[Solved] SimCity 4 Deluxe crashes while loading

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

I haven't been on this forum for a long time - I have had some life situations arise that kept me from playing SimCity4 Deluxe. Anyway, I have been trying to load this game. I bought it via GOG.com (I am using Windows 10, 64-bit), and when I try to load it, my monitor (I have two of them) goes black, and then.... nothing. I waited for a bit, but got nothing. The screen stays black and my computer is unresponsive, and at that point I have to actually unplug my PC and then put it back in to regain access to my desktop. Can someone help me?

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

To help further here we're gonna need more info. Any chance you could post copies of the config log file and any crash reports you can find? Also, a more complete hardware run-down, Graphics cards, specific CPU etc...

If you could also check one other thing, does the game work when you only have one monitor attached?

Given how old this game is, it has been known to freak out on certain multi-monitor setups, however this has led to the use of modern DX Wrappers to help adapt it to modern resolutions.

And thanks man, after reading your user name I've got 'Bob' by Weird Al playing in my head....

[rsc204 21,864]

6 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

when I try to load it, my monitor (I have two of them) goes black, and then.... nothing. I waited for a bit, but got nothing. The screen stays black and my computer is unresponsive, and at that point I have to actually unplug my PC and then put it back in to regain access to my desktop

What should happen is that the game initiates a special video mode that displays the game, but if the screen goes black, something has gone wrong. Dual displays won't affect this (been using such a setup for years myself), but SC4 can only display on the 1st display plugged into the 1st videocard, assuming this is a desktop computer (not a laptop/portable).

The most common reason for this would be the game trying to run at a resolution that your system is unable to display, by default that should be 640x480 or 800x600, very standard resolutions all monitors (but not necessarily TVs) should support. You should check what resolution you are using for Windows, since your hardware must support such. Then you can manually tell the game to use this resolution with the following command:

-CustomResolution:enabled -r1920x1080x32

The parts in orange should be replaced with the resolution your system is using, the example would be perfect for a Full HD display though. How you add this command, depends on where you got your game from, if you run SC4 from a shortcut, right click that and select Properties. In the Target: line, add the above command to the end of this box, ensuring there is a space between whatever is already there and the command. Steam and Origin require the command to be added in their respective clients, if you need specifics for those, let us know. 

Usually finding a resolution your system supports should be enough to get SC4 showing a picture, but if not it would be most helpful to know what the max. resolution of your monitor is. If there was some more general problem you'd expect to get a message like "Error initialising DirectX, using software driver".

Note too that you probably don't need to restart your system, which can be bad for your computer, so best avoided. Because the switching of video modes, if the game fails to display, there are no obvious buttons to click or path back to the desktop. But, by pressing CTRL + ALT + DELETE at the same time, the regular "Windows" mode returns and you can access the task manager, where you should be able to forcibly close SimCity 4. A good test of whether or not a forced reset (without proper shutdown) is necessary is simply to press the Caps Lock key. Most keyboards have an LED which lights up when Caps Lock (and other functions) are enabled, assuming this is the case, if the LED cycles on/off as you press the key, your computer has not irretrievably locked up and any problem can be solved by exiting the application causing the issue.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

WHTE_RBT, I am glad you enjoyed my screen name! Here is some info about my PC - I hope this helps!!

- Windows 10 (64-bit)

- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

- Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz (8CPUs), ~4.2 GHz

- 16gb RAM

- DirectX 12

RSC204 - Thanks for your reply! To be honest, I don't know much about this sort of thing. My knowledge of computers is spread out around different areas, I guess you could call me a "jack of all trades". I have two monitors, usually playing my games on the left one. When the screen goes black, I tried to ctrl-alt-del before, but that did nothing to help. Anyway, I really hate to say this but I am at a bit of a loss with my situation. I got SC4 Deluxe to run before, not sure why it is not cooperating now. As before, any and all advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Also, I wasn't aware of how to access a config log file, and I seem to remember that log to be quite long. Would that be appropriate for a post like this?

[CorinaMarie 29,868]

6 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

I seem to remember that log to be quite long. Would that be appropriate for a post like this?

It's fine to post. Ideally toss it in a spoiler box. (The eyeball button near the right end of the post editor toolbar.)

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Thanks! How do I find my config log file? And when I want to post it here, I just cut-and-paste, and then before sending, I need to click on the "eyeball button"? Thanks so much, I am so excited to play!

[CorinaMarie 29,868]

9 minutes ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

How do I find my config log file?

It'll be in the Apps folder of where the game is installed. With GOG, for instance, it'll be in:

C:\GOG Games\SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition\Apps and then named based on your computer name with -config-log.txt tacked on the end of the file name.

