Error saving city

[Fldragonlord2022 7]

I am using windows 10. I have my game on Origin. I open origin and then use the SimCity 4 launcher I downloaded on simtropolis to open the game. Whenever my city reaches a certain size, usually about 20 - 35% of the map, I am unable to save. Message "error saving city". I have also noticed today that even if I save my city and then quit without save that my city, regardless of size, is no longer savable. It will get the same error message. Can anyone, who has knowledge of or has personally had to fix this issue, please explain to me how to fix it. I have tried running game as administrator, downloaded the SC4 638 fix, doenloaded NAM, unable to download SC4 641 and subaequantly B.A.T(it requires SC4 641).

I have spent a month back and forth with EA help but everytime I get a reply it is a new person and we start all over again and they each have no idea how to help me. Is it possible that I need TPM on my computer or maybe a newer computer which I doubt since mi9ne is a 2010 and the game is based on programs and computer specs from the early 2000's.

[rsc204 21,836]

1 hour ago, Fldragonlord2022 said:

I have my game on Origin.

This doesn't help, whilst you may have downloaded the EP1 patch, I assure you it won't have installed properly and you'll be running a version below 1.638. Not only is Origin's copy unpatched, but it can't be patched because the patches haven't been updated to recognise the modified version they are selling.

1 hour ago, Fldragonlord2022 said:

have spent a month back and forth with EA help but everytime I get a reply it is a new person and we start all over again and they each have no idea how to help me

Yes, this is fairly typical and even if you explain the problem, no one is listening, this issue has history. If you explain this to them when you next speak, I think you have a reasonable case to ask for a refund. Add that you don't see why by buying through Origin, you should be denied official games fixes, that Origin's competitors include.

Right now (until the 11th), Steam are selling SC4 for just $5, you'd be better off with either the Steam or GoG versions, although I recommend the latter because I hate Steam, their version is perfectly functional too.

1 hour ago, Fldragonlord2022 said:

Is it possible that I need TPM on my computer or maybe a newer computer which I doubt since mi9ne is a 2010

TPM is necessary for Windows 11, but it's unlikely you can even find one for a 2010 computer today, it certainly isn't required by SC4. A newer computer won't help much either, SC4 isn't optimised for newer hardware and if you've an SSD it's probably running as well as is possible. Not to mention, newer hardware/OS's have brought a number of compatibility issues into the mix, so a newer one might mean more, not less headaches.

1 hour ago, Fldragonlord2022 said:

I have also noticed today that even if I save my city and then quit without save that my city, regardless of size, is no longer savable. It will get the same error message.

This doesn't, despite the above advice, sound to me like it's anything to do with SimCity 4, rather it's an issue related to your configuration of Windows. Sounds to me like you have sufficient rights to create a new save file, but that those are changed when a file is saved, thereafter SimCity 4 can only read the file (hence you can load it), but no longer has access to modify or overwrite it.

The first thing I can tell you is that this is not the default behaviour of Windows, something or someone has changed something.

Step 1, try running the game as Administrator, you need to find where SC4 is installed, here in the Apps directory should be the file SimCity 4.exe, which is the application of the game itself. Right click and select Properties, click on the Compatibility Tab and check the box Run as Administrator. See if that resolves your problem, one of the big security changes over the years is that such 'Full Access' has been locked down for security reasons, but older software wasn't designed to work with this change.

Step 2, if Step 1 was no help, you need to look at any third party security software you have installed on your machine, including Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware and Internet Security apps. You should Whitelist SC4 in such apps, where an option exists to do so.

Step 3, If you have software mentioned in Step 2, disable it temporarily and see if things now work as intended.

Step 4, If all that fails, then you might need to reset the permissions for the folder containing your Regions. Essentially you need to 'Take Ownership', as your User Logon has to have full control of the folder and files within it.