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Civ 4 crashes consistently 9 minutes into the game

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  • Civ 4 crashes consistently 9 minutes into the game

    I'm new to the forum, but I've been playing civ for over 10 yrs. I have a
    problem that has me at a dead end. Civ 4 crashes on me consistently 9
    minutes into the game. Every time. The game will run just fine at first
    and it doesn't matter what is happening in the game, it will crash. My
    monitor will black out and look as though it went on standby, my speakers
    will lose sound, and my processor is making no activity. It will do this
    in a split second with no warning or error, and the only way out is the
    complete shutdown of my pc.

    It doesn't do this on any of my other games(they use more resources too)
    and my specs far surpass the recommended. I've literally tried everything.
    I tried disabling all my other programs including AVG, I updated windows,
    my video card driver, my monitor driver, active x, and scanned my registry.

    I've uninstalled and reinstalled the game twice with all the patches and
    updates (keep in mind it does this with just the original civ 4 installed
    or with 'beyond the sword' expansion). I even cleaned the inside of my
    tower and motherboard.

    Last time I played the game was a few months ago, and it worked like a
    charm then. The only thing I did since then was I purchased a new video
    card. (an upgrade from the nvidia I had before).
    I've scoured all the forums and found a couple with similar problems but
    never a working solution. I have a hunch that civ 4 runs a process at
    precisely 9 minutes into the game that has a conflict with my computer.
    If anyone out there has any insight as to what might be the problem or how
    I can fix this, I would greatly appreciate it!

    Here are my specs you may need to know:

    Dell XPS 400
    Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
    3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium D
    NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT [Display adapter]
    DELL 1704FPT [Monitor]
    2 Gigs RAM
    43.71 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
    SONY CD-RW CRX217E
    SONY DVD RW DRU-842A

  • #2
    Hey churro28!
    Welcome to Apolyton!

    Since you got a new video card and the problem you describe sound like your video card stopped, I'd say: it's the new card perhaps. Do you still have the old card? What if you try it using the old card?
    Did you try to download the latest drivers for your video card?

    What if you try to play on all low graphic settings?
    Formerly known as "CyberShy"
    Carpe Diem tamen Memento Mori

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    • #3
      Yea, video card drivers might not be up to date. Something similar to this happened to me with another game, after I got the updated drivers for my upgraded video card I was good to go.
      "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the Blood of Patriots and tyrants" Thomas Jefferson
      "I can merely plead that I'm in the presence of a superior being."- KrazyHorse

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      • #4
        I had a fan blow on my video card and that's about how it appeared. As soon as the card heated up, bamm.
        I was able to extend the time before it blew with an external fan until I switched to a new card.
        It's almost as if all his overconfident, absolutist assertions were spoonfed to him by a trusted website or subreddit. Sheeple
        RIP Tony Bogey & Baron O

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        • #5
          Unfortunately my old video card is long gone. My initial thought was that the problem was my video card drivers as well. I updated to the latest driver Nvidia has. I even tried different versions of the driver, I downloaded "nvidia geforce 9500 gt 6.14.11.8585" suggested by pcpitstop, and I also tried version 4.0.100.1190 supplied by nvidia. Each time I made sure to uninstall the previous version before installing the new one. Each one rendered the same result in Civ 4.

          I wonder if anyone else who has the GeForce 9500 GT is having the same problem. This problem only happens with civ 4. I can run other games like 'call of duty' for an infinate amount of time without any trouble. Thank you all for your help so far.

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          • #6
            Have you tried to play the game on lower graphic settings just to see if you can get past the 9 minute mark?
            Keep on Civin'
            RIP rah, Tony Bogey & Baron O

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            • #7
              I tried lowering the graphic settings in the game, but civ 4 crashed just the same.

              Comment


              • #8
                I agree with the others that your new video card is likely causing the problem. I don't know a solution, but here are some things to try (in no particular order):

                * Try reseating the video card. You never know ...
                * The card probably has it's own fan. Check to make sure that the fan is working.
                * I have a slightly older Nvidia card (8600 GT). The installation program created two icons on my desktop: nvidia monitor and ntune. If you have something similar, you can use these utilities to check the temp of your card (mine runs at 133* F with Civ 4 not running and about 5* higher when it is running). You also can check to see if your GPU has been overclocked (unlikely).
                * Do you have the option to exchange the card for another one? It's possible that the card is defective.
                * What happens if you start a new game and just let it sit, without taking any actions? Does it still crash after nine minutes?

                I noticed that you're working with ori at CFC. He's an accomplished troubleshooter and may be able to help you.

                Petek
                "The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."
                -- Kosh

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                • #9
                  what version of directx are you running?

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                  • #10
                    I had a similar problem with RoN. It would crash at a specific time after starting. I opened up the case and I could play a little longer. I added a small fan and it even better. Finally I added a big MF fan and I could play till the end.

                    It sounds like the new video card is not cooled enough or its generating too much heat and overheating some other processing unit. Get a big MF fan.
                    We need seperate human-only games for MP/PBEM that dont include the over-simplifications required to have a good AI
                    If any man be thirsty, let him come unto me and drink. Vampire 7:37
                    Just one old soldiers opinion. E Tenebris Lux. Pax quaeritur bello.

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                    • #11
                      I had a similar problem once with a different game, after I'd built a new system. The system would display the same symptoms as you described.

                      I tried loads of different things, and in the end I fixed it by moving my memory modules from the two slots they were in to the two other memory slots. I assume the memory wasn't seated quite properly, or there was a fault with one of the slots I was using.

                      Worth a try, maybe?

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                      • #12
                        Weird!

                        If memory isnt seated properly it wont be recognized by the BIOS and there is usually a specific set of "beeps" to say "there's no RAM". As you said, maybe one slot was faulty but I wouldnt have thought that would have led to a "timed" crash unless it caused something else to overheat.
                        We need seperate human-only games for MP/PBEM that dont include the over-simplifications required to have a good AI
                        If any man be thirsty, let him come unto me and drink. Vampire 7:37
                        Just one old soldiers opinion. E Tenebris Lux. Pax quaeritur bello.

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                        • #13
                          Actually, it wasn't so exact on the timing; it would die after a more random time.

                          I did in fact run a whole battery of tests on the memory (which involved booting off a CD-ROM and running special tests overnight), and it all was ok. But when I played World of Warcraft, after a random amount of time (always less than an hour though) it would crash with the black screen.

                          That was happening for a week before I swapped the memory around, in desperation - and it's been ok for six months now.

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