SimCity 4 DE Exception Report - Why is game crashing when loading city tile?

[MichaelJBull769 55]

Attached is my exception report. I don't know why game is crashing.

SimCity Exception Report 2020.08.10 14.45.30.txt

[CorinaMarie 29,891]

The second line in there: Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION. makes me wonder if it's a permissions problem.

Is this a new install? Or having you been playing before and this suddenly happened?

[MichaelJBull769 55]

Thanks for the reply. Yes this is been happening since I resumed playing SimCity 4 deluxe edition.

[CorinaMarie 29,891]

Ok. If you temporarily rename your Plugins folder in your Documents folder to something like Plugins-Hold then run the game, does it still crash?

[MichaelJBull769 55]

I think my steam install gets corrupted some way and then I have to re-patch the 4gb file with the NAM version 37. It's know it's not my plugins. I could try moving my plugins to something like Plugins-Hold if that was the case.

[CorinaMarie 29,891]

Ah. Well, phooey. If it is indeed something in Steam borking it, I'm out of my league as I'm only familiar with the old disc version on XP and now GoG on my Win 7.

Hopefully some Steam experts can pop in with some ideas.

[MichaelJBull769 55]

Thanks for the help! Even though steam issue isn't solved. The reason why I use steam is that my newer laptop doesn't have a cd tray in it.

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

The issue with the ACCESS_VIOLATION is not likely to be plugin content related. This kind of error in my experience is more likely to be the program has attempted to write to memory it does not have permission to address. The error is stopped before the overwrite occurs generally so don't worry too much about damage to other programs.

If Cori's suggestion of giving C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe Admin permissions doesn't work then I'd try a complete re-install of the game followed by bringing the plugins back in chunks to make sure it isn't the game trying to chomp the extra RAM.

[rsc204 21,866]

Honestly this sounds like you've not correctly installed the 4GB Patch, without it modern machines can run out of memory, not because you don't have enough, but simply due to the way in which the system allocates it. All this patch does is flick a switch that tells the OS to allocate memory more efficiently.

If you are sure this is correctly patched, but without any plugins present you still get CTDs, then I suspect the issue is with your graphics card, drivers and renderer used with SC4.

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

19 hours ago, MichaelJBull said:

Attached is my exception report...

"System memory: 1024 Megabytes total, 1024 Megabytes free."

First, 1024 meg looks low (that's only 1GB). Add RAM to your machine.

Second, try to run again but with intro off. I don't know how to set command-line switches in Steam, so you'll have to find out.

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

40 minutes ago, jeffryfisher said:

I don't know how to set command-line switches in Steam, so you'll have to find out.

While I don't use Steam and so I'm unable to verify it's still the same, this post I made a while ago might be useful:
 

 

[MichaelJBull769 55]

How do I allocate more RAM to SimCity 4 Delexe Edition (Steam Copy). Since I have 16 GB of ram on my machine.

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

18 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

First, 1024 meg looks low (that's only 1GB). Add RAM to your machine.

Second, try to run again but with intro off. I don't know how to set command-line switches in Steam, so you'll have to find out.

I saw that same thing in my log files from the game. I'm not exactly sure how SC4 thinks I have 1GB and that all of it is free... I have 8GB of RAM in the machine I use to play SC4 with!  

I noticed it a couple weeks ago when I had to diagnose a graphical issue (solved it). The game runs and plays alright still so I assume it's a mistake on SC4's end or an incompatibility issue with SC4. 

Overall, it is odd: on another machine I have SC4 installed on, I had to look at the log once for something and saw a more normal amount installed. I'll have to check and verify again but IIRC that was the case. 

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

On 8/11/2020 at 4:34 PM, MichaelJBull said:

How do I allocate more RAM

Run the 4GB patch on on SC4 successfully. According to your report, SC4 thinks it can access only 1GB.

[MichaelJBull769 55]

Ok thanks

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

I am not trying to get off topic here (this is a RAM related thing), but this is response from an earlier post on this thread. As most people know, the WIndows version SC4 is only a 32bit program. Unpatched, it only has access to 2GB of RAM. Patched, of course, lets the game use 4GB of RAM.

I'll call this Machine #1 (Windows 7 Ultimate, 8GB of RAM, 2.4GHz Quad Core Intel i7, Intel HD Graphics 4600) - this is the latest and last exception report. I don't play SC4 on this machine anymore as my other machine plays it better (with high shadows! ).

Spoiler

Exception time: 01/19/2020, at 03:49:07.
Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.
Current thread ID: 4708 (0x00001264).
Version information:
Application/module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
Application/module version name: SimCity 4
Application/module version: 1.1.640.0
System version: Windows NT 6.1
System memory: 4096 Megabytes total, 3240 Megabytes free.

Exception module:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
Exception address: 0x0065ee40. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x00257e40.

Registers
   EAX: 0018f700
   EBX: 0018f704
   ECX: 00000000
   EDX: 000000c1
   ESI: 00000000
   EDI: 1c7cb19c
   CS:EIP: 0023:0065ee40
   SS:ESP: 002b:0018f6c8  EBP:0018f6ff
   DS:002b  ES:002b  FS:0053  GS:002b
   Flags: 00210246

Loaded Modules
   Address          Size Module             Path
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   0x00400000    8159232 SimCity 4.exe      C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
   0x77500000    1572864 ntdll.dll          C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll
   0x74d30000    1114112 kernel32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll
   0x63810000      65536 aswhook.dll        C:\Program Files\AVG\Antivirus\x86\aswhook.dll
   0x75c10000     290816 KERNELBASE.dll     C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll
   0x63820000     262144 SBA_ISWWH.dll      C:\Program Files (x86)\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\EFR\wow64\SBA_ISWWH.dll
   0x74870000     126976 cphnt32.dll        C:\Program Files (x86)\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\EFR\cphnt32.dll
   0x74c80000     659456 ADVAPI32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\ADVAPI32.dll
   0x76e10000     704512 msvcrt.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll
   0x75ba0000     102400 sechost.dll        C:\Windows\SysWOW64\sechost.dll
   0x74f10000     983040 RPCRT4.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\RPCRT4.dll
   0x74c20000     393216 SspiCli.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SspiCli.dll
   0x74c10000      49152 CRYPTBASE.dll      C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPTBASE.dll
   0x73160000      28672 WSOCK32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll
   0x75bc0000     217088 WS2_32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\WS2_32.dll
   0x76ca0000      24576 NSI.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\NSI.dll
   0x75160000    4419584 WININET.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WININET.dll
   0x75c60000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76ba0000    1048576 user32.DLL         C:\Windows\syswow64\user32.DLL
   0x755a0000     589824 GDI32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\GDI32.dll
   0x75d40000      40960 LPK.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\LPK.dll
   0x75b00000     643072 USP10.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\USP10.dll
   0x74e40000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-shlwapi-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76f60000     356352 shlwapi.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\shlwapi.DLL
   0x74eb0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-version-l1-1-0.dll
   0x73400000      36864 version.DLL        C:\Windows\system32\version.DLL
   0x750b0000      12288 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-normaliz-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76f50000      12288 normaliz.DLL       C:\Windows\syswow64\normaliz.DLL
   0x757c0000    2326528 iertutil.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\iertutil.dll
   0x75ad0000      20480 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x75ae0000     102400 USERENV.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\USERENV.dll
   0x750c0000      45056 profapi.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\profapi.dll
   0x75db0000   12894208 SHELL32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SHELL32.dll
   0x74940000     466944 DSOUND.dll         C:\Windows\system32\DSOUND.dll
   0x76fc0000    1437696 ole32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\ole32.dll
   0x74900000     204800 WINMM.dll          C:\Windows\system32\WINMM.dll
   0x748d0000     151552 POWRPROF.dll       C:\Windows\system32\POWRPROF.dll
   0x76a00000    1691648 SETUPAPI.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\SETUPAPI.dll
   0x75d80000     159744 CFGMGR32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\CFGMGR32.dll
   0x75ca0000     598016 OLEAUT32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\OLEAUT32.dll
   0x75c70000      73728 DEVOBJ.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\DEVOBJ.dll
   0x74780000     819200 OPENGL32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\OPENGL32.dll
   0x74750000     139264 GLU32.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GLU32.dll
   0x74660000     946176 DDRAW.dll          C:\Windows\system32\DDRAW.dll
   0x74650000      24576 DCIMAN32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\DCIMAN32.dll
   0x74850000      77824 dwmapi.dll         C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll
   0x74620000     135168 MSVFW32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSVFW32.dll
   0x72ec0000     540672 COMCTL32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_5.82.7601.18837_none_ec86b8d6858ec0bc\COMCTL32.dll
   0x75760000     393216 IMM32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\IMM32.dll
   0x75a00000     843776 MSCTF.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\MSCTF.dll
   0x65b60000     311296 apphelp.dll        C:\Windows\system32\apphelp.dll
   0x5e140000    2203648 AcGenral.DLL       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.DLL
   0x60920000     524288 UxTheme.dll        C:\Windows\system32\UxTheme.dll
   0x73010000      61440 samcli.dll         C:\Windows\system32\samcli.dll
   0x74600000      81920 MSACM32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSACM32.dll
   0x745f0000      12288 sfc.dll            C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll
   0x745e0000      53248 sfc_os.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\sfc_os.DLL
   0x76cb0000    1372160 urlmon.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\urlmon.dll
   0x75c00000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x6deb0000      73728 MPR.dll            C:\Windows\system32\MPR.dll
   0x745c0000      86016 cphusr32.dll       C:\Program Files (x86)\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\EFR\cphusr32.dll
   0x75c90000      20480 psapi.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\psapi.dll
   0x64c40000    1695744 comctl32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7601.24483_none_2b200f664577e14b\comctl32.dll
   0x750d0000     536576 CLBCatQ.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\CLBCatQ.DLL
   0x65560000    1003520 propsys.dll        C:\Windows\system32\propsys.dll
   0x72e80000     135168 ntmarta.dll        C:\Windows\system32\ntmarta.dll
   0x74ec0000     282624 WLDAP32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WLDAP32.dll
   0x72830000     335872 rasapi32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\rasapi32.dll
   0x72810000      86016 rasman.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rasman.dll
   0x75630000    1187840 CRYPT32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPT32.dll
   0x76e00000      49152 MSASN1.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\MSASN1.dll
   0x72e60000      94208 CRYPTSP.dll        C:\Windows\system32\CRYPTSP.dll
   0x72e20000     241664 rsaenh.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rsaenh.dll
   0x72dc0000      94208 bcrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\bcrypt.dll
   0x72d80000     249856 bcryptprimitives.d C:\Windows\SysWOW64\bcryptprimitives.dll
   0x72de0000     233472 ncrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\ncrypt.dll
   0x67c30000      90112 GPAPI.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GPAPI.dll
   0x67c10000     118784 cryptnet.dll       C:\Windows\system32\cryptnet.dll
   0x654c0000      24576 SensApi.dll        C:\Windows\system32\SensApi.dll
   0x59d80000   24080384 igdumdim32.dll     C:\Windows\system32\igdumdim32.dll
   0x594d0000    9068544 igdusc32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\igdusc32.dll
   0x74070000     835584 D3DIM700.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL
   0x74580000     233472 MMDevApi.dll       C:\Windows\System32\MMDevApi.dll
   0x74030000     221184 AUDIOSES.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\AUDIOSES.DLL
   0x72d70000      32768 Secur32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\Secur32.dll
   0x72640000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\system32\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l2-1-0.dll
   0x727c0000     245760 mswsock.dll        C:\Windows\system32\mswsock.dll
   0x72630000      24576 wship6.dll         C:\Windows\System32\wship6.dll
   0x73510000     114688 IPHLPAPI.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\IPHLPAPI.DLL
   0x73500000      28672 WINNSI.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\WINNSI.DLL
   0x74570000      28672 avrt.dll           C:\Windows\system32\avrt.dll
   0x6d510000     507904 DbgHelp.dll        C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\DbgHelp.dll

