SimCity 4 randomly crashes

[CorinaMarie 29,568]

1 minute ago, Railattack10 said:

I made a mistake I was suppose to say "Also I think you meant control+shift+esc"

Ah. Good point. Now I understand where you are coming from.

[rsc204 21,805]

10 hours ago, Railattack10 said:

I have discovered the task manager feature since I was in fifth grade. Also I think you meant control+alt+esc.

Thank you for your sarcasm?, how do I know what you do and don't know?

And yes, I probably did mean shift instead of alt, it's an easy mistake to make when you are typing on a Mac and not able to double-check there and then. But I get the sense you are just looking for a reason to make me look bad with this comment. So yeah, don't expect any help from me in future, best of luck.

[Railattack10 9]

7 hours ago, rsc204 said:

But I get the sense you are just looking for a reason to make me look bad with this comment

I wasn't trying to make you look bad.

[Matrim Cauthon 344]

1 hour ago, Railattack10 said:

I wasn't trying to make you look bad.

From someone just now reading this, it's fairly difficult to read a sarcastic 'Thanks I've know this since I was 10' type of response as anything but this. You are coming across as being actively resistant to help.

[Matrim Cauthon 344]

On 11/10/2020 at 12:57 PM, Railattack10 said:

My anti virus thought SC4 was a virus now

Just to put this out there, I have a very strong suspicion your installation is not from an official source based on that install path.

I would suggest deleting your current installation entirely, buying a new copy from GOG or steam(they typically run 5 to 20 USD) and trying again with one of those installations.
While I also suspect you have either an underlying physical issue(overheating, bad RAM module etc) or windows installation issue that is the real problem source, making sure your copy is unadulterated is a solid first step.

 

[Railattack10 9]

Ok I found the solution. I selected software mode under "render mode" and the  crashes seem to have stopped. I think it's just my GPU giving out and shutting off. Also can a admin lock this thread? 

[Matrim Cauthon 344]

15 minutes ago, Railattack10 said:

Ok I found the solution. I selected software mode under "render mode" and the  crashes seem to have stopped. I think it's just my GPU giving out and shutting off. Also can a admin lock this thread? 

Ah that makes sense.

Since you're on a laptop, it's likely not detecting your dual GPU correctly and defaulting to the integrated chip which doesn't support HW mode.

This should make the game work then, but at a somewhat lower level of performance. Also keep in mind that no HD content will work in SW mode, so if you are adding mods in the future avoid any that indicate they are HD.

[Cyclone Boom 16,851]

2 hours ago, Railattack10 said:

Also can a admin lock this thread?

As staff we can, but prefer not to lock threads unless there is a specific beneficial reason to do so. By keeping a discussion open even when a solution is found, it allows others in future to locate the topic and reply if they wish. Then they can be guided to a similar solution which fits their own related issue experienced.

[Propfam 2,286]

1 hour ago, Cyclone Boom said:

As staff we can, but prefer not to lock threads unless there is a specific beneficial reason to do so. By keeping a discussion open even when a solution is found, it allows others in future to locate the topic and reply if they wish. Then they can be guided to a similar solution which fits their own related issue experienced.

The usual reason is when the topic have different after different opinions and those opinions are in conflict in each other, like in one topic discussing bundling mods. And topics that doesn't require feedbacks (like FAQs by admins etc). Other than that, it's not gonna be locked.

Thanks.

[rsc204 21,805]

16 hours ago, Matrim Cauthon said:

Since you're on a laptop, it's likely not detecting your dual GPU correctly and defaulting to the integrated chip which doesn't support HW mode.

Not likely to be a dual GPU system, due to its age. More likely, the specific NVidia chip being used is not designed for gaming, rather business uses. So its quite possible it simply doesn't properly support the necessary DirectX modes required by some games, like SC4.

[Matrim Cauthon 344]

2 hours ago, rsc204 said:

Not likely to be a dual GPU system, due to its age. More likely, the specific NVidia chip being used is not designed for gaming, rather business uses. So its quite possible it simply doesn't properly support the necessary DirectX modes required by some games, like SC4.

I was thinking it was a dual set up since their card should be recognized by SC4. Graphics rules.sgr tracks Quadro cards under the -fast category. But a quick look shows the T2600 as having no integrated GPU.

So you're probably right since it's a mobile Quadro.

 

[Landon Brandon 4]

I have the same problem, but on Windows XP x64 edition. Since CST is so late at the time of this post, all suggestions will be tried tomorrow.

My system specs consist of a 2.3GHz Intel Core-i3, 8GB RAM, 32MB graphics, 128GB allocated under dual boot with Windows 10, and a 1366x768 display. It's a business laptop from 2010, basically a Dell Latitude E5520. Is SC4 too much to ask?

[Propfam 2,286]

Shouldn't have any problem, tho 32 megs dedicated to the graphics is a bit low. As long as you have SSD, it should be quite fast, especially when the NAM doesn't need large RULs anymore.

[Null 45 3,019]

2 hours ago, Propfam said:

32 megs dedicated to the graphics is a bit low.

Based on the Steam system requirements, I think that was the minimum when the game was released in 2003.

5 hours ago, Landon Brandon said:

Windows XP x64 edition

Which has been out of support since 2014 and can't run SC4 with DLL mods.

You didn't specify the brand of GPU, but based on the Dell Latitude E5520 spec sheet I am guessing that it is probably Intel integrated graphics. You may need to use a DirectX wrapper if your GPU doesn't support the legacy DirectX version SC4 uses.

[Ulisse Wolf 4,399]

6 hours ago, Landon Brandon said:

I have the same problem, but on Windows XP x64 edition. Since CST is so late at the time of this post, all suggestions will be tried tomorrow.

My system specs consist of a 2.3GHz Intel Core-i3, 8GB RAM, 32MB graphics, 128GB allocated under dual boot with Windows 10, and a 1366x768 display. It's a business laptop from 2010, basically a Dell Latitude E5520. Is SC4 too much to ask?

Why are you using Windows XP 64-bit? That operating system is obsolete and also unsafe if you are browsing the internet.  SimCity 4 runs well on Windows 10, as do all older games, so there's no point in installing an older OS just for a few old games.

SimCity 4 works well on Windows 10, as do all older games, so there is no point in installing an older OS just for a few old games.

Furthermore, 32 MB of VRAM is at the minimum requirement for SC4, so solutions such as DgVoodoo will not work because they require at least 4 GB of VRAM (Intel, Nvidia, and AMD discrete GPUs) or 8 GB of RAM in the case of AMD and Intel integrated GPUs.

[Lab Rat 12]

Automated Notice Message

All posts after 1 March, 2026 @ 01:37 GMT were lost in the site crash.

We've added this message thread divider in every topic across all forums for what were then active threads. (We decided active is if the most recent extant post (from the backup) was on or after 1 January, 2026.)

This divider serves as notice that the conversation was interrupted. Answers and further discussion which used to be here have been lost. Keep this in mind when replying. Our hope is to rebuild what is missing.