Sim City 4 wont load on windows 10

Hi @phusy1987 - I moved your message into its own thread.

SimCity 4 Deluxe on CD uses an old DRM security called SecuROM. Microsoft removed all support for the copy protection program in 2015, so none of those CDs will run in Windows.

If you still have the packaging you should try to add the CD key to Origin to register the game. Then you can download & play the digital version. Unfortunately, the CD keys from these older games frequently will not work when input into Origin.

If it doesn't work, Contact EA and see if they can help. Officially, they will ask for proof of purchase, but depending on how long you've had the CDs, they might be able to find it already registered to an old account of yours, or accept other proof that you own the CD. Be aware if you recently purchased a used game, it's possible the key has already been used. If that's the case, you'll want to return it to the seller. Once a game is registered to an account, it's linked to that account and can't be reused.

Be aware that due to the current worldwide pandemic, EA's customer support availability has been temporarily changed:

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@EA_Arcadia wrote:

1. Phone support will be closed for all languages
2. Arabic and Dutch language support will be closed for email, chat and phone options
3. English Support hours will be reduced to 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m, UTC Monday - Saturday 

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Full details here: https://answers.ea.com/t5/EA-General-Questions/IMPT-Support-Options-Update/m-p/8864042

Hi @BlackjackWidow, Thank you for your reply. I bought this game in CDs more than 10 years ago. It was brand new when I bought it at Walmart. I still have the book that comes with the CDs. The book has both CD keys and Proof of Purchase but the CDs sometimes works and sometimes fails on the installation no matter what I tried on window10.

I am not sure if I can download it from EA online with the old CD keys. CD key was never registered online. I just simply installed it with the CD when I first bought it.

If there is no way for me to make it work again. Do you know what version of the game after SIMCITY4? Is it still an offline game? Thank you.

Hi @phusy1987 - If you still have the CD keys & proof of purchase, then you should be able get the digital version registered to your EA account. This would require contacting EA, however. Be aware some people have had difficulties with long delays reaching support during this pandemic, so it may not be worth it to you. Details of the support options during the pandemic response can be found here: https://answers.ea.com/t5/EA-General-Questions/IMPT-Support-Options-Update/m-p/8864042#M334946 (I'm not sure how other services work, but it might be possible to register your CD key on another game platform like Steam or GoG)

The most current version of SimCity is SimCity Complete - it includes the SimCity 2013 base game + the expansion pack "Cities of Tomorrow" + most of the DLCs from the game. Bonus! It is currently on sale! SimCity 2013 originally released as multiplayer-online only, but they added offline play in 2015. You still need to run Origin to play it, so will need to go online once in a while to log in, but you can play SimCity Complete offline with no problems. (This is how I play it) Unfortunately, the SimCity 2013 is a legacy game - there is no active dev team so no new content or patches, but it is the last SimCity game ever developed.

If decide to go with SimCity 2013, here are the directions on how to play offline: https://answers.ea.com/t5/SimCity-2013/Cant-Play-offline/m-p/8588790#M128160

And if you have questions about gameplay or technical issues, the AHQ SimCity 2013 forum can be a good resource.

I hope that helps. Whatever you decide, I wish you Happy Building!

I can confirm. EA is not supporting a workaround to this nor is EA Support actually doing anything about it. This game in CD form is a dead end. Don't support EA if you can help it, but this is simply bad form by EA overall. They ruined this game.

Hi @JBook07 - I understand your frustration, however this game was released in 2003 and the CDs were programmed for install under Windows 98. It's unfortunate about the DRM, because it does create issues when you pull that old CD out and want to play it, but support for SecuRom has long been removed for good reason.

EA requests some proof of purchase or a way of determining that your CD was yours, and I believe they have to look to see if the CD has been registered to an account previously. In any case, if someone can provide the requested information, there can be a chance to get the digital code. If not, then yeah - it's best to just buy the digital version. It does go on sale quite often for a pretty reasonable price, if you want to look around. 

Sorry they were unable to help you. 

"EA requests some proof of purchase or a way of determining that your CD was yours, and I believe they have to look to see if the CD has been registered to an account previously. In any case, if someone can provide the requested information, there can be a chance to get the digital code. If not, then yeah - it's best to just buy the digital version. It does go on sale quite often for a pretty reasonable price, if you want to look around."

@BlackjackWidow:They don't have the tools to look. This purchase of the complete game (and expansion pack) was not registered to anyone besides me. EA Support didn't even bother with the steps you have suggested. This was a game that was programmed for Windows 98 yes, and the SecuROM DRM was problematic then, that's in part why Microsoft pulled it from support over security issues. The EA Support team was not helpful, your answer was mistaken and frankly perpetuates the problem. EA simply isn't supporting actual customers of this game and blaming Microsoft, users, anyone else for their own programming and sales decisions.

This is on EA wholly. They didn't even ask for proof or purchase. I am writing to this forum because they asked me to. They aren't supporting this game. They aren't honoring digital codes and claiming it's a new game. This is bunk, and I firmly disagree it is reasonably priced for what they call a "legacy game."

EA has not done right in this instance, and your information is out of date. Repurchasing a game I bought because of poor customer service is the absolutely worst advice you or anyone else remotely supporting EA should advocate. Ask for yourself, but don't provide false information for other EA customers. It's wrong. Your response is wrong. Flat wrong.

Hey there, @JBook07 

I understand the frustrations to keep contacting support. What I can recommend, is when reaching out have your proof of purchase attached to your case of the game to make sure that support has everything they need. When you are in contact with them.

For Support saying that we don't support very old games is correct but they can help with old games if they exist on Origin.

/Atic

@EA_Atic, I did offer this at the time of creating of the ticket. They claim SimCity 4 (and its constituent expansion pack, Rush Hour, which I have proof of purchase too) does not exist on Origin, so proof of purchase was not even offered as a solution. I was told it was a "legacy game" and that the complete game is a new game and that they could not assist me "because we no longer have the tools."

While I appreciate your follow up, EA Support and EA has changed compared to how you and others on this forum have stated, and not for the better. This experience on this forum is both frustrating and as ineffective as EA Support. Your assistance, while is appreciated, does not work with EA Support. Please stop suggesting ineffective support and realize this is EA's own decision. The game DOES exist on Origin. They should stop blaming paying customers or calling legacy games that when they exist on Origin and they sold expansion packs at full price to paying customers to no longer support a digitization of it. It is simply wrong to do so, as others on this forum haven't confirmed for themselves. EA should actually do better as a game publisher, and this forum should be better, too. They are no longer supporting SimCity 4 on Windows 10 and are no longer supporting SimCity 4 / Rush Hour proof of purchase. If EA is even paying attention to this forum, they should clarify.

They have denied my claim and continue to do so at every level I have spoken every level at EA. Your repeating of the the advice is simply not accurate.

If you can actually help, great. But I do not expect EA to change this policy or behavior, and it's wrong. WRONG.

At this point, and after the effort, why would I want to play another EA game or bother with such out-of-date community of support? Why would anyone pay for another game for this kind of support from EA Support itself? Why would you and the rest of this forum continue to offer the same outdated and unhelpful advice?

EA does not support this game (SimCity 4 / Rush Hour expansion as individual verified purchases) on Windows 10 in moving to Origin. Period.