Call stack:
(Debug information (.pdb files) appears to be absent).
0x0001:0x00257e40 C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0000:0x00000000 .

Stack data: (ESP is 0x0018f6c8)
0x0018f548   180d0503 9826b600 40ee6500 00000000 a400bc00 14b07c1c 31326300 94ccac53
0x0018f568   c0f61800 00000000 00000000 00000000 282a0f29 7e0b9300 00000000 00000000
0x0018f588   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0018f5a8   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 180d0503
0x0018f5c8   00000000 24049a2a 00000000 00000000 180d0503 00000000 84039a2a 00000000
0x0018f5e8   00000000 180d0503 00000000 00000000 00000000 180d0503 00000000 e0f61800
0x0018f608   00000000 00000000 180d0503 00000000 e0f61800 00000000 00000000 180d0503
0x0018f628   00000000 e0f61800 00000000 00000000 180d0503 00000000 e0f61800 00000000
0x0018f648   00000000 180d0503 00000000 9cb17c1c 00000000 54943232 7e0b9300 25000000
0x0018f668   180d0503 34b9bd39 c4f61800 00000000 c4d3cf15 7e0b9300 180d0503 9826b600
0x0018f688   cf555e00 25000000 141d8129 180d0503 141d8129 00000000 00000000 144c6223
0x0018f6a8   7e0b9300 180d0503 9826b600 ed515000 9cb17c1c 9cb17c1c 00000000 30ee6500
0x0018f6c8   9cb17c1c 00000000 01000000 144c6223 00000000 c4b17c1c 770b6600 00f71800
0x0018f6e8   04f71800 ffff7f7f 00000000 14b07c1c 5fbc0000 5cbc0000 04f71800 40909443
0x0018f708   d414cc06 14b07c1c 54973232 00000000 5cbc0000 354f6400 00000000 14b07c1c
0x0018f728   00000000 08000000 40909443 40909443 84a03f24 685bb400 40909443 40909443
0x0018f748   40909443 00000000 b8b07c1c 01d36200 9cb17c1c a3000000 14981d29 bb000000
0x0018f768   1c04f032 ffff7fff 01000000 5ebc0000 14cce929 08000000 a3000000 bb000000
0x0018f788   94d7861f 00000000 2838e732 00000000 00000000 00000000 a3000000 bb000000
0x0018f7a8   1c04f032 14981d29 1c04f032 00886203 b064eb32 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0018f7c8   74166600 a3000000 bb000000 1c04f032 00000000 14981d29 140c1401 14981d29
0x0018f7e8   e846ae00 bfc89900 bb000000 14b07c1c 08000000 ae7d9d00 b052b400 bb960040
0x0018f808   057a0100 00003040 00000040 00802245 47909443 00803b45 00010000 a2000000
0x0018f828   0203ffff 0000803f 00000000 00000000 00000000 0000803f 00000000 00000000

Instruction data: (EIP is 0x0065ee40)
0x0065edc0   24 10 51 8d 4f 28 c7 44 24 28 ff ff 7f 7f 33 f6 e8 bb 15 e5 ff 8b 4c 24 10 85 c9 8b 5c 24 20 74
0x0065ede0   59 d9 41 0c 8d 51 08 d8 22 d8 15 54 10 a8 00 df e0 f6 c4 05 7b 70 d8 54 24 24 df e0 f6 c4 05 7a
0x0065ee00   0b 8b 59 04 d9 5c 24 24 8b f2 eb 02 dd d8 d9 05 54 10 a8 00 d9 44 24 24 da e9 df e0 f6 c4 44 7b
0x0065ee20   19 8b 09 85 c9 75 0b 8d 4c 24 10 e8 c0 ee ed ff 8b c8 85 c9 89 4c 24 10 75 a7 8b 44 24 1c 89 18
0x0065ee40   8b 4e 18 f6 c1 02 74 34 d9 46 08 d8 56 04 df e0 f6 c4 41 7a 25 d8 1e df e0 f6 c4 01 75 1e 8b 56
0x0065ee60   08 e9 c4 00 00 00 8b 51 04 dd d8 5e 5b 89 57 10 5f 32 c0 5d 83 c4 08 c2 0c 00 dd d8 f6 c1 04 8b
0x0065ee80   06 8b 56 04 89 44 24 10 89 54 24 14 74 65 d9 44 24 10 d8 5e 0c df e0 f6 c4 05 7a 07 8b 46 0c 89
0x0065eea0   44 24 10 d9 44 24 14 d8 5e 10 df e0 f6 c4 41 75 07 8b 4e 10 89 4c 24 14 d9 44 24 14 d8 5c 24 10

 

This is Machine #2 (Windows 7 Professional, 8GB of RAM, 3.2GHz Quad Core Intel i5, AMD Radeon HD 3450) - this is the latest exception report I have: 
 

Spoiler

Exception time: 07/24/2020, at 02:01:59.
Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.
Current thread ID: 1356 (0x0000054c).
Version information:
Application/module path: C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
Application/module version name: SimCity 4
Application/module version: 1.1.641.0
System version: Windows NT 5.1
System memory: 1024 Megabytes total, 1024 Megabytes free.

Exception module:  C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
Exception address: 0x0096da20. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x00566a20.

