New patch also no good with XP!

[Pinochet]

I have been trying everything to make Civ3 work in Windows XP Pro, including running the game in other compatibility modes, installing other nVidia G2 MX drivers (including Dell's most recent, nVidia's most recent on their website, and the default one on Windows XP's installation CD).

I have also removed and reinstalled Civ3 and its newest version of the patch, many times, with each new nVidia driver attempted, to no effect.

I cannot seem to be able to get past the following problem:

***PROBLEM: Civ3 starts, shows the opening video sequence, and then, after it ends, my monitor goes dark. The power button on the monitor then keeps blinking in a dim, light yellow, while I clearly hear the normal game sounds in the background, mostly the music.***

I have a Dell Dimension 8100, with latest XP2 BIOS
Pentium 4, 1.3 Ghz, 256 Meg RAM
nVidia G2 MX Graphics card
Sony Multiscan 200sx 17" Monitor (could not find a new driver on the Sony website for this, so just using default Win XP driver)
Samsung SM-308B DVD/CDRW

I am hoping for an even newer patch than Dec 8's...!
Any suggestions?

[Xentropy]

Open civilization3.ini in your Civ3 directory and add the line:

Refresh=60

Or replace the 60 with whatever the max Hz your monitor will support at the resolution you wish to play the game at (1024x768 by default/minimum). I recommend a refresh of at least 75 if your monitor will support it; 60Hz is flickery and quite noticable to the eyes of many, including myself, but guaranteed to work if your monitor supports 1024x768 at all, which being 17" I'm sure it does.

You MUST have the patch installed to do this, and for best results, make sure you have the correct patch, i.e. one downloaded Dec 8th or later, not Dec 7th.

This should fix your problem, which is due to a known bug with the original version of Civ3 trying to set your refresh rate higher than your monitor will allow. This causes your monitor to go into a mode to avoid self-destruction. The new patch introduces the new ini line as stated above.

Happy Civving!

[theautarch]

I have seen that issue with pc's concerning the monitor, resolution, and refresh rate. You might want to check those out.

[theautarch]

hehehe....ya beat me to it....i was writing it and when i posted it, there was one ahead of me....by 2 minutes..hehehe