x008768cf. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x0046f8cf.

From what I have found the exception cod refers to McAfee Anti-virus, but I do not have McAfee. Any ideas?

You have the unpatched version of deluxe loaded from a CD. You need both the EP1 patch and the Update4BAT to get to be able to use any content from here, especially the NAM. It is not surprising your game does not run correctly.

EP1 can be got from SC4Devotion by going to the EA Support button, accepting the agreement and downloading the correct version of the patch (in your case, the North American one). While you are still on that site, open the BAT page and get the update4BAT or whatever it is called now. You only need this patch, not the whole BAT. If you have to register, it is free.

The exception code has nothing to do with your virus scanner. It is the standard crash caused by the game attempting to branch or access data through a zero pointer.

So install the two patches in order. EP1 first. Let us know what happens after that. You don't need to do anything to your plugins.

[cancard 2]

Thanks again to all, especially Mr Moose(or is it Ms Moose?), but I already had the mentioned updates installed. In my frustration I took out the game disk, put in a Led Zeppelin DVD, and then tried again before bed. It worked just fine! The speed and lack of stalling is unreal. Now I'm experiencing the game at a level I only hoped for. The wife ain't too happy though but who cares. Thanks again.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

You had better care about your wife. Wives come before anything, period. Before she died mine was my right hand.