Possible Fixes for "Failed to Initialize Renderer" Startup Error

[PJNagrom]

I've tried so many combinations of unistalling ATI drivers and playing with DX files I think it's timefor me to wait for a definitive answer...

Did anyone else notice any other strange system side effects after the Civ "renderer" crash? I had the "My Computer" and "Recycle Bin" icons on my desktop get screwed up until I reset them. Just a weird little tidbit.

[TrashcanMan]

Stayed up much later than I probably should have last night...was not able to get it to work on my Main Workstation, BUT, after a fresh install of WindowsXP Pro with Service Pack 2 Slipstreamed, and all the windows updates/latest ATI Drivers (5.10 with Catylist Control Panel), and the Direct X from the game, I was able to get it working on my second workstation, which has an ATI x800 Pro AGP Card.

I'm not saying we should all have to reinstall but I am saying that a Fresh Install DOES seem to work...Not sure if it would have worked with the x800XL but I know it did with the x800 Pro.

I should also mention for the Developers sake, after the fresh install, before I ran the DirectX from the CD I checked for the important file you mentioned...it would appear that my copy of Service Pack 2 that I slipped Streamed into my Windows XP Pro Install Disk already had it....because it was there right after the fresh install, and the DirectX setup did the usual, nothing to update, you don't need to reset.

[lapse]

I still can't get it to work. I'm on a 2.4ghz p4, 512mb ram, radeon 9600 pro.

I've uninstalled the drivers for my graphics card, cleaned with cleaner, downgraded directx to the version 8.1 (since you can't fully remove it) and then I installed catalyst 5.10 drivers and I tried to install the directx9 from the CD.
But It goes really fast, tells me it's done and I can see that I'm still on 8.1 when I run dxdiag..

[crimsonmage]

dont work either

I got a Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600 256mb AGP - and its not working either - did all the driver updates and all that stuff.

Please update the patch ASAP!

Come on Friraxis - or might i say MIRCROPROSE... I was there from the beginning, dont forget about us!!!!

CrimsonMage

[RoBoat]

Trashcanman, when you did your fresh install, did you reinstall previous versions of CIV before you installed CIV4? I am wondering of previous versions of CIV cause issues.

I work in QA, and I am sure a testing scenario was setup with previous versions of CIV and without, but its worth asking.

[Solver]

So far, the best thing to do seems to be:

1. Uninstall Civ4.
2. Uninstall current Radeon drivers.
3. Install the driver:
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/...questionID=640 (Desktop)
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/...e&folderID=293 (Laptop)
4. Install Civ4, make sure to update DirectX.
5. Reboot
6. Try to play.

[lapse]

I reinstalled civ4, and rebooted before trying to run it. Under the installation the directX installation appears, and I install. But still, I'm on 8.1.

edit: also, the game still wont work, lol.

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by Solver
So far, the best thing to do seems to be:

1. Uninstall Civ4.
2. Uninstall current Radeon drivers.
3. Install the driver:
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/...questionID=640 (Desktop)
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/...e&folderID=293 (Laptop)
4. Install Civ4, make sure to update DirectX.
5. Reboot
6. Try to play.

Did that, no go

Some people claim it worked for them, though, so don't let this keep you others from trying it.

[Salatir]

In other words, there's no fix.

Quite frankly, the best thing to do is to refund the game and buy it 2 weeks from now. Voila, no more render errors!

[Rheassi]

I have totally reinstalled everthing on my computer includeing windows. I have fresh installs on direct X 9.0c, Civ4 and all my drivers and the program still does not work. I went back in and used the direct X setup on the Civ 4 CD and allowed it to install.

My Directx Diag shows new files for today. I have the Catalayst 5.10 drivers for my ATI 9600.

Is this going to be fixed today or should I just return it?

Edit: Also I tried every ATI driver I could find and it did not help. Rolling back did not help me at all.

[Traelin]

Even though I have my rendering issue fixed, I'm still curious why everything ran so doggedly after Civ crapped to the desktop. I couldn't even scroll on webpages without problems. That screams memory leak, or an non-killed process or something. I just wanna know what that was all about, for purely intellectual purposes.

[Solver]

People, try to be more patient, wait about that returning. Getting a 100% working fix, or a 98% working for that matter, isn't quite easy, and can't be done in two hours. Firaxians are now working around the clock on it, we already have instructions that let some people fix the error, I'm sure that within a couple of days the situation will improve more.

[lapse]

well, it's been way longer than 2 hours.


And a couple of days? Oh lawd.

[Philotas]

Has anyone with a 9600 found a way to get it to work properly? I'm debating between patiently waiting on a patch and spending another few hours trying to find the right combination of drivers.

[Salatir]

Sorry, there is no excuse for this shoddy merchandise. And, as there is no excuse, there is no reason WHATSOEVER to be an apologist for a company that has no qualms in distributing a pisspoor product - I have a French techtree, I have mislabelled CDs, and I have a program that does not work.

Further, the fact that 2k or Firaxis is not publically owning up to this error that has impacted a significant portion of its buyer base speaks of nothing but a contempt for the people that keep them in business. Behind the scenes, people might well be searching for a fix - but that's their job. I'm not going to applaud them or be mollified by the fact that they're doing something that should have been adequately tested weeks, if not months ago. Nor should anyone else.