SC4 and Xfire

[quackmofro]

I've been playing SimCity 4 quite frequently for a while now. Most of the time, the game ran pretty well on my desktop with the occasional crashes due to the usual suspects, i.e. multicore and affinity issues. However, for the past month or so, it's been crashing very frequently, sometimes before it even finishes loading or just when I alt-tab between programs. It was getting very frustrating for me. I tried the Datpacker, I tried whatever multicore or affinity fix I could find, and I even tried purging the plugins folder to no avail. I was about to give up on SC4 and decide that it just hated my computer when I finally brilliantly decided to check my exception reports. 

Up to a certain point, I was getting the 'normal' CTD's from the game, but then all my exceptions started looking like this:

Exception time: 09/21/2009, at 00:04:37.
Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.
Current thread ID: 5376 (0x00001500).
Version information:
Application/module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
Application/module version name: SimCity 4
Application/module version: 1.1.610.0
System version: Windows NT 6.0
System memory: 3064 Megabytes total, 1124 Megabytes free.

Exception module:  C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL.
Exception address: 0x72f21f97. Section:Offset: 0x01:0x00020f97.

Registers
   EAX: 00000000
   EBX: 00000000
   ECX: 05519e94
   EDX: 05519e94
   ESI: 05516ca0
   EDI: 02e86734
   CS:EIP: 0023:72f21f97
   SS:ESP: 002b:0017fbbc  EBP:0017fbc8
   DS:002b  ES:002b  FS:0053  GS:002b
   Flags: 00010202

