odd problem: game not even loading

[Wonderboef]

I installed Civ 4 a while back, and didn't encounter any major problems at all. I used Daemon Tools and sd4hider to play without the DVD and the game ran perfectly.

I then stopped playing for a few weeks, and when I tried again today double-clicking the civilization4.exe file in the civ 4 directory doesnt even bring up a loading screen! no response at all, no error message, nothing...

so i updated to the newest patch but it didnt help. uninstalled everything and reinstalled, this time by the book, no daemon tools or sd4hider. tried again, but didn't work. updated to 1.61 again. same problem, nothing happening. fooled around a little in the directory and discovered that many of the shortcuts there dont lead anywhere. the civ4config.ini shortcut points to a folder/file in my documents/my games/civ 4 that doesnt exist (neither the folder nor the file...).

i didnt get any error messages during installation, and the dvd isnt damaged at all. i have 2 hard-disks, installed the game to the d drive while windows and my documents is on the c drive, but this shouldnt be an issue, since it has worked like this before. i have no idea why it would suddenly stop working, and i'm at a loss for how to correct the problem. my system is above the minimum req's, dxdiag.txt is attached.

it's probably some small, stupid thing that i have completely overlooked but all the same i need some pointers, and i would be grateful for your help. thanks!

[Urban Ranger]

Deinstall the game. Completely delete the directory and the one in your profile. Run check disk and defrag. Reinstall.

[Wonderboef]

take2 support has been very helpful, they have been emailing almost on a daily basis to help me solve my problem.

turns out that deleting all files in my temp folders (c:\windows\temp and c:\documents and settings\user name\local settings\temp) will solve the problem if anyone else is having similar problems...

though i suppose reinstalling and running check disk and defrag might also clean out temp folders in the process, and therefore also work?

[tiny toad]

Sound like you`ve got the HP/Microsoft security bug
check to see if you have security update KB911567 KB912812 KB911562 and KB 908531 AND do you have any HP digital camera or printer software installed if so this is the cause of the problem, an update for microsoft is out sometime today that *should* fix it if not remove those updates and all will be ok

[Urban Ranger]

Windows works in mysterious ways

[oski003]

I have the same problem with my laptop . . .

it crashes on the "loading screen" and then displays a windows error. it seems to "time-out" while trying to read the CD ... but not exactly sure . . .

per the advice of another thread, i tried to find the civilization4.ini file . . . but it is not there. the game has not successfully started on my computer at once . . . i figure that is the reason no "my games/civilization4 directory has been created, etc...

game files currently only exist in the fireaxis/civilization4 directory. moreover, half the files are links to files outside the directory that don't exist (like to the my games . . .) directory that doesn't exist yet...

if it is the cd/dvd drive, how can you tell what brand it is? could it be a faulty cd? what do u think?

I have a dell inspiron e1505 that is brand new, and i hve not modified it at all. this is the second game i've played/installed on it. Dungeon & Dragons Online works fine with no problems.

I have tried to delete the temp folders already, and uninstalled, ran diskdefrag, scan disk, etc..., and then reinstall but no luck


Any help would be appreciated . . . Dave

[mr.schmoe]

I've had the same problem. How come those files don't exist I'm sure that's causing the error. Do you think it's because of a bad CD image. I'll keep working on it, though.

[oski003]

intel & turbulation

Well, i found out from the makers of the game and the intel website, that the Dell Intel Videocard does not handle "Turbulation."

This is stated on the game box as "hardware T&L," even though the rest of the minimum and recommended requirements imply that a brand new dell tab should be powerful enough to run it.

As to all the fles not loading, I'm not sure why that is so. I believe the CDR I have is a Samsung, maybe it is not high quality . . .

Well, that's all I know. I'm pretty unhappy that I simply will not be able to run the game because of a flaw in my brand new graphics card and a game that, although not particularly demanding greaphics wise, somehow requires "turbulation" or "hardware T&L"

[Wad-l]

Bit of a wierd one this...Game was working fine then just stopped, i got no further than init renderer...

The loading screen would come up, then the loading bar would progress till it said init engine... then the screen would go black then the desktop would appear again.

i'm using a amd 1.3Ghz machine with geforce fx5200, 1 Gb ram...

I tried everything i could think of and searched many forums to find out why but alas to no avail!

I finally bit the bullet and reformatted my hard drive and re-installed windows from scratch.

And now it works fine with patch 1.61 installed.

Bit dramatic I admit, but it was driving me mad.

Hope this helps someone out there!