Crashing When Hitting "Close"

[greenthumbly]

This is my favorite game in the world. I've been playing it since I was 10 years old, the very first Caesar. It makes me SUPER sad that the game completely crashes my computer when I try to close notifications. I changed the graphics to lowest possible setting and it helped for a while... then slowly got worse. I looked all through the internet, checked all my stuff, I believe DirectX is updated, though I'm not sure how to check this. But I put ALL the graphics on the lowest possible setting, which is odd because I got this computer specifically for gaming, the graphics card is awesome.
Please help me. I absolutely love this game and I REALLY want it to work...

[Keith]

You can prevent notifications from popping up in Caesar IV's Settings > Interface menu. In the lower right corner there are a series of check boxes, by un-checking the box you turn off the feature listed.

In my game I choose to uncheck "Disable in-game Warnings", and all the options under the Menu heading "Message Pausing Options".

If that doesn't help, we'll need to know more about your PC. In earilier Windows up to Win 7 you can probably find the RUN menu on the START button. In Windows 8 and 8.1 you can get there by holding down the Windows key while pressing the R key one time.

Type "dxdiag" in the run box and click OK. Windows 8 and 8.1 may ask you confirmation question before it runs. Reply "Yes".

Once the Dx Diagnostic tool has scanned your computer SAVE ALL INFORMATION by clicking on the button. Save the file to someplace on your computer where you can find the saved text file easily, like My Documents or Downloads, etc.

Then come back here and open a new reply to this thread. Type your message, then DO NOT click on Submit Reply just yet. Scroll down below the message area and click on the Manage Attachments button.

Browse for your new dxdiag.txt file that you just saved and select it. Click Upload.

Once it is uploaded click on the Submit Reply button below the message area.

[greenthumbly]

Wow! Thanks for the help!
Now, it seems that closing out the notifications doesn't crash the game anymore, though every once in a while, it does.. I will turn off the notifications like you suggested.. but now it just randomly stops responding. I can't edit scenarios at all, and the only time I've managed to, the game crashes every time I try to play it... it's odd...

I did what you said and added the attachment... and if you don't mind me asking... do you think I'll ever be able to play with the graphics turned up again?

[Keith]

Some people had problems with the game when the notifications popped up or when the weather effects occurred during the game. Turning these off seems to help.

The game still stops responding periodically, it even did that when I had a XP system. Nothing you can do about that one. Just make manual saves as you play and do so frequently.

Sometimes the autosave can cause the game to crash on some systems.

I play with the notifications I mentioned "off", but I can play with the weather effects on a high setting on my system.

I have a HP h9-1340t Envy, Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50 Ghz processor 32,768 MB of RAM, Windows 8.1 64-bit, and have a Radeon HD 7950 graphics card, DX11, and a BEATS audio system.

I used the Program Compatibility Tool to setup my game after installation. This is a utility that helps older programs run on Windows 8 and 8.1. Windows 7 has the function too. It's found in one of the submenus in the Control Panel > Programs > Program and Features > Run programs made for previous versions of Windows.

In the PCT menu under the Advanced option, I have the game set to run as Administrator.

When you proceed to the next menu you should click on "not found" and then BROWSE to the Programsx86 > Sierra > CaesarIV folder and select the C4Exec.exe file.

The PCT will make adjustments to run the game. If the test doesn't work after the automatic function finishes, you can run the PCT again and then make manual adjustments from the PCT by choosing that option.

My game runs runs with the settings used by PCT, except for the fact that I also designated to "run as Administrator."

Playing with the graphic settings in the game by raising them one at a time until you have a problem then backing off a tick might help you fine tune any problem you may have there.

[greenthumbly]

I have tried everything... it's not working. Nothing is. Now it's not letting me load my saved games. Nothing.

Thank you for trying to help me though. I appreciate it

[Keith]

Sorry, I think your save games may have been lost if you ran the PCT after they were made.

I tried adjusting my game with the PCT after I had gotten to the Empire campaign, only to find that all my saved games were gone. Nothing to do there but start over, I'm afraid. I don't know why it would effect the save games. Mine were completely erased.

All you can do is try uninstalling the game. Be sure to use the Uninstall feature and don't just delete it off the hard drive.

Then do a complete reinstall and install any patches that may be required to bring your game up to the current version before playing and making any saves.

You can try manually adjusting your game from the Properties menu of the C4Exec.exe file. Right click, select properties, then set I to run "run as administrator", and try setting the compatibility to "Windows Vista". Those are at least the basic settings the PCT will attempt to use and it is what my game is running under.