PIMX Boot-Up Issues

[dmac3 2]

Hello everyone,

I've been trying for a week now to run the PIMX program to create custom lots.  I use Windows 11 and run SimCity 4 from Steam.  I followed all the PIMX instructions to the letter, but the program would not boot up (even with Run as Administrator in Compatibility Mode).  I then got some help from an experienced modder, uninstalled my installation, reinstalled with help, and am still getting the same message.  

If I run the program as administrator, nothing happens.  If I let windows troubleshoot compatibility, I get the following error message:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "SC4PIM.py", line 1, in ?
  File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 117, in ?
  File "SC4IconMakerDlg.pyo", line 5, in ?
  File "translation.pyo", line 60, in ?
IOError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'current.lang'

Has anybody come across this before or have any ideas what could be causing this error?  We think it has something to do with the location of the SimCity 4 language instructions, but we haven't found a solution yet.  Thank you.  

[TheMurderousCricket 5,042]

If you are having trouble running PIM-X, then you can also use lot editor to create lots. Yes, I know that it isn't a solution. It's an alternative nonetheless and quick in terms of setting it up.

A few weeks ago I was able to determine that changing plugins subfolder names can cause PIM-X to crash at startup. This is especially true when you switch between regions and regularly use different region-specific folders for your sceneries.

You can also try running PIM-X through a different user account. It actually helped me once...

I think that PIM-X also requires exactly right version of the missing .dlls. So not only the 32 / 64 architecture but particular versioning. I never really dug to the bottom of this however...

[rsc204 21,804]

9 hours ago, dmac3 said:

File "translation.pyo", line 60, in ?

An IO error (Input/Output) means that the app is unable to read or write to a location specified in the code. Bear in mind the error could be whilst looking for your SimCity Locale file, but more likely it is looking for a Python library to determine the language to use. I.e. the error occurs when trying to access translation.pyo, presumably the library used for this.

This could be a permissions issue, where the App PIM-X isn’t allowed to access the folder containing the needed files. That can be caused by overzealous security software or even Windows settings related to security. Do you have all the required .DLLs and are they present in the root folder of the App’s install dir?

If they are then you need to check the file/system security to ensure the App has access rights to these files. 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,042]

16 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

That can be caused by overzealous security software or even Windows settings related to security.

Makes sense as I recall that after one Norton update I wasn't even able to save my game...  ("GOG Games" folder directly on C:/ plus the Launcher).

[Handyman 765]

10 hours ago, dmac3 said:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "SC4PIM.py", line 1, in ?
  File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 117, in ?
  File "SC4IconMakerDlg.pyo", line 5, in ?
  File "translation.pyo", line 60, in ?
IOError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'current.lang'

This may not be the exact same problem but it may help narrow it down. When I began trying to get  Pim-X to run on Linux I had a similar issue, see below. Perhaps if you try the steps below you may be able to boot and this may prove the files are missing or in the wrong location but the actual install is successful.

Warning: If you do not have SC4 installed, when you run SC4-PIM X, you must uncheck all the boxes in the first window that comes up, or if you have SC4 installed you must uncheck the boxes that have a blank path entry or you will get the following errors:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 3454, in OnClose
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 3457, in ShowMain
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 2883, in __init__
File "SC4PIMApp.pyo", line 3213, in LoadDatas
pywintypes.error: (2, 'RegOpenKeyEx', 'File not found.')

If you find yourself with this situation you will have to kill the process with System Monitor
 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,042]

1 hour ago, Handyman said:

Perhaps if you try the steps below you may be able to boot and this may prove the files are missing or in the wrong location but the actual install is successful

I believe though that @dmac3 is unable to even reach the file path window in the first place. Error message seems to be of a different kind as well.

[dmac3 2]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I installed 3 of the 5 dll files into System32 and SysWOW64 but the other two were blocked by permissions.  I'm working with my IT guy to fix that, just in case those dlls are what's causing the error.  

