Windows Vista and Sim City 4 won’t mix either (not yet anyway)
Published June 14th, 2006 in Technology, VistaContinuing the series of programs that have issues with Windows Vista (or vice versa if you look at it that way), I played Sim City 4: Rush Hour (will just call it SC4 from here on out here) on my upgraded Windows Vista Beta 2 installation. The game runs, but the graphic rendering in the game are extremely glitchy. I should say that I am using mods for SC4 that add structures to the game and enhance gameplay, but these mods did not affect the graphics performance or rendering when ran under Windows XP.
I first got this when running SC4 in windowed mode (done by adding the -w tag after the quote in the Target field under the SC4 shortcut properties) and using the drivers for my video card that were installed by Vista. My video card is a nVidia GeForce 6600 GT (handles Aero without a problem, BTW). I decided to run the game in fullscreen mode, and the same rendering glitches appear.
So, I figured that I would get the latest drivers for Vista for my video card. After applying the drivers and restarting the computer, I ran SC4 in full screen mode. Interestingly enough, after changing the resolution for the game to run the same as my native resolution of 1280×1024, the Windows taskbar appeared inside the fullscreen game. Still, unfortunately, the graphical glitches remain in the game.
SC4 (as well as many Electronic Arts games) run using DirectX, and Vista Beta 2 includes DirectX 10. That should not have any bearing with the rendering of the game. I am guessing that dwm.exe (the engine that runs in the background to generate the Aero effects) may be causing the graphical glitches in the game. I will test this theory by killing that process and then running SC4 again. I will also be testing another game by EA, Command and Conquer: Generals, to see if that game exhibits the same rendering problems as SC4.
52 Responses to “Windows Vista and Sim City 4 won’t mix either (not yet anyway)”
- 1 Pingback on Jun 16th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Great!
But I just can’t make my SimCity 4 Delux work with my Vista Beta 2 (native driver for Ge-Force FX5200 (resolution 1600 X 1200)…
I’ll keep trying anyway…
Does the game not work at all or is it glitchy as I described above?
Are you using the drivers that came with Vista or have you downloaded the latest drivers for vista from the nvidia website?
Weird, works great with vista beta and at radeon 9600 Pro.
Intend to convert to Vista fairly soon but at moment still trying to persuade Sim City 4 Rush hour to run under XP SP2 after disk crash and rebuild. Load progress stops after Suspension Bridge shot and EA logo.
This seems to be a well known problem but I have not seen a solution on the Net. EA (UK) have simply ignored a support request.
Anything known, please.
Best wishes
Dr John Wilkes
PCs are fucking pieces of shit!
I have the same problem with my computer. I have a Bran Spankin new dell E1705 and SC4 has graphics glitches too. Somtimes when I zoom out in full screen mode while playing, the screen goes black, and then when it comes back, some parts of the screen are pixilated, and it looks like I’m playing in 8 bit mode. As far as loading the game, I’ve noticed that I need disc 1 to startup, and then when the “building” screen appears and you have options to play, install, or uninstall, I have to put in disc 2 to make it work. Crazy. I had to do that using win xp too. Anyone have any suggestions with the screen glitches???
I’m having problems in that SC4 just up and dies after running for about 10-20 min. I am in a med size city, with a few hills, two lakes, and trees and deer.
I just got a new Dell Dimension E520, with upgraded graphics card:
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE
and have a monitor with max resolution of: 1680×1050 which is not a size I can select within SC4. I selected the second highest resolution, so that I did not exceed either number.
I have the ICC color management profile set to: E207WFP.icm
The graphic rendering looks wonderful. I just need the app to stay up and stop dying.
Has anyone else experineced this problem on Vista?
I have ben experiencin a similar problem as Gloria, except that when SC4 dies, it taes my laptop with it by causing it to crash and restart.
I can’t take this. I have a new Vaio VGNC270CN and I can not run SC4 for more than 10 minutes without a crash. Please help, all I want is to be able to play SC4 during those booring classes.