Loaded Modules
   Address          Size Module             Path
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   0x00400000    8158830 SimCity 4.exe      C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\SimCity 4.exe
   0x77460000    1441792 ntdll.dll          C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ntdll.dll
   0x76f40000    1114112 kernel32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll
   0x769b0000     811008 ADVAPI32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\ADVAPI32.dll
   0x766d0000     983040 RPCRT4.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\RPCRT4.dll
   0x75430000     393216 Secur32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\Secur32.dll
   0x73e70000      28672 WSOCK32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\WSOCK32.dll
   0x76a80000     184320 WS2_32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\WS2_32.dll
   0x76d00000     696320 msvcrt.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\msvcrt.dll
   0x767c0000      24576 NSI.dll            C:\Windows\syswow64\NSI.dll
   0x76450000     942080 WININET.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WININET.dll
   0x76b40000     364544 SHLWAPI.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SHLWAPI.dll
   0x75570000     589824 GDI32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\GDI32.dll
   0x76ba0000     851968 USER32.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\USER32.dll
   0x76550000      12288 Normaliz.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\Normaliz.dll
   0x76560000    1253376 urlmon.dll         C:\Windows\syswow64\urlmon.dll
   0x76300000    1331200 ole32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\ole32.dll
   0x76ab0000     577536 OLEAUT32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\OLEAUT32.dll
   0x76110000    1998848 iertutil.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\iertutil.dll
   0x75600000   11599872 SHELL32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\SHELL32.dll
   0x75210000     458752 DSOUND.dll         C:\Windows\system32\DSOUND.dll
   0x751d0000     204800 WINMM.dll          C:\Windows\system32\WINMM.dll
   0x75190000     233472 OLEACC.dll         C:\Windows\system32\OLEACC.dll
   0x75170000     106496 POWRPROF.dll       C:\Windows\system32\POWRPROF.dll
   0x74e90000      32768 VERSION.dll        C:\Windows\system32\VERSION.dll
   0x73c10000     831488 OPENGL32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\OPENGL32.dll
   0x73dd0000     143360 GLU32.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GLU32.dll
   0x70490000     937984 DDRAW.dll          C:\Windows\system32\DDRAW.dll
   0x71250000      24576 DCIMAN32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\DCIMAN32.dll
   0x76db0000    1613824 SETUPAPI.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\SETUPAPI.dll
   0x73640000      49152 dwmapi.dll         C:\Windows\system32\dwmapi.dll
   0x72cc0000     143360 MSVFW32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSVFW32.dll
   0x73880000     544768 COMCTL32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_5.82.6001.18000_none_886786f450a74a05\COMCTL32.dll
   0x75490000     393216 IMM32.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\IMM32.dll
   0x767d0000     819200 MSCTF.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\MSCTF.dll
   0x73280000     122880 ShimEng.dll        C:\Windows\system32\ShimEng.dll
   0x73550000     180224 apphelp.dll        C:\Windows\system32\apphelp.dll
   0x6bf30000    2179072 AcGenral.DLL       C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.DLL
   0x73760000     524288 UxTheme.dll        C:\Windows\system32\UxTheme.dll
   0x74050000     483328 NETAPI32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\NETAPI32.dll
   0x77430000      28672 PSAPI.DLL          C:\Windows\syswow64\PSAPI.DLL
   0x73660000      81920 MSACM32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSACM32.dll
   0x75330000      20480 sfc.dll            C:\Windows\system32\sfc.dll
   0x75320000      53248 sfc_os.dll         C:\Windows\system32\sfc_os.dll
   0x75030000     122880 USERENV.dll        C:\Windows\system32\USERENV.dll
   0x73e80000      81920 MPR.dll            C:\Windows\system32\MPR.dll
   0x76540000      36864 LPK.DLL            C:\Windows\syswow64\LPK.DLL
   0x76930000     512000 USP10.dll          C:\Windows\syswow64\USP10.dll
   0x74cf0000    1695744 comctl32.dll       C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.6002.18005_none_5cb72f96088b0de0\comctl32.dll
   0x10000000      53248 fgmgr.dll          C:\Program Files (x86)\FlashGet\fgmgr.dll
   0x754f0000     471040 comdlg32.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\comdlg32.dll
   0x03300000    2445312 xfire_toucan_39183 C:\Program Files (x86)\Xfire\xfire_toucan_39183.dll
   0x72b20000      20480 MSIMG32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\MSIMG32.dll
   0x7c340000     352256 MSVCR71.DLL        C:\Windows\system32\MSVCR71.DLL
   0x768a0000     540672 CLBCatQ.DLL        C:\Windows\syswow64\CLBCatQ.DLL
   0x74b50000     303104 rasapi32.dll       C:\Windows\system32\rasapi32.dll
   0x740d0000      81920 rasman.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rasman.dll
   0x74010000     200704 TAPI32.dll         C:\Windows\system32\TAPI32.dll
   0x74b40000      49152 rtutils.dll        C:\Windows\system32\rtutils.dll
   0x03970000     294912 SimCity 4 Extra Ch C:\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins\SimCity 4 Extra Cheats Plugin.dll
   0x73ec0000     135168 NTMARTA.DLL        C:\Windows\system32\NTMARTA.DLL
   0x77050000     299008 WLDAP32.dll        C:\Windows\syswow64\WLDAP32.dll
   0x73ea0000      69632 SAMLIB.dll         C:\Windows\system32\SAMLIB.dll
   0x73fe0000     184320 WINTRUST.dll       C:\Windows\system32\WINTRUST.dll
   0x75070000     991232 CRYPT32.dll        C:\Windows\system32\CRYPT32.dll
   0x75050000      73728 MSASN1.dll         C:\Windows\system32\MSASN1.dll
   0x766a0000     167936 imagehlp.dll       C:\Windows\syswow64\imagehlp.dll
   0x73f80000     241664 rsaenh.dll         C:\Windows\system32\rsaenh.dll
   0x73f40000     217088 ncrypt.dll         C:\Windows\system32\ncrypt.dll
   0x73ef0000     286720 BCRYPT.dll         C:\Windows\system32\BCRYPT.dll
   0x71e70000      86016 GPAPI.dll          C:\Windows\system32\GPAPI.dll
   0x71990000     237568 slc.dll            C:\Windows\system32\slc.dll
   0x71d40000     110592 cryptnet.dll       C:\Windows\system32\cryptnet.dll
   0x735f0000      24576 SensApi.dll        C:\Windows\system32\SensApi.dll
   0x71d00000      86016 Cabinet.dll        C:\Windows\system32\Cabinet.dll
   0x6b5c0000    3608576 atiumdag.dll       C:\Windows\system32\atiumdag.dll
   0x6b2f0000    2924544 atiumdva.dll       C:\Windows\system32\atiumdva.dll
   0x72f00000     835584 D3DIM700.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL
   0x73dc0000      24576 IconCodecService.d C:\Windows\system32\IconCodecService.dll
   0x71e90000     733184 WindowsCodecs.dll  C:\Windows\system32\WindowsCodecs.dll
   0x73730000     163840 MMDevApi.dll       C:\Windows\System32\MMDevApi.dll
   0x73700000     135168 AUDIOSES.DLL       C:\Windows\system32\AUDIOSES.DLL
   0x73690000     417792 audioeng.dll       C:\Windows\system32\audioeng.dll
   0x737e0000      28672 AVRT.dll           C:\Windows\system32\AVRT.dll
   0x60000000     380928 ijl15.dll          C:\Windows\ijl15.dll
   0x08730000     253952 winphook.dll       C:\Program Files (x86)\Portrait Displays\Pivot Software\winphook.dll
   0x71d60000     208896 dinput8.dll        C:\Windows\system32\dinput8.dll
   0x73310000      36864 HID.DLL            C:\Windows\system32\HID.DLL
   0x6d510000     507904 DbgHelp.dll        C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\SimCity 4 Deluxe\Apps\DbgHelp.dll

