How can I access my cities from another user

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

I had to take my computer's hard drive (which had my Simcity 4 files on it) out and it is currently being used as an external hard drive on another computer.  I can boot Simcity 4 from the external drive just fine (with the CD as well of course), but almost my cities won't load.  I know that it is because I am not using the same user and it usually boots from either the Simcity folder or the My Documents, both on the internal hard drive (and on this new computer SC4 is not installed).  However, since I am using a new computer, the My Documents folder on the drive isn't recognized as a true My Documents (rather, it acts just like a normal folder).  Is there a way to change it to specify which folder to load from? 

[cogeo 960]

The (original) My Documents\Simcity 4\Plugins folder can be copied under the My Documents folder of the (new) user (the one you are currently logged-in, to run Simcity). But it's not necessary, you can instead change simcity's command-line (shortcut) to specify an alternative (rather than the default) user Plugins folder (too bored to search now, pls search in the forums for SC4's command-line parameters).

 

But it's not just that, I don't know if you can load SC4 without installing it. Installation doesn't mean just copy some files, it writes some data in the registry as well. I would recommend (although I'm not sure if this is enough and if it works) that you export the simcity registry data from a computer with a working SC4 installation, and import them to the new computer. Then of course copy your user Plugins folder under the new user's My Documents folder (or specify an alternative Pugins folder) as mentioned above, before attempting to run SC4.

 

About the CD, you can get rid of it if you create a CD image and install some virtual CD program. Take a look and

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The option is -userdir:<complete path name ending with a slash>

 

Complete options list.

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

OK, I did this and for some reason the result is a lot of empty cities in the place of a lot of other cities.

 

Before

 

After

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Without all the  gory details of your set up, there is no telling what has happened.

[Prophet42 1,500]

Actually I have had this happen before where a city looks like it has disappeared.  Check your city folder under regions and make sure the city file still exists.  If it does, then start SC4 and try opening the city and re-save it.  If that was successful, then next time you're in region view, the city should appear.

[cogeo 960]

Did you do the registry thingy? DId you set the "Install Dir" entry (in the registry) to point to the new main directory? In my installation it is terminated with a backslash.

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

Actually I have had this happen before where a city looks like it has disappeared.  Check your city folder under regions and make sure the city file still exists.  If it does, then start SC4 and try opening the city and re-save it.  If that was successful, then next time you're in region view, the city should appear.

It was still blank, and the city files were intact in the folder. 

 

Did you do the registry thingy? DId you set the "Install Dir" entry (in the registry) to point to the new main directory? In my installation it is terminated with a backslash.

How?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Learn to use the Registry Editor (regedit).  It is not difficult, but always, always back up your registry before you do anything.

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

I know how to use regedit, but where is the file?

[Cyclone Boom 16,829]

For a 64-bit system, SimCity 4's registry entries are usually stored in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Maxis\SimCity 4".

 

But if this isn't the case, in the registry editor, press Ctrl+F to open the search box:

 

 

Then check the option highlighted in red, and type "Install Dir".

 

After clicking Find Next, the registry will be searched for this specific entry name. If it doesn't show at first, press F3 to continue searching for recurring instances. Once found, take Nonny's advice and create a local backup (right click SimCity 4 > export > save). The "Install Dir" entry can then be safely modified to the correct installation path.

[cogeo 960]

What OS does the "new" computer run?

[WeBuiltThisCityOnSimCity 40]

What OS does the "new" computer run?

Both the old and new used Windows 7.

[cogeo 960]

In my 64-bit Win7 system, the Simcity 4 settings are under key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Maxis\SimCity 4". First go to the original computer and find this key (if you have a different version, eg a 32-bit one, you can search). Then focus on this key, right-click and select "Export". Then go to the new computer and double-click on the exported file. This will import the file's contents into the registry of the new computer. Then run Regedit on the new computer, go to the aforementioned key and change the "Install Dir" entry, so that it points to the external drive. Alternatively, save the exported file as .txt (or .reg and then rename it to .txt) and edit it with Notepad. Then change the extension to .reg and double-click on it to import it.

 

Note1: You may need to repeat the above procedure for the following key: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Maxis\Electronic Arts\Maxis\SimCity 4" and/or "...\SimCity 4 Rush Hour". They contain some character sequences which look like registration codes to me, so sorry, I can't make them available to you (or anyone).

 

Note2: in my installation, the path in the "Install Dir" entry is in short filename format (8.3, no spaces). I don't know if this is a requirement, but if it doesn't work, you can obtain the short filename equivalent by using the dir /X command (in Command Prompt).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

We've kind of gone far afield from the original question.  The original question implies both accounts are on the same machine.  In that case, it is simply a matter of permissions and appropriate links in the .../Regions/ folder.  Has this problem been solved?

[cogeo 960]

We've kind of gone far afield from the original question.  The original question implies both accounts are on the same machine.  In that case, it is simply a matter of permissions and appropriate links in the .../Regions/ folder. 

 

Not really, the original question explicitly mentions that the HD was taken out of the old computer, and used as an additional disk on the new one (which lacks a SC4 installation). The new computer must be aware that SC4 is available, and the "Install Dir" entry tells the SC4 executable where the installation folder is.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I am not sure if the O/S will accept a redirection like that in the registry.  Did you try it?  There is more to launching a program than that.

[cogeo 960]

It's not a redirection by any definition. The executable will be running on the new computer, and of course will be looking into the local registry for its settings. The only difference is that the main simcity installation will be on a different drive (say E:) instead of C:, and the user Plugins folder on a non-default path (specified in the command-line). I don't see what the OS has to do with this. The user of course must have access rights in both the main and user folders.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, if it wasn't for that never to be sufficiently damned registry, the whole thing would be a lot simpler.  If MS ever had a wrong idea, that one is most certainly it.