Registers
   EAX: 00000000
   EBX: 02ebef5c
   ECX: 0000024a
   EDX: 0000054c
   ESI: 02ebef0c
   EDI: 1eb16614
   CS:EIP: 0023:0096da20
   SS:ESP: 002b:0018f8a4  EBP:0018f8a8
   DS:002b  ES:002b  FS:0053  GS:002b
   Flags: 00210246

Loaded Modules
   Address          Size Module             Path
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   0x00400000    8159232 SimCity 4.exe      C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
   0x77e50000    1572864 ntdll.dll          C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll
   0x76570000    1114112 kernel32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll
   0x76c20000     290816 KERNELBASE.dll     C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll
   0x764a0000     659456 ADVAPI32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\ADVAPI32.dll
   0x76220000     704512 msvcrt.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll
   0x75fe0000     102400 sechost.dll        C:\Windows\SysWOW64\sechost.dll
   0x75d60000     983040 RPCRT4.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\RPCRT4.dll
   0x75570000     393216 SspiCli.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SspiCli.dll
   0x75560000      49152 CRYPTBASE.dll      C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPTBASE.dll
   0x754f0000      28672 WSOCK32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll
   0x75a30000     217088 WS2_32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\WS2_32.dll
   0x76c00000      24576 NSI.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\NSI.dll
   0x76680000    4419584 WININET.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WININET.dll
   0x761f0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x75e50000    1048576 user32.DLL         C:\Windows\syswow64\user32.DLL
   0x76010000     589824 GDI32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\GDI32.dll
   0x75a80000      40960 LPK.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\LPK.dll
   0x76150000     643072 USP10.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\USP10.dll
   0x76c10000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-shlwapi-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76ba0000     356352 shlwapi.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\shlwapi.DLL
   0x76480000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-version-l1-1-0.dll
   0x73dc0000      36864 version.DLL        C:\Windows\system32\version.DLL
   0x75a70000      12288 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-normaliz-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76470000      12288 normaliz.DLL       C:\Windows\syswow64\normaliz.DLL
   0x75a90000    2318336 iertutil.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\iertutil.dll
   0x76490000      20480 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76200000      94208 USERENV.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\USERENV.dll
   0x76000000      45056 profapi.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\profapi.dll
   0x76cf0000   12894208 SHELL32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SHELL32.dll
   0x75470000     466944 DSOUND.dll         C:\Windows\system32\DSOUND.dll
   0x75690000    1437696 ole32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\ole32.dll
   0x75430000     204800 WINMM.dll          C:\Windows\system32\WINMM.dll
   0x75400000     151552 POWRPROF.dll       C:\Windows\system32\POWRPROF.dll
   0x762d0000    1691648 SETUPAPI.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\SETUPAPI.dll
   0x757f0000     159744 CFGMGR32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\CFGMGR32.dll
   0x755f0000     593920 OLEAUT32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\OLEAUT32.dll
   0x76550000      73728 DEVOBJ.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\DEVOBJ.dll
   0x75330000     819200 OPENGL32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\OPENGL32.dll
   0x75300000     139264 GLU32.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GLU32.dll
   0x737c0000     946176 DDRAW.dll          C:\Windows\system32\DDRAW.dll
   0x752f0000      24576 DCIMAN32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\DCIMAN32.dll
   0x752d0000      77824 dwmapi.dll         C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll
   0x752a0000     135168 MSVFW32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSVFW32.dll
   0x73730000     540672 COMCTL32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_5.82.7601.18837_none_ec86b8d6858ec0bc\COMCTL32.dll
   0x760a0000     393216 IMM32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\IMM32.dll
   0x76ad0000     839680 MSCTF.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\MSCTF.dll
   0x744b0000     311296 apphelp.dll        C:\Windows\system32\apphelp.dll
   0x73510000    2203648 AcGenral.DLL       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.DLL
   0x73f00000     524288 UxTheme.dll        C:\Windows\system32\UxTheme.dll
   0x75290000      61440 samcli.dll         C:\Windows\system32\samcli.dll
   0x75270000      81920 MSACM32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSACM32.dll
   0x744a0000      12288 sfc.dll            C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll
   0x73d60000      53248 sfc_os.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\sfc_os.DLL
   0x75820000    1376256 urlmon.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\urlmon.dll
   0x755d0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x734f0000      73728 MPR.dll            C:\Windows\system32\MPR.dll
   0x73460000     577536 AcLayers.dll       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll
   0x73400000     331776 WINSPOOL.DRV       C:\Windows\system32\WINSPOOL.DRV
   0x72660000    2461696 AcXtrnal.DLL       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcXtrnal.DLL
   0x73dd0000      24576 SHUNIMPL.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\SHUNIMPL.DLL
   0x733f0000      53248 SortServer2003Comp C:\Windows\system32\SortServer2003Compat.dll
   0x76ac0000      20480 psapi.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\psapi.dll
   0x72980000    1695744 comctl32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7601.18837_none_41e855142bd5705d\comctl32.dll
   0x75cd0000     536576 CLBCatQ.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\CLBCatQ.DLL
   0x72560000    1003520 propsys.dll        C:\Windows\system32\propsys.dll
   0x733c0000     135168 ntmarta.dll        C:\Windows\system32\ntmarta.dll
   0x76100000     282624 WLDAP32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WLDAP32.dll
   0x73360000     335872 rasapi32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\rasapi32.dll
   0x73340000      86016 rasman.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rasman.dll
   0x73cc0000      45056 atiu9pag.dll       C:\Windows\system32\atiu9pag.dll
   0x77940000    1187840 CRYPT32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPT32.dll
   0x755e0000      49152 MSASN1.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\MSASN1.dll
   0x728d0000      94208 CRYPTSP.dll        C:\Windows\system32\CRYPTSP.dll
   0x72280000     241664 rsaenh.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rsaenh.dll
   0x72950000      94208 bcrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\bcrypt.dll
   0x72910000     249856 bcryptprimitives.d C:\Windows\SysWOW64\bcryptprimitives.dll
   0x72430000     233472 ncrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\ncrypt.dll
   0x728f0000      90112 GPAPI.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GPAPI.dll
   0x72410000     118784 cryptnet.dll       C:\Windows\system32\cryptnet.dll
   0x72400000      24576 SensApi.dll        C:\Windows\system32\SensApi.dll
   0x72310000     942080 aticfx32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\aticfx32.dll
   0x714b0000    6283264 atiumdag.dll       C:\Windows\system32\atiumdag.dll
   0x71c10000    4792320 atiumdva.dll       C:\Windows\system32\atiumdva.dll
   0x72490000     835584 D3DIM700.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL
   0x722d0000     233472 MMDevApi.dll       C:\Windows\System32\MMDevApi.dll
   0x71bd0000     221184 AUDIOSES.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\AUDIOSES.DLL
   0x728c0000      32768 Secur32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\Secur32.dll
   0x72270000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\system32\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l2-1-0.dll
   0x72230000     245760 mswsock.dll        C:\Windows\system32\mswsock.dll
   0x72220000      24576 wship6.dll         C:\Windows\System32\wship6.dll
   0x72200000     114688 IPHLPAPI.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\IPHLPAPI.DLL
   0x721f0000      28672 WINNSI.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\WINNSI.DLL
   0x721e0000      53248 dhcpcsvc6.DLL      C:\Windows\system32\dhcpcsvc6.DLL
   0x721c0000      73728 dhcpcsvc.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\dhcpcsvc.DLL
   0x72970000      28672 avrt.dll           C:\Windows\system32\avrt.dll
   0x6d510000     507904 DbgHelp.dll        C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\DbgHelp.dll

Call stack:
GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 392227

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 402585

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 424395

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 461009

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 424395

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 414014

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 413954

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 413571

0x0001:0x00403421 C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0000:0x00000000 .
0x0002:0x00022c80 C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0001:0x001d7c10 C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.