 

9 minutes ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

I just cut-and-paste, and then before sending, I need to click on the "eyeball button"?

I find it easier to click the eyeball button first, give the spoiler a name, and then paste inside of it. ( If you have any trouble with that part, feel free to just paste the log without the box and one of us can move it in for you. )

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

Check inside the game's Apps folder where the installation is, and the text file will be named in the form of:

<Computer Name>-config-log.txt

For the eyeball and yes, just click that in the editor, and then it can be given a title like config-log.txt and then press OK and paste it into the container box. Upon posting it'll then appear inside the spoiler to be viewed when clicking to expand.

Like this:

Spoiler

 

  Edited July 11, 2021 by Cyclone Boom  
Combo deal on today!

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Spoiler

Log generated on 2/11/2021, 21:49

Flags
-----
hardwareDriver = true
DXT = true
fullscreen = true
MMX = true
FPU = true
backingStore = true
forcedFSAA = false

Strings
-------
userName = Matt
appName = SimCity 4
version = 1.1.641.0
osVersion = Windows NT 5.1
computerName = DESKTOP-DK0TK82
CPU = GenuineIntel
sglDriverName = DirectX
sglDriverVersion = 2.0
driverName = nvldumd.dll
driverVersion = 0.0.0.0, GUID: D7B71E3E-58C1-11CF-8C73-FBA20EC2CD35
cardName = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
cardVersion = Vendor: 10de, Device: 1b81, Board: 82fb103c, Chipset: 00a1
cardIdentity = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
soundDriverName =
soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
buildType = Release

Numbers
-------
cpuSpeed = 4199
memory = 1024
freeMemory = 1024
screenWidth = 1600
screenHeight = 1200
screenBPP = 16
videoMemory = 3072
textureMemory = 3072
textureStages = 8
bogoFPS = 0
bogoMPPS = 0

Rules
-----
applying Sound
applying high sound detail
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings>
applying high computer power
  option 9 = 3
  option 13 = 1
  option 15 = 3
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings>
applying high memory
  option 3 = 3
  option 14 = 3
applying Variable Speed Automata
applying default
  option 10 = 1
applying Standard hardware
  option 0 = 1
  option 1 = 1
  option 2 = 1
  option 4 = 0
  option 5 = 1
  option 8 = 1
  option 7 = 1
  option 6 = 1
  option 11 = 0
  option 12 = 0
applying Standard hardware>
  option 1 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>
  option 0 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>
  option 2 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>>
  option 4 = 1
applying Standard hardware>>>>>
  option 11 = 1
applying Two stages
applying Lotsa vidmem
applying Not Slow GeForce
applying Fast card
applying Fast card>
  option 12 = 1
applying Fast card>>
  option 1 = 3
applying Fast card>>>
  option 0 = 3
applying Fast card>>>>
  option 2 = 3
applying Fast card>>>>>
  option 4 = 1

Options
-------
Visual Effects       current:   3 recommended:   3
Cars/Sims            current:   3 recommended:   3
Shadows              current:   3 recommended:   3
Atmospheric effects  current:   1 recommended:   1
Water effects        current:   1 recommended:   1
Software/Hardware    current:   1 recommended:   1
Cursor               current:   1 recommended:   1
VariableSpeedAutomata current:   1 recommended:   1
Translucent UI       current:   1 recommended:   1
Graphic Detail       current:   3 recommended:   3
Building Load Speed  current:   3 recommended:   3
Texture Quality      current:   3 recommended:   3

Properties
-------
forcesoftwaredriver = false
renderdynamicview = true
renderstaticview = true
renderwatereffects = true
rendercloudsandfog = true
forcepointsampling = false
forcebilinear = false
forcenoalphablend = false
forcenoalphatest = false
rendershadows = true
renderdecals = true
usesecondstage = true
forcedebugtexture = false
renderparticleeffects = true
renderflorashadows = true
renderterrain = true
showupdateregions = false
usecursoreffects = true
drawlottextures = true
drawlotfoundations = true
drawlotwalls = true
forcetexturerepeat = false
usescreenshake = true
renderui = true
useupdaterectclipping = true
usevertexbuffers = true
showboundingboxes = false
useoverlayculling = true
rendersnapshot = false
noaddsigned = false
nopartialbackingstorecopies = false
usescreenflash = true
renderautomata = true
preferopaque = false
displayalertborders = true
drawlotopaquetextures = true
useviewcleanup = false
doautozoomandrotationchanges = true

