Crash To Desktop (CTD)

from Stardock Forums
I have posted earlier about my frequent CTD and wondered if it was related to using DirectX 8 or an older nVidia graphics card driver. Well, I updated each (directX 9 and the nVidia driver) and don't think anything has changed.

I bought Gal Civ from amazon.com, installed the disk (don't recall what verson that was 1.0?). I played a few games to learn, found the forum, read the strategy guides, downloaded stardock and upgraded to 1.04. I don't recall many CTD with 1.04 but didn't play many games. When I read about 1.05, I downloaded that and started submitting games to the metaverse (it took me a while to get that right having to hit submit twice LOL).

Now on 1.05, the CTD are really frequent - maybe once per hour. I save every 2 turns so the 5 minutes for a reboot aren't the end of the world but they are annoying. Everything else on my computer works great. When I had operating system problems with Windows in the past the internet/networking connections always go first and everything was generally unstable. Now, especially since I re-installed Windows ME in January everything is stable like a rock including Internet, on-line games, other applications . . . but Gal Civ.

Should I remove Gal Civ and re-install from disk and then repatch up to 1.05? Has anyone done that and had it help? I really don't want to make things worse. LOL.

Should I just wait for Gal Civ 1.1 and hope that makes the CTD better or is that just wishful thinking?

I read there is a program from Stardock to track this but can't recall anything else about it. Should I do this?

Anyone had this issue?

Gal Civ is a great game. Thanks in advance for your advice. :)

Rick

Athlon 1900+
512 Mb RAM
nVidia 4600Ti graphics card
Windows ME
933 views 29 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
I found (and am finding) that CTDs are more common on 1.05 than 1.09 - I'd hang on and see if the new version improves this for you.

Alex


~SDC~
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
I have the same problem which started for me with 1.04.

Does anyone know if release date of "late summer" (by my calculations before 9/21) is still on track?

CursorFX - Customize your Windows cursor
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Just for comparisons sakes, on v1.05 all my CTDs are directly related to/caused by the annual report. Is it the same for you?
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Llaamaboy,

The ETA for GCX became "a couple of weeks" from last week according to Frogboy.

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
On my v1.05 my CTD can happen any time I hit the return key or space bar or mouse button. It is worse if I don't close windows between turns. For example hitting the turn button with a window open seems to be the most common and predictable way to get a CTD.

Rick
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
I've had 2 CTDs - one on 1.05, one on 1.09. Both on clicking End Turn. Hardly a pervasive problem, but annoying when you need to replay several turns and things don't go the same - war declarations, etc.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
hopefully the expansion will make it better... but ive tried reinstalling/repatching about 5 times now, no luck there. I find it comes on the annual report usually as well, though i have had a few when ships get destroyed.
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Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Tonight it happened right after I destroyed an Arcean planet with a terror star. Poof . . . reboot the machine . . . load from the last save . . . try again. This time it worked without a CTD and I was able to finish the game. Doh!!! LOL.

Rick
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Mine (1.05) drops to the desktop semi-frequently, but won't crash unless Kontiki is running. So I just don't let it run when I'm playing.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
You guys talk about this as if its normal ... the CTD is ruining the game for me. I have a pretty new Dell with very little software on it and what is on it is very main stream commerical stuff. Gal Civ is the only exe which has problems.

I am faced with the fact that I love the game, but it simply does not work as it should. Right next to this box is a P1 233MMX running a fresh install of 98 with a whole 96 meg of ram. Im playing Alpha Centauri on it which is a lot more fun than a crashing Gal Civ. Now that is just fundamentially wrong on every level!

No, as far as I'm concerned, if the expansion pack does not solve the problem, Im asking for my $$ back.
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
- 98 Fresh Install (no updates?)
- Alpha Centauri 1997

What version of GC are you running (1.05?).

Direct X is 'supposed' to be backwards compatible (but it's just not so in every case, i.e. my old version of Thief doesn't seem to like version 8 and up . . .)

Win98 is no longer Supported by MS as far as I know there are over 50 individual patches that you can comb the internet for to make it more compliance ready.

233 MMX, your computer is kinda dated but that shouldn't be the main issue (GC programming does lean towards CPU hyper-threading technology though)

96 Meg RAM?? SDram at least? EDO? . . .

What kind of Sound and Graphic Card do you have?