Stack data: (ESP is 0x0018f8a4)
0x0018f724   546df04a a0f81800 00000000 48f71800 8a45eb77 cd327c73 00000000 00000000
0x0018f744   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0018f764   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 70c16e72
0x0018f784   a8f71800 a8f71800 08000000 74f71800 0000d900 6cf81800 11000000 d8bfc92f
0x0018f7a4   c25eac2f a028d12f 2d46eb77 70c16e72 22000000 00001900 68c16e72 0c0e6972
0x0018f7c4   58b30500 ecf71800 11000000 d8bfc92f 19bfe977 aa798f5b 506f100b ffffff7f
0x0018f7e4   11000000 7076df00 00000000 2c8bb006 00000000 20000000 28f71800 10000000
0x0018f804   01000000 01000000 01000000 60f81800 10efeb02 300f5715 00000000 00000000
0x0018f824   00000000 54f81800 400b9300 01000000 54f81800 7e0b9300 300f5715 03000000
0x0018f844   f1569700 10efeb02 58eda800 2066b11e 78f81800 af5c9700 0cefeb02 d35c9700
0x0018f864   eb5c9700 01000000 1466b11e 0cefeb02 5cefeb02 a8f81800 6dd89600 10fa1800
0x0018f884   1866b11e 01000000 0cefeb02 f5d99600 02000000 10fa1800 1866b11e 01000000
0x0018f8a4   00000000 e4f81800 96029700 00000000 4a020000 10fa1800 1466b11e 01000000
0x0018f8c4   00000000 00000000 1866b11e ec66b11e 1866b11e 08f91800 400b9300 300f5715
0x0018f8e4   08f91800 c8579700 10fa1800 64f91800 01000000 1451b802 00000000 58eda800
0x0018f904   2066b11e 24f91800 cee69700 10fa1800 64f91800 01000000 3477c51e 6851b802
0x0018f924   48f91800 c8579700 10fa1800 64f91800 01000000 1451b802 00000000 58eda800
0x0018f944   1c51b802 68f91800 3b2f9700 10fa1800 64f91800 01000000 1488b802 00fa1800
0x0018f964   00000000 9cf91800 ff2e9700 10fa1800 d4f9dc1e 1451b802 1d8f6b45 d4f91800
0x0018f984   00000000 00000000 1489b802 00fa1800 d4f9dc1e 1451b802 bcf91800 802d9700
0x0018f9a4   10fa1800 1d8f6b45 d4f91800 00000000 00000000 10fa1800 b4c46d35 21a48000
0x0018f9c4   10fa1800 3f0cb51a f8f91800 00000000 00000000 001ffa2a 1489b802 b4c46d35
0x0018f9e4   5e138609 00000000 5e138609 bc68a0f8 69f05d00 00000000 0cfa1800 14b84b22
0x0018fa04   001ffa2a 5e190000 00000000 440eb57a 5e138609 bc68a0f8 00000000 d8d6daff

Instruction data: (EIP is 0x0096da20)
0x0096d9a0   00 84 c0 74 07 01 7e 48 b0 01 eb 02 32 c0 5f 5e c2 08 00 56 8b f1 8b 4e 18 66 83 66 0a 00 85 c9
0x0096d9c0   74 09 8b 01 ff 50 08 83 66 18 00 83 66 48 00 5e c3 55 8b ec 8b 45 14 56 ff 75 18 8b f1 8b c8 83
0x0096d9e0   c0 04 f7 d9 1b c9 23 c8 51 ff 75 10 8b ce 6a 02 e8 64 fe ff ff 8b 45 08 8b 4d 0c 83 66 48 00 89
0x0096da00   46 44 c7 06 e8 82 ad 00 c7 46 04 a8 82 ad 00 c7 46 1c 48 82 ad 00 c7 46 2c e8 81 ad 00 89 4e 4c
0x0096da20   ff 40 04 66 c7 46 0a 01 00 8b c6 5e 5d c2 14 00 55 8b ec 8b 45 14 56 ff 75 18 8b f1 8b c8 83 c0
0x0096da40   04 f7 d9 1b c9 23 c8 51 ff 75 10 8b ce 6a 02 e8 05 fe ff ff 6a 08 c7 06 e8 82 ad 00 c7 46 04 a8
0x0096da60   82 ad 00 c7 46 1c 48 82 ad 00 c7 46 2c e8 81 ad 00 e8 6a 7b c7 ff 85 c0 59 74 0b 8b 4d 08 83 60
0x0096da80   04 00 89 08 eb 02 33 c0 8b 4d 0c 83 66 48 00 89 46 44 89 4e 4c ff 40 04 66 c7 46 0a 01 00 8b c6

... it does seem that the game does seem to have issues recognizing the amount of RAM installed. This might be incompatibility issue with modern machines and/or x64 operating systems or it might be that the game mistakingly reads the amount of RAM.

The 4GB Patch installed on both installations of the game on my two machines. Our fellow Simtropolis user MichaelJBull's exception report showed the same "System memory: 1024 Megabytes total, 1024 Megabytes free" as Machine #2's exception report.

I have not seen any issues with the game, other than the usual crash every now and then. The same exception code [0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION] appears in all of them. I'm not sure what exactly the cause is.

I have not had the issue that MichaelJBull had/has, but to me it is rather interesting.

 

[rivit 3,402]

Those two SimCity exes have different version numbers - the one at the top 1.1.640.1 seems to report the max system memory available on the process stack 4GB and NT6.1,  but the second version 1.1.641.0 on an OS labelled NT5.1 doesn't see the memory as 4GB but as 1GB.

Now I'm running Win10 64bit with the GOG version on a 16GB machine, also 1.1.641 and in the logs it also says 1GB not 4GB on a patched version. I wonder if that "faulty reporting is a feature" of the GOG version? because the program runs exceedingly well without problems, and it certainly uses more than 1GB of memory.

In other news 0C5 exception in SimCity is almost always a faulty plugin (often null values where there should be a reference) - other CTDs caused by transit enabled lots colliding during plopping can be avoided by using the SC4FIX here on the front page.    

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

1 hour ago, rivit said:

Those two SimCity exes have different version numbers - the one at the top 1.1.640.1 seems to report the max system memory available on the process stack 4GB and NT6.1,  but the second version 1.1.641.0 on an OS labelled NT5.1 doesn't see the memory as 4GB but as 1GB.

I didn't catch that part at all. My bad. One was from my disc versions (SC4 + Rush Hour expansion pack) and the other was from GOG.

However, that does make me wonder if it's just the digital version itself that has the issue, as I think the digital versions from Steam and GOG are the same; the version numbers are the same (looking at MichaelJBull's exception report and my exception report from my GOG copy). 

For grins, I want to look into it some more. If I see anything odd and/or different, I'll do a follow up.

 

2 hours ago, rivit said:

In other news 0C5 exception in SimCity is almost always a faulty plugin (often null values where there should be a reference) - other CTDs caused by transit enabled lots colliding during plopping can be avoided by using the SC4FIX here on the front page.    

I have the SC4Fix installed. It must be a plugin then... don't know which one though.  I have a lot of various plugins.

(That is for another post and another time though )

[rivit 3,402]

1 hour ago, TogaMasterJohn said:

I didn't catch that part at all. My bad.

No not at all - you happened to put up exactly the sort of info we needed. With a bit of luck a few others verify the find.

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

11 hours ago, TogaMasterJohn said:

The same exception code [0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION] appears in all of them. I'm not sure what exactly the cause is.

My vague recollection is that this can happen in some setups (OS + graphics drivers) when the game is loading and tries to present the Intro. Everyone should use turn the intro off to rule out that possibility.

11 hours ago, TogaMasterJohn said:

Machine #2 (Windows 7 Professional...

I think there are both 32 and 64-bit versions of Win7 pro (and at least one SP for it). To make the best use of RAM, one should use a 64-bit OS (on 64-bit HW of course) so at least some things on the computer can be shifted out of the range that SC4 wants to use.

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

3 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

My vague recollection is that this can happen in some setups (OS + graphics drivers) when the game is loading and tries to present the Intro. Everyone should use turn the intro off to rule out that possibility.

I think there are both 32 and 64-bit versions of Win7 pro (and at least one SP for it). To make the best use of RAM, one should use a 64-bit OS (on 64-bit HW of course) so at least some things on the computer can be shifted out of the range that SC4 wants to use.

Hmmm. I've never had the game crash at the intro video. I'll give that a try tonight if I get the chance. 

I did forget to mention that both of my installations of Windows 7 are indeed 64-bit, updated with the most recent updates. Then again I have 8GB in each machine.

What's going to be interesting is getting the game to crash once again... purposefully!

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

So, I was able to get the game to crash two times purposefully on Machine #1! I was never so excited to see it crash... something I never would have wished to happen, especially in a serious session.

Anyways, I did experiment a bit with this. i wanted to see if it was related to the digital version itself. As a reminder for Machine #1's specs: (Windows 7 Ultimate, 8GB of RAM, 2.4GHz Quad Core Intel i7, Intel HD Graphics 4600)

With Machine #1's disc based installation (which is fully patched to version 1.1.640.0), I made a backup of the disc executable and replaced it with the digital 1.1.641.0 version from Machine #2 instead.

To my surprise, the game launched and played perfectly fine! For experimental purposes, it is cool to see that it will run nonetheless.

