Vista - Civilization 4 with Vista

I just bought a brand new computer less than a month ago. A Dell with over 3 ghz processor, 3 g of RAM, and 300 g hard drive. I made sure it had the best video card, etc for playing games. I bought this computer to play Spore, which is a pretty big game.

I just want to say that I hate Vista. I have had nothing but problems with it! I fixed most of the problems with Spore and moving files, etc. But I can't get Civilization 4 to work on it.

I bought Civ 4 for my husband for Christmas, but it won't work. While loading, An error pops up that says "Sid Meier's Civiliaztion 4 has stopped working. Windows is checking for a solution to the problem." Then "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available." Of course, it never has.

We've tried everything. We even tried running it in Windows NT compatibility mode.

I am so angry with Vista. I regret buying this computer now, because in a few years when a better operating system comes out, this computer will be worthless.

Does anyone know how I can fix this problem?

You could try updating DX9. The Civ 4 installation overwrites the Direct X 9.0c used by Vista. The DirectX 9.0c files with the game are old and can actually cause the problem. Download the distributable version of DirectX 9.0c from here:-

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

Norm

yes update your Directx 9.0 and also get the latest drivers for your video card.

I downloaded and installed Direct X 9c, but it didn't work. I get the same error message. You mentioned updated drivers, where might I find those?

Civ 4 is known to have compatability problems when installing it with Vista. One suggested solution is to uninstall the game, if it is installed, then, on the install disk search for the Setup program (I don't know what it is called, but it is a .exe file in the main directory. Right click on it, go to Properties, set the Compatability Mode to XP, then run the program by right clicking it and running it as Administrator. When the install asks to install Directx say "Yes".

I do hope this helps.

Norm

Thanks for trying, but it didn't work. I get the same exact error message.

I followed your directions exactly. I right clicked on the setup.exe file and set the compatibility mode, then right clicked again and ran it as administrator. It never gave me a choice to install directx or not.

I contacted 2K games also, hopefully there will be a resolution.

Sorry FeliciaG

Happy New Year

Norm

You like myself only wasted money on Vista cause Civ 4 is incompatible with Vista.
Check here if you do not believe me;
Windows Vista Compatibility Center