I am have the same problem as gloria, man it is really starting to shit me.
I have a Toshiba tecra A8 - With all the goodies and still it plays!!
Please someone figure it out and tell me!!!!!!
I am having the same problems as Gloria. The game is really glitchy under Vista. I used to run SC4 with xp fine but now it is absolutely terrible. If anyone knows of a fix please post it. I play very few games, but SimCity has been a staple of mine for the last 10 or so years….
Not going to lie….. Vista Sucks
Yes iam also having problems with SC4. I open it up and it goes black like it is loading then gives me a crash signal page. then it reboots. I hate it! i jut ought htis computer too. I agree with Anthony Vista has to many problems. Please post an answer if you have one!
I just got a new Toshiba with Vista preinstalled. I tried to load my SC4, but I get to disc 2 and about 90% and it crashes taking the whole system with it. I have to reboot. The only way around it is to just uninstall and try to find a new game to play. BTW - I am not really that keen on the new Vista system. There are a few new things that are interesting, but I think they could have just done an update to XP. The big problem is the new Office 2007 programs. That, I truly loath. Way to fuck up something good, Microsoft!
the same thing happens to me, i get to disc 2 at around fifty percent it crashes. It’s infuriating!
Yeah i have the same problem. I just recently got a new computer and installed Vista Home Premium on it. All the specs of the PC are far better than my old xp computer but the game is so glitchy!
If anyone knows how to fix this reply to me at joeyjackson25@hotmail.com
cheers
Yep I am having similar random problems where SC4 Deluxe will run great then crash when I exit to the region, or save. It seems all the kinks have yet to be worked out. I wonder who is to blame, as I am sure it is a little of both.
~Vista Premium, Intel Core2Duo 6600, 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400, Nvidia 8800GTS, with latest available drivers
I’m having the same problems with SC4 crashing. Just bought a Toshiba laptop with Vista. The game did load, albeit slower than I expected.
Are there any patches available, or is this just one of those things we’ll all to deal with? Word of advice when playing SC4 on Vista: Save early, save often.
I am running SC4 on Vista Ultimate, and when I start up the game, the window minimizes right away. Might this be a Vista incompatibility error as well?
for everyone on RTM, and crashes when game gets to big its a cd check problem. get a cd patch from gameburnworld for Sim city 4 rush hour and it no longer crashes.
I love SC4 but the friggin game gives me a black screen after 10 minutes of gaming and reboots. Pain in the ass….!!! I’ve tried everything with this vista from removing data protection to installinbg latest drivers.
Safe often is the only way to play and it reboots 20 times a night. Any suggestion???? anyone ??/ email me at : leftiegibson@hotmail.com
sc4 is my favorite game but can onlyplay it 10 to 15 min. at atime. The screen goes black and the laptop reboots. This vista is garbage. Is their a way around this issue or am I the only one?
Email me please: leftiegibson@hotmail.com
SC4 Freezes and crashes on the EA logo screen. Using Vista. Help….
well i have vista no my hp dv9000 and when i install sc4 deluxe it runs perfectly the first time if i close the windoww and try to turn it on again the disk starts to spin and it suddenly stops and doesnt work until i reinstall it again and it happens overe and over again
I am running Vista home premium and have had no issues with SC4 on my system at all. GE Force 6150 graphics…2GB RAM AMD Live 64 5000 proc. installed, playing.
I have Sim City 4 & the seperate Sim City 4 Rush Hour. When I try and install rush hour on my Vista machine it just freezes up around 2%. I tried going into explorer and running it in XP compatability and same result.. This is so frustrating!! I love the game and I travel a lot. It works fine on my desktop which runs on Windows XP..
Any ideas on how I can get Rush hour to install on my Vista Home Premium laptop without it freezing up?
I got vista and have many of the same crashing after 20 min or so problem when playing sc4 (deluxe).