After seeing it run fine, it was time to get the game to crash. A little bit later, it successfully crashed after completing known triggers. It still shot out the same exception code [0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION], which to me is odd. But nonetheless...

The result in the exception report?

Spoiler

Exception time: 08/14/2020, at 01:54:32.
Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.
Current thread ID: 8124 (0x00001fbc).
Version information:
Application/module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
Application/module version name: SimCity 4
Application/module version: 1.1.641.0
System version: Windows NT 6.1
System memory: 4096 Megabytes total, 2796 Megabytes free.

Exception module:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
Exception address: 0x0096da20. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x00566a20.

Registers
   EAX: 00000000
   EBX: 003cb3c4
   ECX: 00000428
   EDX: 00001fbc
   ESI: 003cb414
   EDI: 1b1cb614
   CS:EIP: 0023:0096da20
   SS:ESP: 002b:0018f8c4  EBP:0018f8c8
   DS:002b  ES:002b  FS:0053  GS:002b
   Flags: 00210246

Loaded Modules
   Address          Size Module             Path
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   0x00400000    8159232 SimCity 4.exe      C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
   0x77040000    1572864 ntdll.dll          C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll
   0x74d30000    1114112 kernel32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll
   0x66ac0000      57344 aswhook.dll        C:\Program Files\AVG\Antivirus\x86\aswhook.dll
   0x76250000     290816 KERNELBASE.dll     C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll
   0x66c20000     262144 SBA_ISWWH.dll      C:\Program Files (x86)\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\EFR\wow64\SBA_ISWWH.dll
   0x605f0000     126976 cphnt32.dll        C:\Program Files (x86)\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\EFR\cphnt32.dll
   0x749e0000     659456 ADVAPI32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\ADVAPI32.dll
   0x753a0000     704512 msvcrt.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll
   0x74d10000     102400 sechost.dll        C:\Windows\SysWOW64\sechost.dll
   0x76960000     983040 RPCRT4.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\RPCRT4.dll
   0x74760000     393216 SspiCli.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SspiCli.dll
   0x74750000      49152 CRYPTBASE.dll      C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPTBASE.dll
   0x72ca0000      28672 WSOCK32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll
   0x74aa0000     217088 WS2_32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\WS2_32.dll
   0x74e40000      24576 NSI.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\NSI.dll
   0x76520000    4419584 WININET.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WININET.dll
   0x762e0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x754f0000    1048576 user32.DLL         C:\Windows\syswow64\user32.DLL
   0x763a0000     589824 GDI32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\GDI32.dll
   0x76510000      40960 LPK.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\LPK.dll
   0x76a50000     643072 USP10.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\USP10.dll
   0x74cf0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-shlwapi-l1-1-0.dll
   0x74af0000     356352 shlwapi.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\shlwapi.DLL
   0x755f0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-version-l1-1-0.dll
   0x72f40000      36864 version.DLL        C:\Windows\system32\version.DLL
   0x74a90000      12288 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-normaliz-l1-1-0.dll
   0x76430000      12288 normaliz.DLL       C:\Windows\syswow64\normaliz.DLL
   0x74fd0000    2326528 iertutil.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\iertutil.dll
   0x76390000      20480 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x762a0000     102400 USERENV.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\USERENV.dll
   0x76af0000      45056 profapi.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\profapi.dll
   0x75600000   12894208 SHELL32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SHELL32.dll
   0x74480000     466944 DSOUND.dll         C:\Windows\system32\DSOUND.dll
   0x747c0000    1437696 ole32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\ole32.dll
   0x74440000     204800 WINMM.dll          C:\Windows\system32\WINMM.dll
   0x74410000     151552 POWRPROF.dll       C:\Windows\system32\POWRPROF.dll
   0x74b50000    1691648 SETUPAPI.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\SETUPAPI.dll
   0x74e50000     159744 CFGMGR32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\CFGMGR32.dll
   0x762f0000     598016 OLEAUT32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\OLEAUT32.dll
   0x762c0000      73728 DEVOBJ.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\DEVOBJ.dll
   0x60520000     819200 OPENGL32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\OPENGL32.dll
   0x604f0000     139264 GLU32.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GLU32.dll
   0x5cff0000     946176 DDRAW.dll          C:\Windows\system32\DDRAW.dll
   0x66b60000      24576 DCIMAN32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\DCIMAN32.dll
   0x692f0000      77824 dwmapi.dll         C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll
   0x604c0000     135168 MSVFW32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSVFW32.dll
   0x72a00000     540672 COMCTL32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_5.82.7601.18837_none_ec86b8d6858ec0bc\COMCTL32.dll
   0x75210000     393216 IMM32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\IMM32.dll
   0x752d0000     843776 MSCTF.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\MSCTF.dll
   0x61710000     311296 apphelp.dll        C:\Windows\system32\apphelp.dll
   0x5b290000    2203648 AcGenral.DLL       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.DLL
   0x69310000     524288 UxTheme.dll        C:\Windows\system32\UxTheme.dll
   0x72b50000      61440 samcli.dll         C:\Windows\system32\samcli.dll
   0x604a0000      81920 MSACM32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSACM32.dll
   0x60800000      12288 sfc.dll            C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll
   0x5f9e0000      53248 sfc_os.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\sfc_os.DLL
   0x74e80000    1372160 urlmon.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\urlmon.dll
   0x75450000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x6d1b0000      73728 MPR.dll            C:\Windows\system32\MPR.dll
   0x5d870000      86016 cphusr32.dll       C:\Program Files (x86)\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\EFR\cphusr32.dll
   0x74d00000      20480 psapi.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\psapi.dll
   0x677e0000    1695744 comctl32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7601.24483_none_2b200f664577e14b\comctl32.dll
   0x75460000     536576 CLBCatQ.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\CLBCatQ.DLL
   0x606d0000    1003520 propsys.dll        C:\Windows\system32\propsys.dll
   0x729c0000     135168 ntmarta.dll        C:\Windows\system32\ntmarta.dll
   0x764c0000     282624 WLDAP32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WLDAP32.dll
   0x72320000     335872 rasapi32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\rasapi32.dll
   0x72300000      86016 rasman.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rasman.dll
   0x76b00000    1187840 CRYPT32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPT32.dll
   0x74ae0000      49152 MSASN1.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\MSASN1.dll
   0x729a0000      94208 CRYPTSP.dll        C:\Windows\system32\CRYPTSP.dll
   0x72960000     241664 rsaenh.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rsaenh.dll
   0x72900000      94208 bcrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\bcrypt.dll
   0x728c0000     249856 bcryptprimitives.d C:\Windows\SysWOW64\bcryptprimitives.dll
   0x72920000     233472 ncrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\ncrypt.dll
   0x68f90000      90112 GPAPI.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GPAPI.dll
   0x68f70000     118784 cryptnet.dll       C:\Windows\system32\cryptnet.dll
   0x5f9c0000      24576 SensApi.dll        C:\Windows\system32\SensApi.dll
   0x589e0000   24080384 igdumdim32.dll     C:\Windows\system32\igdumdim32.dll
   0x58130000    9068544 igdusc32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\igdusc32.dll
   0x5d3c0000     835584 D3DIM700.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL
   0x5d380000     233472 MMDevApi.dll       C:\Windows\System32\MMDevApi.dll
   0x5cfb0000     221184 AUDIOSES.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\AUDIOSES.DLL
   0x72860000      32768 Secur32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\Secur32.dll
   0x72130000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\system32\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l2-1-0.dll
   0x722b0000     245760 mswsock.dll        C:\Windows\system32\mswsock.dll
   0x72120000      24576 wship6.dll         C:\Windows\System32\wship6.dll
   0x73050000     114688 IPHLPAPI.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\IPHLPAPI.DLL
   0x73040000      28672 WINNSI.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\WINNSI.DLL
   0x5f9d0000      28672 avrt.dll           C:\Windows\system32\avrt.dll
   0x6d510000     507904 DbgHelp.dll        C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\DbgHelp.dll

Call stack:
GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 392227

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 402585

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 424395

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 461009

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 424395

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 414014

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 413954

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 413571

0x0001:0x00403421 C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0002:0x00028080 C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0001:0x00215040 C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0000:0x00000000 .