viewoffsety = 0
viewoffsetx = 0
texturebits = 32
lodoffset = 0
shadowdebug = 0
maxparticlestarget = 10000
particlelodoffset = 0
effectprioritylevel = 5
backingstoremaxzoomall = 5
backingstoremaxzoombuildingsprops = 5
backingstoremaxzoomterrain = 5
backingstoremaxzoomflora = 5
shadowquality = 2
minvehiclezoom = 3
minpedzoom = 4
cursortype = 1
depthoffset = 2
debugtexture = 0
dirtyrectmergeframes = 2
sounddetail = 2
buildingvariety = 2
buildingloaderspeed = 1
modellodoffset = 0
stringtexturecachesize = 1024

particleeffectslod = 5
splattexturescale = 50
texbindmaxfree = 8
particledensity = 1
particledamping = 0
particlescale = 1
lightingupdatedelta = 0.0001
shadowmodelthreshold = 12
demolishmodelthreshold = 12
rendermodelthreshold = 6
rendermodelthresholdscroll = 40
particlesizethreshold = 300
maxvehiclepct = 1
maxpedpct = 1
opaqueuialphavalue = 0.55

 

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

From the look of the config file the system is only seeing 1Gb of RAM as uable by the game. Possible solution is to install the NAM as this will include the 4GB patch.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

My apologies - I am not entirely sure what you are referring to. My PC has 16gb of RAM total.

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

1 hour ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

memory = 1024
freeMemory = 1024

This part of the config says that the game can see 1024 megabytes of RAM (1Gb). The NAM (Network Addon Mod) contains a patcher that upgrades the amount of memory that SC4 can access. Despite your system having 16Gb of RAM, SC4 can only really use 1Gb of it as things stand. By running the 4Gb patch included in the NAM the game will be able to access 3Gb+.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Oh. Why can it see/use only 1Gb of Ram? Do I have to change a setting, or is something wrong with my PC? I will look at NAM, but I am curious as to your response to those two questions.

 

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

The game was programmed in 2002/2003, when a computer having more than 2gb was just plain unheard of. There is no setting for you to change in game that will increase this as the game was originally coded to access 32-bit address lengths not 64-bit lengths (4Gb+).

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

So, you think that if I download NAM, this will fix my ultimate problem? About my left monitor going black and freezing up? I really do appreciate all of your help and advice!!!

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

Hopefully yes. I've seen another fail to launch problem solved recently with this method. The game probably won't show up on both monitors unless its set to clone the primary display, SC4 will launch by default on the primary one.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Dumb question incoming...... I tried to click on the NAM in this thread, but it seems to not be a link, rather part of the conversation.

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

I'm not sure which link that is, but see here for the NAM file entry:
 

Once extracting the contents of the zip file, make sure to double click the NetworkAddonMod_Setup_Version41.bat file which will automate the installation process. This will run the 4 GB patch beforehand, and ensure it's all done correctly. Then it'll proceed to open up the installer (which needs the Java package to work).

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Where should I extract the zip file into? And after clicking on the .bat file, I should be all set?

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

3 minutes ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

Where should I extract the zip file into? And after clicking on the .bat file, I should be all set?

Extract the zip file into a new folder (e.g. NAM 41) and then once clicking the .bat file it'll do the 4 GB patching.

After that the NAM installation will begin, and so follow the on-screen instructions depending on how you wish to install the mod.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

I am getting the following message - SimCity4_4GB_Patch_Script_v3.bat

This command script automates applying the 4 GB Patch to SimCity 4.exe

ERROR: The system was unable to find the specified registry key or value.

"\SimCity 4.exe" was not found as expected.

 

At that point, I clicked on my keyboard and was taken back to my desktop.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Maybe I got that message because I am using the Deluxe Edition?

[Whte_rbt 1,431]

You need to point the 4Gb patcher to your SC4.exe file. Its in the install directory of SC4 under the Apps folder.

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

Every time I double click on the batch file, I get that same message. How do I point the batch file to the SC4.exe file?

[NeveroddoreveN 83]

I dragged the .bat file to the SimCity 4 Deluxe .exe, and I think the program tried to do something, but the same monitor (left one) goes black like before. Not sure what to do.

[CorinaMarie 29,868]

4 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

ERROR: The system was unable to find the specified registry key or value.

This part will be when the batch file looks inside the registry and does not find what it expects. The code for that is a portion of what @Tarkus wrote initially.

`reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Maxis\SimCity 4" /v "Install Dir"`

 

4 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

"\SimCity 4.exe" was not found as expected.

This is the message from the batch file itself and is from the part I coded. What causes this one is when it looks in the location found by the registry query code and since that did not find the proper entry, the rest of the batch file doesn't have what it needs to locate SimCity 4.exe.

