Sim City 4 wont load on windows 10
Link does not work??? Please help. Thank you.
Forum Discussion
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:
@EA_Arcadia wrote:
- Phone support will be closed for all languages
- Arabic and Dutch language support will be closed for email, chat and phone options
- English Support hours will be reduced to 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m, UTC Monday - Saturday
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!
- @BlackjackWidow This is no longer support by EA. EA refuses to convert this over to a digital form. They are forcing people to repurchase this game as a "Deluxe" edition and calling this a new game to purchase without the old DRM. This is truly bad form by EA. I wouldn't bother with them if I could help it. Stay away from EA and its completely unhelpful EA Support.
This forum helped more than their technical support."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.