Stack data: (ESP is 0x0018f8c4)
0x0018f744   00000000 c8050000 74f71800 20da9600 00000000 00000000 c88fa73a 00000000
0x0018f764   00000000 c0f81800 00000000 10e7575b c05f595b 05f90577 f5de2576 00000000
0x0018f784   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0018f7a4   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00020000
0x0018f7c4   a4f71800 c8050000 14f81800 50742876 da19a857 feffffff 47df2576 3940d474
0x0018f7e4   b04b0100 14cc351b 00020000 4cf81800 3e40d474 a66d9821 14cc351b b7003e5d
0x0018f804   e1527126 e89b3d54 089b3d54 00000000 7cf81800 04f81800 68f81800 08000000
0x0018f824   d8f81800 d8f81800 00000000 18607354 18b43c00 d8406108 b350ff5c f37e9521
0x0018f844   00000000 74f81800 400b9300 01000000 74f81800 7e0b9300 d8406108 03000000
0x0018f864   f1569700 18b43c00 58eda800 20b61c1b 98f81800 af5c9700 14b43c00 d35c9700
0x0018f884   eb5c9700 01000000 14b61c1b 14b43c00 c4b33c00 c8f81800 6dd89600 30fa1800
0x0018f8a4   18b61c1b 01000000 14b43c00 f5d99600 02000000 30fa1800 18b61c1b 01000000
0x0018f8c4   00000000 04f91800 96029700 00000000 28040000 30fa1800 14b61c1b 01000000
0x0018f8e4   00000000 00000000 18b61c1b ecb61c1b 18b61c1b 28f91800 400b9300 d8406108
0x0018f904   28f91800 c8579700 30fa1800 84f91800 01000000 1451d202 00000000 58eda800
0x0018f924   20b61c1b 44f91800 cee69700 30fa1800 84f91800 01000000 b49add15 6851d202
0x0018f944   68f91800 c8579700 30fa1800 84f91800 01000000 1451d202 00000000 58eda800
0x0018f964   1c51d202 88f91800 3b2f9700 30fa1800 84f91800 01000000 1488d202 00fa1800
0x0018f984   00000000 bcf91800 ff2e9700 30fa1800 74de5615 1451d202 1d8f6b45 f4f91800
0x0018f9a4   00000000 00000000 1489d202 00fa1800 74de5615 1451d202 dcf91800 802d9700
0x0018f9c4   30fa1800 1d8f6b45 f4f91800 00000000 00000000 30fa1800 8cbded29 21a48000
0x0018f9e4   30fa1800 3f0cb51a 18fa1800 00000000 00000000 7d78be1a 8466854d 8cbded29
0x0018fa04   00000000 00000000 7d78be1a 12570000 0aca6100 00000000 8c66854d 10bced29
0x0018fa24   149cf529 12570000 7852b400 440eb57a 7d78be1a 12570000 8466854d 7852b400

Instruction data: (EIP is 0x0096da20)
0x0096d9a0   00 84 c0 74 07 01 7e 48 b0 01 eb 02 32 c0 5f 5e c2 08 00 56 8b f1 8b 4e 18 66 83 66 0a 00 85 c9
0x0096d9c0   74 09 8b 01 ff 50 08 83 66 18 00 83 66 48 00 5e c3 55 8b ec 8b 45 14 56 ff 75 18 8b f1 8b c8 83
0x0096d9e0   c0 04 f7 d9 1b c9 23 c8 51 ff 75 10 8b ce 6a 02 e8 64 fe ff ff 8b 45 08 8b 4d 0c 83 66 48 00 89
0x0096da00   46 44 c7 06 e8 82 ad 00 c7 46 04 a8 82 ad 00 c7 46 1c 48 82 ad 00 c7 46 2c e8 81 ad 00 89 4e 4c
0x0096da20   ff 40 04 66 c7 46 0a 01 00 8b c6 5e 5d c2 14 00 55 8b ec 8b 45 14 56 ff 75 18 8b f1 8b c8 83 c0
0x0096da40   04 f7 d9 1b c9 23 c8 51 ff 75 10 8b ce 6a 02 e8 05 fe ff ff 6a 08 c7 06 e8 82 ad 00 c7 46 04 a8
0x0096da60   82 ad 00 c7 46 1c 48 82 ad 00 c7 46 2c e8 81 ad 00 e8 6a 7b c7 ff 85 c0 59 74 0b 8b 4d 08 83 60
0x0096da80   04 00 89 08 eb 02 33 c0 8b 4d 0c 83 66 48 00 89 46 44 89 4e 4c ff 40 04 66 c7 46 0a 01 00 8b c6

 

... it recognized 4GB of RAM! Not to mention the correct amount of RAM it is capable of seeing (4GB) and how much was free!    So I'm not sure if it is related to the digital version's executable itself. it might be something else that is causing the miscalculation of overall and available RAM.

As noted in a previous post, I believe the Steam and GOG version are the same, as hinted in the exception report included in MichaelJBull's original post. However, without verifying the hashes of each executable, I can't come to the conclusion that they are the same.

But wait! There's more!

As I was looking through the folder with all of the exception reports, I did find some exception reports that do date back all the way to 1.1.638.0 (disc based version).

To my surprise (with laughter, rolling my eyes, shaking my head), this is the first one I saw:

 

Spoiler

Exception time: 11/24/2018, at 01:05:11.
Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.
Current thread ID: 7140 (0x00001be4).
Version information:
Application/module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\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: 4096 Megabytes total, 4096 Megabytes free.

Exception module:  C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll.
Exception address: 0x77123e04. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x00023e04.

Registers
   EAX: 00000069
   EBX: 00000001
   ECX: 00001be4
   EDX: 02edbc20
   ESI: 00000061
   EDI: 02e278a8
   CS:EIP: 0023:77123e04
   SS:ESP: 002b:0018fd30  EBP:0018fd64
   DS:002b  ES:002b  FS:0053  GS:002b
   Flags: 00210246

