Crash Problem

Haldern · Post by **Haldern** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:20 am

I recently installed ZTCC, and I can't seem to get even three months into the game's calendar. My computer will completely lock up right at the end of February (game-time), no matter which map I use.

I haven't used any hacks/cheats/easter eggs, and the only updates I have installed are the "official" bonus files from MS. I've unistalled-reinstalled twice (along with deleting Registry keys). I'm running on a Celeron 2.4 gig, 512 MB ram, nvidia GeForce FX 5700 LE with current drivers (dated 8-5-05, or somewhere around there).

Does anybody have any idea for a fix? I've looked through a few different ZT boards and MS's Knowledge Base and haven't seen any mention of a specific "crashing" like this one. Any help anyone can give me would be much appreciated.

EDIT: I suppose I should make mention of one more thing: I do have all the current Windows updates (including SP2), and my swap file (virtual memory) is over a gig, so memory shouldn't be an issue. No other game crashes like this at any rate.

vampire · Post by **vampire** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:23 pm

i had this problem for a while, too. it was about 2 years ago, but i couldn't even get past january. i un installed, reinstalled, un,re, un,re, over asnd over again. i then took ALL of my downloads off of my computer, and it worked a gain. now whenever i do downloads, i make a list of the names of ALL the downloads ive done, and if i downloads one that crashes the game, i uninstall the game and all downloads and dont put that download in again hope this helps
vampire

Post by **yellowrose** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:23 pm

Something else as well. When unistalling and reinstalling make sure you run the ZT Registry cleaner found at Zoo Admin Here. After running the registry cleaner do a clean install of your game. Open the game and begin a zoo with NO downloads installed. Let it run past the point of your previous crashes. This should hopefully cure your crash problem.

You can then begin to add downloads. But add them 1 or 2 at a time and run the game after each addition in case you have one that possibly caused your previous crashing problem. This is the best way to locate it so you can remove it and not reistall it until an updated file can be located or the original creator updates the file. This can be a long tedious process but will be worth all the effort in the end.

Hope this helps out.

Haldern · Post by **Haldern** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:09 pm

Thanks for the quick reply, guys. I had downloaded several files and used the .ztd combining tutorial over at ZooAdmin, as well as the combined .dll files. After my initial install of CC (and subsequent uninstall), I did use the Registry cleaner and kept my downloads in a separate folder in My Documents.

I'm thinking I may have accidentally put in some ZT only downloads (from ZooAdmin), and that more than likely caused the problem before, but ZT shouldn't still be trying to find those files should it? As I said in my original post, all I have installed now are the official downloads from MS. I'll reinstall again and try without the in-game update and see if that does it, and I'll (hopefully) find the ZT-only downloads and get rid of them completely.

BTW, YR, I tried to register at the ZooAdmin forum, and when I got my confirmation e-mail, the link took me to a page that says "incorrect confirmation code", or something along those lines. I had wanted to post this there

. Is ZooAdmin locked for new users?

Post by **yellowrose** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:46 am

It shouldn't be...I'll preregister you and send you a PM here with your password. see if that works.

Haldern · Post by **Haldern** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:25 pm

Ok, I've un/reinstalled again, using the registry cleaner as before, and loaded up the game without even the MS updates. The game still won't go past February. I've timed it, and it's taking about 9-10 minutes before my computer locks up. The last time I tested, I ran it in windowed mode so I could see my RAM gauge, and it was in the green the whole time, so it's apparantly not a memory issue. Any other ideas?

Post by **yellowrose** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:52 pm

No none at ll. I've never run into this problem....

Jay have you got any ideas you can offer this poor guy so he can play his game again??

Post by **Jay** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:56 am

Welcome to the Lounge.

There are a number of possible causes for the crashing. Most (but not all) of these causes involve user downloads. But before we cover those causes, we should get the basic CC working again. Try the following:
1. By now, you should already have saved any saved games, downloads, zoo.ini file, and screenshots to some place outside the Zoo Tycoon folders.
2. Uninstall the game.
3. Look to see if the Zoo Tycoon folder is gone. If it is not, delete the Zoo Tycoon folder and anything in it. This step is extremely important. An uninstall does not always remove everything.
4. Install CC again... but nothing else. Again, this is extremely important.
5. Run CC and see if you get past February. If so, then we can talk about the other causes. If not, we can get more specific details of the crash to isolate the problem.

Haldern · Post by **Haldern** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:18 am

Sorry for taking so long to respond to this. I've had a ton of personal issues drop on me over the last month. Anyway, I finally figured out the problem after a couple other programs started freezing my computer (ZT was only the first to do it). My CPU was overheating due to dust buildup

So, thanks for the response time on this, guys. I'm definitely going to put the downloads in one at a time still, just in case.

Post by **Jay** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:55 am

It is good to hear that you have figured out the problem. Thanks for the feedback. That can help others with the same problem.

As you start putting user created downloads back into the game, avoid any downloads that come with ".exe" files or come with ".dll" files larger than 1.8 mb. Those have been known to cause sporadic game crashes. Also, do not put in any downloads using the ingame approach. Downloads should always be put in manually so that you can delete them if they cause a problem.

Good luck and have fun with your Zoo Tycooning.

Haldern · Post by **Haldern** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:15 pm

I will definitely keep that in mind.

As far as my particular problem, I would suggest one thing to anyone having an issue even remotely similar to this: download a CPU/System temperature monitor, if your motherboard didn't come with a software disc (like mine did). Believe me, it will save a lot of heartache down the road.

I'd also suggest using a RAM monitor, such as RAMDef. It's an easy-to-use program, and you can manually (or set to auto) defrag your memory when usage gets too high.