Start up Problem

Hi, I'm having problems running my Galactic Civilizations II. It installed properly, but I can't get the start screen to come up. The first time I tried it after it was installed, it worked well, but after I put in the information about what civilization and the size of the galaxy I wanted it went blank. The screen wouldn't come up after that. I tried uninstalling it and then reinstalling it, but it still didn't work. It just stayed blank every time i tried playing it.

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Please go to C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2 (or wherever you installed the game at), open the debug.err file you find there in notepad, and copy/paste the contents into a post here. If this is a DA report, you'll find the debug in C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2\DarkAvatar instead. This will give us some technical information that can help troubleshoot your problem.

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Thanks for the help. Here is my debug info on Galactic Civilization II:

Debug Message: Version v1.2 last updated on: Mon Jun 12 18:04:26 2006
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 4/2/2007, 11:38:37
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: URIBES
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.061219-0316)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Computer Corporation
System Model: Dimension 4300
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 1.60GHz
Physical Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 551MB used, 439MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce2 MX/MX 400
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0110&SUBSYS_010F10DE&REV_B2
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.9371
Driver Date: 10/22/2006 13:22:00
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes

Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SoundMAX Digital Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2445&SUBSYS_01101028&REV_12
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: smwdm.sys
Provider: Analog Devices
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.3030
Driver Date: 7/25/2001 14:40:30
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Sound device 1:
Description: Modem #6 Line Playback (emulated)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID:
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 81
Driver Name:
Provider:
Driver Version:
Driver Date:
Type: Emulated
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Debug Message: *********END dxdiag info.*********
Debug Message: Entering WinMain
Debug Message: ******* Starting Game Shell *******
Debug Message: Preparing to change display settings.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONMASKABLE
Debug Message: Could not create the render device using default format. Switching to 16bit
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
Debug Message: Could not create the render device.
Debug Message: InitializeDirect3D Failed.
Debug Message: Now windowed.
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: WM_CLOSE message received.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize start

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Try deleting the file prefs.ini located in My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2. That will reset the game to default settings.

If you can get back to the game creation screen and it crashes there again, post your debug again after it happens.

Do note that your video card does not meet the game's minimum requirements (geForce2s are very outdated), so if it is even possible to get the game functioning fully, it will perform very poorly and you will likely experience a number of graphic issues.

You should also update the game to 1.4x using the patch on the downloads page for best results.

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