Loaded Modules
   Address          Size Module             Path
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   0x00400000    8187904 SimCity 4.exe      C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
   0x770f0000    1572864 ntdll.dll          C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll
   0x764b0000    1114112 kernel32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll
   0x6c0f0000      69632 aswhookx.dll       C:\Program Files\AVG\Antivirus\aswhookx.dll
   0x76cc0000     290816 KERNELBASE.dll     C:\Windows\syswow64\KERNELBASE.dll
   0x765c0000    1048576 USER32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\USER32.dll
   0x766f0000     589824 GDI32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\GDI32.dll
   0x75400000      40960 LPK.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\LPK.dll
   0x75170000     643072 USP10.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\USP10.dll
   0x768a0000     704512 msvcrt.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll
   0x767f0000     659456 ADVAPI32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\ADVAPI32.dll
   0x74ea0000     102400 sechost.dll        C:\Windows\SysWOW64\sechost.dll
   0x75310000     983040 RPCRT4.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\RPCRT4.dll
   0x74810000     393216 SspiCli.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SspiCli.dll
   0x74800000      49152 CRYPTBASE.dll      C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPTBASE.dll
   0x73020000      28672 WSOCK32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll
   0x76a00000     217088 WS2_32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\WS2_32.dll
   0x75410000      24576 NSI.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\NSI.dll
   0x749c0000    4419584 WININET.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WININET.dll
   0x74e90000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-user32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x74ec0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-shlwapi-l1-1-0.dll
   0x74ed0000     356352 shlwapi.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\shlwapi.DLL
   0x769f0000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-version-l1-1-0.dll
   0x732c0000      36864 version.DLL        C:\Windows\system32\version.DLL
   0x75210000      12288 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-normaliz-l1-1-0.dll
   0x767d0000      12288 normaliz.DLL       C:\Windows\syswow64\normaliz.DLL
   0x74f30000    2318336 iertutil.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\iertutil.dll
   0x76780000      20480 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x74e00000     102400 USERENV.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\USERENV.dll
   0x767c0000      45056 profapi.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\profapi.dll
   0x75830000   12894208 SHELL32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SHELL32.dll
   0x6d8b0000     466944 DSOUND.dll         C:\Windows\system32\DSOUND.dll
   0x756c0000    1437696 ole32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\ole32.dll
   0x717f0000     204800 WINMM.dll          C:\Windows\system32\WINMM.dll
   0x714d0000     151552 POWRPROF.dll       C:\Windows\system32\POWRPROF.dll
   0x754c0000    1691648 SETUPAPI.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\SETUPAPI.dll
   0x766c0000     159744 CFGMGR32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\CFGMGR32.dll
   0x76950000     593920 OLEAUT32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\OLEAUT32.dll
   0x74e70000      73728 DEVOBJ.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\DEVOBJ.dll
   0x6d750000     819200 OPENGL32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\OPENGL32.dll
   0x6d980000     139264 GLU32.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GLU32.dll
   0x6d400000     946176 DDRAW.dll          C:\Windows\system32\DDRAW.dll
   0x6dcb0000      24576 DCIMAN32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\DCIMAN32.dll
   0x71790000      77824 dwmapi.dll         C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll
   0x6db90000     135168 MSVFW32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSVFW32.dll
   0x72d80000     540672 COMCTL32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_5.82.7601.18837_none_ec86b8d6858ec0bc\COMCTL32.dll
   0x75660000     393216 IMM32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\IMM32.dll
   0x748f0000     839680 MSCTF.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\MSCTF.dll
   0x71ad0000     311296 apphelp.dll        C:\Windows\system32\apphelp.dll
   0x718b0000    2203648 AcGenral.DLL       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.DLL
   0x71830000     524288 UxTheme.dll        C:\Windows\system32\UxTheme.dll
   0x72ed0000      61440 samcli.dll         C:\Windows\system32\samcli.dll
   0x717d0000      81920 MSACM32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSACM32.dll
   0x717c0000      12288 sfc.dll            C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll
   0x717b0000      53248 sfc_os.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\sfc_os.DLL
   0x76a40000    1376256 urlmon.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\urlmon.dll
   0x75420000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\syswow64\api-ms-win-downlevel-ole32-l1-1-0.dll
   0x71770000      73728 MPR.dll            C:\Windows\system32\MPR.dll
   0x10000000     638976 ~df394b.tmp        C:\Users\JOHN\AppData\Local\Temp\~ef2b95\~df394b.tmp
   0x75820000      20480 psapi.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\psapi.dll
   0x702d0000    1695744 comctl32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7601.23403_none_2b180b30457f196c\comctl32.dll
   0x75280000     536576 CLBCatQ.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\CLBCatQ.DLL
   0x5e2b0000    1003520 propsys.dll        C:\Windows\system32\propsys.dll
   0x72d40000     135168 ntmarta.dll        C:\Windows\system32\ntmarta.dll
   0x74e20000     282624 WLDAP32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WLDAP32.dll
   0x76b90000    1187840 CRYPT32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\CRYPT32.dll
   0x767e0000      49152 MSASN1.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\MSASN1.dll
   0x72d20000      94208 CRYPTSP.dll        C:\Windows\system32\CRYPTSP.dll
   0x72ce0000     241664 rsaenh.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rsaenh.dll
   0x72c80000      94208 bcrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\bcrypt.dll
   0x72c40000     249856 bcryptprimitives.d C:\Windows\SysWOW64\bcryptprimitives.dll
   0x72ca0000     233472 ncrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\ncrypt.dll
   0x68830000      90112 GPAPI.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GPAPI.dll
   0x74620000     118784 cryptnet.dll       C:\Windows\system32\cryptnet.dll
   0x70040000      24576 SensApi.dll        C:\Windows\system32\SensApi.dll
   0x6d1f0000     835584 D3DIM700.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL
   0x6d710000     233472 MMDevApi.dll       C:\Windows\System32\MMDevApi.dll
   0x6d940000     221184 AUDIOSES.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\AUDIOSES.DLL
   0x72c30000      32768 Secur32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\Secur32.dll
   0x72570000      16384 api-ms-win-downlev C:\Windows\system32\api-ms-win-downlevel-advapi32-l2-1-0.dll
   0x726e0000     245760 mswsock.dll        C:\Windows\system32\mswsock.dll
   0x72560000      24576 wship6.dll         C:\Windows\System32\wship6.dll
   0x733b0000     114688 IPHLPAPI.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\IPHLPAPI.DLL
   0x733a0000      28672 WINNSI.DLL         C:\Windows\system32\WINNSI.DLL
   0x6d510000     507904 DbgHelp.dll        C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\DbgHelp.dll

Call stack:
RtlDeleteCriticalSection() + 119

GZDllGetGZCOMDirector() + 142632

0x0001:0x00473d7b C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
0x0001:0x0004526f C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4\Apps\SimCity 4.exe.
BaseThreadInitThunk() + 18

RtlInitializeExceptionChain() + 99

RtlInitializeExceptionChain() + 54

Stack data: (ESP is 0x0018fd30)
0x0018fbb0   f829b600 a401d900 0000d900 281fdd00 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0018fbd0   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0018fbf0   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 b8836e30 407dd900 5c7ed900 60536e13
0x0018fc10   0052da00 f829b600 acfb1800 eb440510 04fe1800 cd4d1677 9cd9bc00 feffffff
0x0018fc30   2f000000 00000000 1d000000 6e126a03 a0fc1800 f429b600 042ab600 eb440510
0x0018fc50   d8fc1800 f429b600 042ab600 00280000 00280000 d4fc1800 19d09000 2f000000
0x0018fc70   2f000000 00000000 19000000 aba56a03 e0fc1800 a426ad00 4879e202 eb440510
0x0018fc90   18fd1800 a426ad00 4879e202 9004ea02 00000000 14fd1800 a0059f00 2f000000
0x0018fcb0   00000000 00000000 0000e202 4879e202 2f000000 00000000 28000000 232a6903
0x0018fcd0   30fd1800 9c00ea02 a878e202 eb440510 68fd1800 9c00ea02 a878e202 00e0fdff
0x0018fcf0   4879e202 64fd1800 7c0b9300 4079e202 14fd1800 ad144c76 0000e202 48006903
0x0018fd10   a878e202 61000000 a6059f00 0000e202 00000000 64fd1800 fa3d1277 d8201f77
0x0018fd30   90f7b577 9c00ea02 a878e202 00e0fdff 01000000 61000000 00000000 60fd1800
0x0018fd50   7cf71800 04fe1800 cd4d1677 84cbbc00 00000000 bcfd1800 820b9300 a878e202
0x0018fd70   1402ea02 72839600 1402ea02 f48a9600 04610f03 b6689600 01000000 15a29900
0x0018fd90   f4600f03 069b8700 00000000 9c00ea02 1400ea02 9dac8700 f4600f03 1400ec02
0x0018fdb0   00000000 20eda800 f400ea02 14fe1800 7bad8700 1400ea02 83b28700 b6c14400
0x0018fdd0   28fe1800 00000000 4000ec02 1400ea02 45124c76 00000000 00e0fdff 9f2dd902
0x0018fdf0   d02dd902 00000000 1400ec02 e0fd1800 88f71800 78ff1800 b8fc9e00 c86ca800
0x0018fe10   00000000 88ff1800 6fc24400 28fe1800 00000000 00000000 202aa800 00000000
0x0018fe30   1441d902 6441d902 6441d902 1008a800 1440d902 8440d902 8540d902 00000000
0x0018fe50   1008a800 c4140b03 c4140b03 cc140b03 00000000 401b9f00 00004000 00000000
0x0018fe70   2c35d900 01000000 94000000 06000000 01000000 b11d0000 02000000 53657276
0x0018fe90   69636520 5061636b 20310000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

Instruction data: (EIP is 0x77123e04)
0x77123d84   e5 fe ff c3 90 90 90 90 90 8b ff 55 8b ec 6a fe 68 70 c1 11 77 68 cd 4d 16 77 64 a1 00 00 00 00
0x77123da4   50 83 ec 14 53 56 57 a1 88 20 1f 77 31 45 f8 33 c5 50 8d 45 f0 64 a3 00 00 00 00 8b 7d 08 8b 47
0x77123dc4   10 85 c0 0f 85 9a 0f 03 00 c7 45 e4 00 00 00 00 8b 37 89 75 e0 85 f6 74 78 83 fe ff 74 73 8b 5f
0x77123de4   14 c1 eb 1a f7 d3 83 e3 01 89 5d dc 68 d8 20 1f 77 e8 f6 e4 fe ff c7 45 fc 00 00 00 00 8d 46 08
0x77123e04   83 38 00 74 06 50 e8 29 ff ff ff c7 45 fc fe ff ff ff e8 62 ff ff ff 0f b7 46 1c 50 0f b7 4e 02
0x77123e24   51 e8 9a 00 00 00 85 c0 0f 85 32 e7 04 00 33 c0 89 06 89 46 04 89 46 08 89 46 0c 89 46 10 89 46
0x77123e44   14 89 46 18 89 46 1c 85 db 74 06 56 e8 2f 00 00 00 33 c0 89 47 04 89 47 08 89 47 0c 89 47 10 89
0x77123e64   47 14 89 07 8b 45 e4 8b 4d f0 64 89 0d 00 00 00 00 59 5f 5e 5b 8b e5 5d c2 04 00 90 90 90 90 90

 

"System memory: 4096 Megabytes total, 4096 Megabytes free."  ...so this is odd!

The plot thickens!

While I am not sure if this is affecting gameplay for some users, I haven't seen any issues on a personal level (I am used to a crash once in a while). I'm not sure if it plugin related or hardware related. Is this hardware or software related?