 

So, it seems there's a problem with the initial install of the game and that prolly needs troubleshooting first.

[Raymond7cn 6,775]

13 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

Log generated on 2/11/2021, 21:49

 

5 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

So, it seems there's a problem with the initial install of the game and that prolly needs troubleshooting first.

Hiya @NeveroddoreveN, Just as @CorinaMarie metioned, If this config-log is the latest one generated by game launching, It seems that the last normal startup happened on 2/11/2021, so when did you install the GOG version? If you installed it before this date, May I ask what happened after that? Apologize if these questions are irrelevant.

Sincerely,

-- Raymond

[rsc204 21,864]

16 hours ago, NeveroddoreveN said:

So, you think that if I download NAM, this will fix my ultimate problem? About my left monitor going black and freezing up? I really do appreciate all of your help and advice!!!

I'm sorry to say but no, this won't fix your problem.

If SC4 is detecting only 1GB RAM, likely it's because the game has been set to use a "Compatibility Mode", but this actually is not usually required for most users and best avoided unless it actually resolves a compatibility issue you are having. Without this, I'd expect to see 2GB detected, if you patch the game's executable (something done as part of the NAM install), then you should see 4GB detected. Ultimately, as previously mentioned the game is pretty old and like all 32-bit applications, the amount of memory it can see/use is limited, hence the use of the 4GB Patch to increase this.

However, the problems you are having are nothing to do with a lack of memory, SC4 is not a particularly taxing game and unless you add lots of mods, you don't need to do anything about it. The one exception being the NAM, since it adds millions of lines of code, trying to use the Full controller option without patching your game, will end in the game failing to load.

What is happening here is as follows, the launching of the game initiates DirectX mode, something all Windows games use. That's why the screen goes black, of course you should then see the game appear, that you do not is because there is a problem with DirectX, which is usually related to your hardware/drivers.

5 hours ago, Raymond7cn said:

If this config-log is the latest one generated by game launching, It seems that the last normal startup happened on 2/11/2021, so when did you install the GOG version? If you installed it before this date, May I ask what happened after that? Apologize if these questions are irrelevant.

Good spot Raymond, I missed that myself.

Absolutely, this means we can't fully rely upon the information in the log, because it's not necessarily relevant to what you are doing now.

However, assuming you are using the same install of SC4 as before, this does give us a huge clue as the potential issue. I suspect a NVidia Driver update has removed some backwards compatibility, ergo it no longer works. The simplest thing to do at this point would be to Roll-Back or otherwise install a driver from before February this year. I'm having terrible issues myself with my GTX960 when running the 431.60 drivers (I've not tried anything newer), which were resolved by going back to version 398.36. This issue was not limited to SimCity 4 either, I was having problems with many DirectX 7/8 games, which all seem to be solved by the older driver. Note SimCity 4 was made for DirectX 7, games around the turn of the century will most likely use it too. The point being, NVidia are clearly removing support for legacy features recently. Of course, this isn't necessarily nefarious, you may find using an older driver screws up newer games, sometimes legacy support needs to be cut to allow for more moderns features to work or be optimised.

Many users are finding that it's becoming necessary to use a Wrapper to make older games work with the latest systems. This may be a preferable solution, since it helps bridge the compatibility gaps between modern drivers and older games. For example, using dgVoodoo2, would allow you to play SC4 on either monitor. There is some good info on how to set this up in the following thread.

[twalsh102 1,601]

OK, I'm going to throw a monkey-wrench into some of the suppositions being made here.

First, system specs:

Dell XPS 8930 (circa mid-2018)
OS: Windows 10 Home
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 @3.2GHz (6 physical cores)
RAM: 16 GB
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB)
Single Video Display at 1920 x 1080

SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition (from GOG)
Plugins size: 7.5 GB
NAM 41 recently installed, and 4GB Patch reinstalled (date modified on SimCity 4.exe: 7/5/2021)

Spoiler

Log generated on 7/11/2021, 11:43

Flags
-----
hardwareDriver = true
DXT = true
fullscreen = true
MMX = true
FPU = true
backingStore = true
forcedFSAA = false

Strings
-------
userName = User
appName = SimCity 4
version = 1.1.641.0
osVersion = Windows NT 5.1
computerName = RASPUTIN
CPU = GenuineIntel
sglDriverName = DirectX
sglDriverVersion = 2.0
driverName = nvldumd.dll
driverVersion = 0.0.0.0, GUID: D7B71E3E-5FC2-11CF-9873-12150EC2CD35
cardName = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
cardVersion = Vendor: 10de, Device: 1c82, Board: 35121028, Chipset: 00a1
cardIdentity = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
soundDriverName =
soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
buildType = Release