I tested out shutting down dwm.exe before gameplay and while it still crashed, it was after almost two hours. It defiantly works better.
I have Vista Home Premium, installed SC4, and I go to open it and as soon as it comes up, it flashes to the blue screen and says a bunch of stuff and then crashes then restarts and im so angry that I cant play it.
Hey
Can you please tell me how to put the mods into the game, I donwload them but they do not show up in my plugins folder or even on my system. I have windows vista, when I had windows xp the game worked perfectly and so did the mods.
I had problems running the game in Vista until I changed the compatibility to Windows XP. I’ve had no problems since then.
Argh!!!! I want to throw this brand-spanking new Dell laptop running Vista out the window. After spending hours trying to make SC4 run on the Vista, and then having success for a few days, I experienced the same problem of it suddenly going blank and forcing a reboot after about 2 minutes of play. If you have any patch/help, please email at spring-street@lycos.com.
Thanks!
I’m having the exact same problem as Tom. I’ve installed the game onto my laptop with vista, updated all the drivers. I’ve got DirectX 10 but I can’t play the game.
As soon as I try to open the game, it immediately flashes to a blue screen too quickly to read anything much and restarts the computer. Very frustrating.
Does anyone know how to fix this? I’m not that great with computers so the simpler the explanation the better.
Thanks alot
I have a Toshiba Laptop with DirectX9. I don’t have a Beta. Updated drivers, and a updated system from Microsoft. My Simcity 4 works just fine. Except the occasional crash in 20 minutes during gameplay.
I think Simcity 4 isn’t compatible with DX10. I use the Command Line to disable the intro causing the occasional crash to decrease of around 80%. My Laptop is 07.
I kind of had the same problem. I just re-installed Simcity 4 like 3 times. All of a sudden for some odd reason SC4 worked. I hope it does for you.
Just as a reference, here are some links to the latest drivers for ATI and nVidia cards:
ATI: http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx
nVidia: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
For folks running Vista on an nVidia graphics card, there have been some hotfixes that have been released: http://www.nvidia.com/object/windows_vista_hotfixes.html
packard bell laptop with vista: during instalation, when i insert 2nd dvd, dvd drive runs amok! game does not work, blue screen, restart, critical error etc. i can not even install the game.
can i have vista update soon or i format my drive and install xp?
yeah same problems as everyone else, bought a new computer with windows vista on it, was able to install sc4 after three trys, itd get to about 80% and then the comp. would reboot. finally got it installed and the game just runs like crap very slow. i thought it run alot better with a new computer, but i guess this microsoft vista is just messing up everthing, cant even install my lexmark printer, and a few other games i love to play…… this just flat out sucks
A great website for any problems related to SimCity 4 or SC Societies is http://www.simtropolis.com. There are literally THOUSANDS of things to download, and in the forum there is plenty of help if you have a problem. Also there is a live chat too, and there is a lot more, just sign up for free and dive in! (I am not a member of the Simtropolis administration, just someone who knows a lot about the site)
The game works but all my the plugins and lots i download dont work when i start the game .please help
i have the sims and it works better in vista than in xp. all of you guys who are having problems with the sims in vista are using vista beta. the game drivers are not compleue in beta.
advise:
do a automatic update and get the latest version of vista.
Same boat here.
I managed to get it installed. It ran once after the install. Then everytime i tried to run i received a BSOD and it crashed my machine.
I’ve since run it in XP compatibility mode, and it will start. However after playing for a while it crashes in the oddest way-video to my monitor just turns off, and i can hear the music playing in the background still. The PC is totally unresponsive and must be rebooted, then i’m notified that “Windows had encountered and error”.
I don’t blame Vista for this. I have many other games installed that work just fine. Its lazyness on EA’s part to support this game with patches. If this game was Command and Conquer, you could bet big money these issues would have been solved ages ago-or never even happened.
Shame really, i’ve loved the series.
Hi folks.