I will continue on with experimentation and examination today and this weekend. If anyone has any ideas or if you'd like to try it out yourself, please let me (well everyone who is interested) know and/or try away!

 

[rivit 3,402]

That latest info triggered a thought which I have now tested. I run the 1.1.641 exe on win 10, but the reports says NT5.1 (XP) when it should be NT6.2 (W8,W10)  according to Microsoft docs.

Suddenly I remembered that I run the exe in XP SP3 compatibility Mode (usually recommended for stability and the age of the original exe). This is osVersion NT5.1. So running without compatibility - guess what  NT6.2 as expected and 4GB reported.

You don't have to crash the program for this info - its in the MACHINE-config-log.txt file In the SimCity 4 Deluxe/Apps folder.

So on the 2nd machine is that in Compatibility Mode perchance?

BTW I think the only real difference between 1.1.640 and 1.1.641 is that the latter does not have the copy protection made obsolete by Microsoft.

[Dead_End 1,630]

4 hours ago, rivit said:

Suddenly I remembered that I run the exe in XP SP3 compatibility Mode (usually recommended for stability and the age of the original exe). This is osVersion NT5.1. So running without compatibility - guess what  NT6.2 as expected and 4GB reported.

Just to clarify: Does running the exe in XP SP3 compatibility mode limit actual RAM use or does it just report a lower use?

[jeffryfisher 2,176]

With intro off, we can suspect some other issues. Is this a built-up city that you're trying to open with a new installation? Could the built-up city have a modded port in it (e.g. PEG ports or BSC ports) that can't be found in your plugins folder?

Does the game crash when opening a new city?

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

11 hours ago, rivit said:

That latest info triggered a thought which I have now tested. I run the 1.1.641 exe on win 10, but the reports says NT5.1 (XP) when it should be NT6.2 (W8,W10)  according to Microsoft docs.

Suddenly I remembered that I run the exe in XP SP3 compatibility Mode (usually recommended for stability and the age of the original exe). This is osVersion NT5.1. So running without compatibility - guess what  NT6.2 as expected and 4GB reported.

Well... I did check and for some reason, when I installed the game on Machine #2, it was set to XP SP3 compatibility mode. But, I did not set that at all. I wonder who or what decided to set it to XP SP3 compatibility mode. 

This does make me wonder: is GOG setting the digital version to XP SP3 compatibility mode on Windows versions past XP? Or is Windows forcing this?  I've had the latter happen before with a few programs IIRC. Is Steam (or Windows) doing the same thing for other users?

I'm not sure if it's a problem though; with XP SP3 compatibility mode, is it causing issues or solving them? I never used it on Machine #1 as it didn't seem to have too many issues, if it all (other than a crash every now and then). The same crash (same exception code every time) happens on Machine #2. I may end up disabling XP SP3 compatibility mode for the game on Machine #2 and see how it handles without it..

 

6 hours ago, jeffryfisher said:

With intro off, we can suspect some other issues. Is this a built-up city that you're trying to open with a new installation? Could the built-up city have a modded port in it (e.g. PEG ports or BSC ports) that can't be found in your plugins folder?

Does the game crash when opening a new city?

I have never had those issues in any installation of the game. I'll try running it on Machine #2 without the intro and see if it crashes at all. [I may have forgotten to try that as a part of last night's experiment with the game... I shall try that tonight!]

 

11 hours ago, rivit said:

You don't have to crash the program for this info - its in the MACHINE-config-log.txt file In the SimCity 4 Deluxe/Apps folder.

 

 

I know it says in there, but I wanted to see if it would produce the same exception code as every other crash did. Sure enough, it did. 

 

11 hours ago, rivit said:

BTW I think the only real difference between 1.1.640 and 1.1.641 is that the latter does not have the copy protection made obsolete by Microsoft.

I believe that is the case, too. The 863KB must be for SecuROM copy protection and other disc related stuff. I'll keep the digital version's executable in place. Originally I had to do Microsoft's workaround of allowing SecuROM to run. Plus, I can also keep my Rush Hour disc in good shape, too!

 

7 hours ago, Dead_End said:

Just to clarify: Does running the exe in XP SP3 compatibility mode limit actual RAM use or does it just report a lower use?

That's the big question. So far, I haven't seen any issues with performance. However, that could be an issue and I haven't checked into that part yet.

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

11 hours ago, rivit said:

That latest info triggered a thought which I have now tested. I run the 1.1.641 exe on win 10, but the reports says NT5.1 (XP) when it should be NT6.2 (W8,W10)  according to Microsoft docs.

Suddenly I remembered that I run the exe in XP SP3 compatibility Mode (usually recommended for stability and the age of the original exe). This is osVersion NT5.1. So running without compatibility - guess what  NT6.2 as expected and 4GB reported.

This thought just hit me...  I'm starting to think the game is simply reporting the wrong amount of RAM by mistake. XP SP3 compatibility mode might be making it worse... can't confirm that at all (that I'll have to check and see with an experiment tonight - looking at how much RAM is being used by the game). I can't confirm that it is simply reporting it the wrong amount of RAM, either currently.

My reason behind the thought, though:  as I was rereading the thread over to make sure I have it all down correctly, I saw my first exception report from Machine #1 and realized it showed that 4GB was installed and 4GB was free.

That was without XP SP3 compatibility mode.

[rivit 3,402]

7 hours ago, Dead_End said:

Just to clarify: Does running the exe in XP SP3 compatibility mode limit actual RAM use or does it just report a lower use?

My experience running Win10 suggests this is a reporting thing - the game runs perfectly well and uses close to 2GB (I've just over 1.5GB of plugins)when running. You can see these details in Task Manager when it is running. 

14 minutes ago, TogaMasterJohn said:

is GOG setting the digital version to XP SP3 compatibility mode on Windows versions past XP?

Its a setting in the Program Shortcut Details - so that may well be the case. The program is recompiled with the 1998 Compiler according to its internals and that was the XP version. However windows (like all OSs) always uses the latest internal exes (the APIs stay the same) so the 1.1.641 version in particular should run without the need for compatibility mode. In itself the program is very stable and has been coded defensively. 

SC4 does use an internal cache of about 1.2GB defined in the registry settings. Getting it to use more for the cache has always proved elusive. But the max internal memory use gets stretched by the RUL processing for NAM which is why we apply the 4GB address space patch.

~~~

Which brings us back to CTDs. You seem to have a way to trigger those crashes. But pinning it down may well need the divide and conquer strategy. Firstly it should not be crashing in vanilla SC4 at all. If so there is something basic going on. With plugins half in/half out until the fault occurs and then repeat and rinse until you've narrowed it down may be the only way. my DataNode program may highlight something useful too - but its not oriented to finding CTDs. 

[TogaMasterJohn 711]

13 minutes ago, rivit said:

My experience running Win10 suggests this is a reporting thing - the game runs perfectly well and uses close to 2GB (I've just over 1.5GB of plugins)when running. You can see these details in Task Manager when it is running. 

Its a setting in the Program Shortcut Details - so that may well be the case. The program is recompiled with the 1998 Compiler according to its internals and that was the XP version. However windows (like all OSs) always uses the latest internal exes (the APIs stay the same) so the 1.1.641 version in particular should run without the need for compatibility mode. In itself the program is very stable and has been coded defensively.

That is good to hear! Before you responded, I was thinking it was probably the case.

Also, I did not know that portion at all (the internals) so that is nice to know. I'll disable XP SP3 compatibility mode for now and see how it runs.

21 minutes ago, rivit said:

Which brings us back to CTDs. You seem to have a way to trigger those crashes. But pinning it down may well need the divide and conquer strategy. Firstly it should not be crashing in vanilla SC4 at all. If so there is something basic going on. With plugins half in/half out until the fault occurs and then repeat and rinse until you've narrowed it down may be the only way. my DataNode program may highlight something useful too - but its not oriented to finding CTDs. 

I'll have to look through my exception reports and date of installation. I'm trying to remember when I first started to play with plugins (mainly NAM 36, a few lots, and SPAM). I can verify by looking at the dates on those plugins tonight. This is all on Machine #1 and the majority of all the plugins I used on there are on Machine #2 as well.

While I can't be certain without checking, I think the game did indeed crash once without plugins. That might be related to the intro, as jeffryfisher said. That's another thing I'll look into as well. 

[PIPICécé 53]

On 13/08/2020 at 4:54 AM, MichaelJBull769 said:

 

It seem some downloaded LUA files have a problem with that thing, in fact I just put some of them on my pluggins folder and when I play game at a time it's crash.

Some downloaded FSH files do that too, be carefull.