:notsure: 1.05 crashes are rare for me but happen and by all accounts the Beta should be free and rock solid.

I'd like to help here's a link to an excellent comp tech site lotsa helpfull folks there . . . if you thinking of upgrading the bare essencials . . .

Tweakers http://forums.tweakers.com.au/

If I've said anything inaccurate I'm sure someone will be along to correct me soon enough. I just wanta figure out the specific problem in your case . . .

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Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
I have just had my first CTD using the latest beta (1.09 beta4) It happened about 23hours into the game in one sitting. It happened when i pressed turn.

When it crashed and for at least an hour (thats how long i gave it to settle down before i hit ctl alt del) there was massise HD activity.. which didn't stop untill i pressed CTL ALT DEL then i went to provesses and applications running to see what it was doing.. However the minute i went into the tabs all hd activity stoped.. so i don't know where/what/why it was doing. I think that it would have continued the HD access till i did what i did

my system info:
AMD Athalon 2100+ , 512mb ram, win xp pro, 64mb gforce4 mms400 agp *4 graphics card. nothing else running in the background

Hope this helps solve the CTD

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
Why don't you load up Smart Exception, BlueSteel? That will be more helpful to SD in troubleshooting these CTDs.

I played Beta 4 quite a bit yesterday without encountering any.

~SDC~
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, I do get crashes on a semi-regular basis. My real annoyance is that it likes to minimize and open AIM windows a lot.
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
Smart Exception
End of quote


I can remember it.. but i can't find it :(
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
Doh... i'd looked there... but couldn't see it for looking...

darn that Steve and his bex powder

I iz blind :sniff!:
Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
This exact same crap happened, as some may know, in Bethesda Softwork's RPG, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and more frequent CTD's with the expansions, usually due to change of Exterior Cells (IE halfway loading cell from
"Ascadian Isles Region -15, -7" to "Ascadian Isles Region -15, -8" crash halfway between loading) or closing container windiws (Barrels, Crates, corpses, et cetera)

When the first expansion came out and got installed, there was a new feature- you randomly get attacked by assassins in your sleep and have to fight them off. A new CTD: Crashes sometime when you wake 'to a loud noise' (the assassin sneaking behind you)

2nd Expansion: added a new landmass that was so intensive to everything on the system, you just crashed every hour or two.

The fix: Some people screweed around with the Morrowind Configuration Settings, fixing most CTDs. (I still get them if I play for over 5 hours)
Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top
ok, this helped me on CTD a whole lot..... in my current game, i crashed literally every turn until i did this. Change your color settings from 32 bit to 16 bit, and i have yet to have a CTD in an hour. Hopefully this will work for other people.
Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top
Edit: Double Post
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Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top
I am running 16bit with latest drivers etc.

I always seem to get CTD in the R&D screen when selecting new research. >:(


(Athlon 1.2, 256mb DDR, GeForce4, WinME)

-Bill

~SDC~
Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
Cotal ...
GalCiv is on my XP Pro machine 2.24 gig 120 gig hd and 768 ram.
That is the machine that the CTD keeps happening.

Alpha is being played on the oldest of old 98 machines. (And yes, it has all the updates - MS still has the windows update site for 98. That computer does one thing - Play alpha).

But that was my point. Gal Civ is the ONLY program I have problem with on my XP box and it is fair to say that a lot of people have CTD's but because the game is so fun to play some people seem to forget that crashes are not suppose to be part of the package.

An up and running game on a P1 233mmx runing a 66mz bus is more fun than galciv on an spiffy P4 2.4 gig running a 533 bus because of the CTD's.

>:(
Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top
Also try updating your sound drivers.  SmartException will help me to determine if another program like WinDVD or Winamp3 has taken over your sound codecs and replaced them with buggy versions.
Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks CariElf. We just attach the SmartException file to an e-mail to you right? I did that and it didn't bounce so I hope it got to you. I have updated directX and video drivers but forgot to update any sound driver so I wil go do that. Thanks again. :D

Rick
Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm running v1.05 and have occasional but not frequent crashes to desktop.

However, last night in run into 100% repeatable crash to desktop, most likely triggered by desctruction of one of my own colonies. I tried to destroy the colony some 5 times, each of them resulting in a CTD in the next round.

Then I chose not to destroy the colony, and the game run smoothly.


miika