So i present the solution for Windows Vista 64bit with the Game Sim City 4 - Rush hour. I have the NAM Mod installed. Tested gameplay 20 hours. No crashes, smother gameplay and nVidia dualview includeed (without window mode not supported).
- Install all important updates for Windows Vista 64bit
- Get the optional Update KB940105
- The following updates should be installed:
KB938194
KB938979
KB941600
KB941649
KB943302
KB943899
KB937287
- Sim City 4 run as “Administrator”
- Comaptibility Mode Windows-XP SP2
Thats all. Pls reply your efforts…:-)
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,i cant start sc43.pease help on packard bell
coolguy: The fact that you are doing it on a Packard Bell may tell a lot. What is your system specs?
my simcity 4 games does same thing (dies after 10-20min) on my vista, & also did before on my previous pc running under xp…
i think the problem is in the game..and not cuz a OS or graphic card..
and i am one who update computers. i never got what was wrong. but if this appears also in vista.. i also bought another sc4 , well in fact first time i had sc4 & rush hour separated i had this problem under ym xp but on first time i thought it was my cds which diedcuz played too much..but then ive bought sc4 deluxe & it happened same.
soemtimes i wonder if the problem comes from Rush hour cuz i dont remember trhese dyings on my early beginings of sc4..
unless soemthing new (created after sc4 release) a update or dunno… works good in many things but not for the game? & they never been able to fix it.. well i dont know but its strange…
my simcity 4 games does same thing (dies after 10-20min) on my vista, & also did before on my previous pc running under xp…
i think the problem is in the game..and not cuz a OS or graphic card..
and i am one who update computers. i never got what was wrong. but if this appears also in vista.. i also bought another sc4 , well in fact first time i had sc4 & rush hour separated i had this problem under ym xp but on first time i thought it was my cds which diedcuz played too much..but then ive bought sc4 deluxe & it happened same.
Does anybody know what version of vista drivers just work with sim city 4 deluxe?
i am currently running with 167.45 on a HP GeForce Go 7600 and it crashes every 4 minutes(it might go on if cars are not displayed..or turned off but they are critical to gameplay).
Hey I had the whole every 20 minutes or so the game would just black screen as well in Vista x64, but as soon as I installed a no-cd patch for rush hour instead of using the deluxe cd to run the game, and as soon as I did that the problem went away. So if you have not already tried using a no-cd patch, I would and they are simple enough to find on Google. Hopefully, this will solve a lot of your problems. Oh by the way for other people who can’t even get the game running, make sure that you have compatibility set for Windows XP SP2 in both normal properties and then under the all user properties. The all user properties should be a button at the bottom of the compatibility tab, it is labeled “Show settings for all users”.
I just got a Dell XPS w/ NVidia SLI card and Vista. Some weird stuff is happening when I try to run SimCity 4. It goes to a black screen before the EA Games screen ever comes up and I have to press my windows button to get back to the desktop. There’s a little window that says “Warning” in it and says “The configuration file (Graphics Rules.sgr) cannot be parse. Using built-in rules.” So I press ok and it takes me to the EA Games screen. So I try to play the game, but every time, the graphics are really glitchy. I’ve only attempted to play a few times, and once there were no yards with the houses, a couple of other times it wouldn’t let me see where I was about to lay down road, and every time there’s some extra numbers in the tax adjustment section. This game worked fine on Windows XP. It’s either Vista or NVidia, but not sure which is causing this. Any help would be appreciated!
non riesco a scaricarlo
Need Help… I Can Install Sim City 4 And It works Fine But It When I Tried To Install The No Cd Patch It Wont Let Me It Keeps Giving Me A Error
I swear it has something to do with compatibility for Vista. Sometimes it just doesn’t work, period. Dang. I am addicted to SC4 and Deluxe.
has the issue with Rush Hour and Vista been resolved yet? because i really want to buy it, but im not going to waste money if i can only play it for 10 minute periods
im on Vista home premium 32 bit