Numbers
-------
cpuSpeed = 3191
memory = 1024
freeMemory = 1024
screenWidth = 1920
screenHeight = 1080
screenBPP = 16
videoMemory = 3072
textureMemory = 3072
textureStages = 8
bogoFPS = 0
bogoMPPS = 0

Rules
-----
applying Sound
applying high sound detail
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings
applying City Detail and Day/Night Settings>
applying high computer power
  option 9 = 3
  option 13 = 1
  option 15 = 3
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings
applying Texture Quality and Building Variety Settings>
applying high memory
  option 3 = 3
  option 14 = 3
applying Variable Speed Automata
applying default
  option 10 = 1
applying Standard hardware
  option 0 = 1
  option 1 = 1
  option 2 = 1
  option 4 = 0
  option 5 = 1
  option 8 = 1
  option 7 = 1
  option 6 = 1
  option 11 = 0
  option 12 = 0
applying Standard hardware>
  option 1 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>
  option 0 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>
  option 2 = 2
applying Standard hardware>>>>
  option 4 = 1
applying Standard hardware>>>>>
  option 11 = 1
applying Two stages
applying Lotsa vidmem

Options
-------
Visual Effects       current:   3 recommended:   2
Cars/Sims            current:   3 recommended:   2
Shadows              current:   3 recommended:   2
Atmospheric effects  current:   1 recommended:   1
Water effects        current:   1 recommended:   1
Software/Hardware    current:   1 recommended:   1
Cursor               current:   1 recommended:   1
VariableSpeedAutomata current:   1 recommended:   1
Translucent UI       current:   1 recommended:   1
Graphic Detail       current:   3 recommended:   3
Building Load Speed  current:   3 recommended:   3
Texture Quality      current:   3 recommended:   3

Properties
-------
forcesoftwaredriver = false
renderdynamicview = true
renderstaticview = true
renderwatereffects = true
rendercloudsandfog = true
forcepointsampling = false
forcebilinear = false
forcenoalphablend = false
forcenoalphatest = false
rendershadows = true
renderdecals = true
usesecondstage = true
forcedebugtexture = false
renderparticleeffects = true
renderflorashadows = true
renderterrain = true
showupdateregions = false
usecursoreffects = true
drawlottextures = true
drawlotfoundations = true
drawlotwalls = true
forcetexturerepeat = false
usescreenshake = true
renderui = true
useupdaterectclipping = true
usevertexbuffers = true
showboundingboxes = false
useoverlayculling = true
rendersnapshot = false
noaddsigned = false
nopartialbackingstorecopies = false
usescreenflash = true
renderautomata = true
preferopaque = false
displayalertborders = true
drawlotopaquetextures = true
useviewcleanup = false
doautozoomandrotationchanges = true

viewoffsety = 0
viewoffsetx = 0
texturebits = 32
lodoffset = 0
shadowdebug = 0
maxparticlestarget = 10000
particlelodoffset = 0
effectprioritylevel = 5
backingstoremaxzoomall = 5
backingstoremaxzoombuildingsprops = 5
backingstoremaxzoomterrain = 5
backingstoremaxzoomflora = 5
shadowquality = 2
minvehiclezoom = 3
minpedzoom = 4
cursortype = 1
depthoffset = 2
debugtexture = 0
dirtyrectmergeframes = 4
sounddetail = 2
buildingvariety = 2
buildingloaderspeed = 1
modellodoffset = 0
stringtexturecachesize = 1024

particleeffectslod = 5
splattexturescale = 50
texbindmaxfree = 8
particledensity = 1
particledamping = 0
particlescale = 1
lightingupdatedelta = 0.0001
shadowmodelthreshold = 12
demolishmodelthreshold = 12
rendermodelthreshold = 6
rendermodelthresholdscroll = 40
particlesizethreshold = 300
maxvehiclepct = 1
maxpedpct = 1
opaqueuialphavalue = 0.55

 

This looks suspiciously similar to the config-log.txt  posted by @NeveroddoreveN.

@NeveroddoreveN, a couple of questions, that I haven't seen asked by anyone else yet  (or mentioned by you) (if they have and you've already answered, I apologize).

1. Have you tried starting the game with a completely empty Plugins folder?

2. Have you tried starting the game with only one monitor?

With the answers to these questions, we ought to be able to determine whether the game itself is installed correctly, and/or whether the mere presence of multiple monitors is causing your problems.

BTW, I have no problems starting the game with everything mentioned above!