[rsc204 21,804]

You are better off putting the DLL files into the install dir of PIM-X. Yes, they can work in system folders, but to do so certain links must exist as part of the OS or Apps can’t see them. This is a problem as these files were never released as a single .dll, they came as part of larger suites with an installer that set all this up. Trying to replicate that yourself is not so easy, better to just put them with the App and then it just works.

[dmac3 2]

I have the dlls in the PIM-X folder too, but it won't start up.  The only missing piece, from what I can tell, is also installing the same dlls in the system folder.  

 

[rsc204 21,804]

6 hours ago, dmac3 said:

The only missing piece, from what I can tell, is also installing the same dlls in the system folder.  

It shouldn't be necessary to duplicate these files, it's an either/or situation, the .dlls can be present in a system folder, however for Apps to see them the correct system links must be set. Otherwise if you place them all in the same folder where the SC4PIM.exe resides, then the app will see them regardless, since the Open command in Python (the language used to create PIM-X), will always look for files it needs there first.

If you have them all in the right place and the error persists, then it once more suggests the App doesn't have rights to access them. Again the error literally means it can't find the file, so it must be one of the following conditions behind it:

• The file needed literally doesn't exist
  This can happen if you missed one .dll or perhaps installed the wrong version of it. However, most instructions link to the same source files, so if you are using those, I think this is the least probable option. However, it's important to be 100% certain you do have all the correct files, otherwise you might spend ages messing around futilely, because without the right files it's never going to work.
   
• The file needed is not in a location where PIM-X can see it
  As mentioned, first it checks the same folder where the App is installed, thereafter it will check system folders, but these must be correctly set in Windows for the later to work.
  
  Most certainly System32 is the wrong folder if you are running a 64-bit version of Windows, in which case it's the SysWOW64 folder that actually contains 32-bit .dlls and files.
  
  Honestly this is very complicated and I'm not going to waste my time getting into it, because frankly if you know how that all works, you should have no problem working this out yourself. Whereas if you don't, you are just making the problem more complicated than it needs to be, just place them with the App and save yourself the bother, it works just fine. So if placing them in the install dir isn't working, you aren't going to solve that by putting them elsewhere, because the files are ultimately the same, i.e. their location is not the source of your problem.
   
• The file needed is present but PIM-X is not being allowed by the OS/Security software to access it
  I can not stress enough that by default Windows will not block this operation, assuming you absolutely have the right files in the right place. So if it is doing so, then it must be the result of non-default settings which someone switched on or changed, otherwise some third party software could be messing with things. Therefore you need to think about how your computer is setup, such that you can unravel why things are being restricted.
  
  By default neither Windows 10 nor 11 sets restrictions that prevent this way of Apps accessing libraries from working, in fact it's been a mainstay of how Windows functions since Windows 95. However, the world has changed a lot since then and Apps generally work quite differently these days, especially those 'Apps' on the Windows Store. It is possible to change the settings in Windows, such that additional security protection is gained, but in doing so you may well break any legacy apps, since they are more likely to depend older methods to function, that could be considered a security risk today. For example you can set things such that once an App has been installed, nothing can be altered within the install folder. Literally, if a change is detected, Windows will just restore the original files from a backup. The idea being that this would make it impossible for malware to alter anything related to apps, such that a potential vector to compromise your PC is thwarted. However, some apps were made to read/write data into the same folder structure where it's installed, setting this will essentially break any such apps. There are a myriad of other security settings too, right down to user (logon), file/folder and App permissions, all of these together control what you or an app you run is able to do/access. In addition to this, 3rd party security software often blocks things in the name of security, but most users don't really understand what changes such software makes. Computer Security is really not so different to any other Security, there is always a trade off, more secure = less convenient, for example it'd be easier for you to find $50 in a drawer than it would be to get it from a wall safe. The same applies to anyone else who might take your $50, the point is that most people don't need a safe, even if in theory it is safer to have one. But for the purposes of this problem, I would temporarily disable any 3rd party security software whilst troubleshooting, disconnecting from the Internet during this time is highly advisable.