Call stack:
(Debug information (.pdb files) appears to be absent).
0x0001:0x00020f97 C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL.
0x0001:0x0002357a C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL.
0x0001:0x00023f77 C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL.
0x0001:0x000207d7 C:\Windows\system32\D3DIM700.DLL.
0x0001:0x00032fb5 C:\Program Files (x86)\Xfire\xfire_toucan_39183.dll.
0x0001:0x00033d49 C:\Program Files (x86)\Xfire\xfire_toucan_39183.dll.

Stack data: (ESP is 0x0017fbbc)
0x0017fa3c   00000000 00004083 08400000 00000000 00000000 00c453c4 01400000 00000000
0x0017fa5c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fa7c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fa9c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fabc   010101ff 010101ff 010101ff 010101ff 010101ff 010101ff 010101ff 010101ff
0x0017fadc   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fafc   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fb1c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fb3c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fb5c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fb7c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fb9c   00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0017fbbc   3467e802 a06c5105 00000000 40fc1700 7a45f272 a06c5105 00000000 b0b25805
0x0017fbdc   4df23892 24685203 ac61e802 a06c5105 04000000 04fe1700 0d24347c a8a3377c
0x0017fbfc   ffffffff 8f21347c 7d9d3403 38cef914 c0bb6103 9d243803 a86b5203 e0675203
0x0017fc1c   a06c5105 2c68e802 a2030000 ee000000 78000000 dcfb1700 7cfc1700 7dd0fb72
0x0017fc3c   00000000 54fc1700 774ff272 a06c5105 2867e802 2e6c5203 88fc1700 d717f272
0x0017fc5c   a06c5105 01000000 85f23892 24685203 2e6c5203 a06c5105 a09b3403 64fc1700
0x0017fc7c   04fe1700 b1c8fb72 00000000 b0fc1700 b53f3303 a06c5105 01000000 e0675203
0x0017fc9c   894c3303 1400ee02 1400ee02 00000000 e0675203 dcfc1700 494d3303 a06c5105
0x0017fcbc   06020000 1400ee02 1400ee02 949e5105 34305d03 00000000 e0675203 00000000
0x0017fcdc   00000000 4d6e8800 a06c5105 2000ee02 a2498800 247a0c01 300aed02 340aed02
0x0017fcfc   00000000 a0c89800 300aed02 9fea9800 247a0c01 68fd1700 1400ed02 447a0c01
0x0017fd1c   447a0c01 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 68fd1700

Instruction data: (EIP is 0x72f21f97)
0x72f21f17   f2 72 c3 8b 45 ec e8 12 ff fd ff c2 0c 00 90 90 90 44 69 72 65 63 74 33 44 44 65 76 69 63 65 3a
0x72f21f37   3a 53 65 74 54 65 78 74 75 72 65 00 90 64 3a 5c 72 74 6d 5c 6d 75 6c 74 69 6d 65 64 69 61 5c 64
0x72f21f57   69 72 65 63 74 78 5c 64 78 67 5c 64 33 64 5c 64 78 37 5c 66 65 5c 64 65 76 73 74 61 74 65 2e 63
0x72f21f77   70 70 28 33 32 36 29 3a 00 90 90 90 90 90 8b ff 55 8b ec 8b 45 10 85 c0 53 56 57 74 0a 8b 40 04
0x72f21f97   8b 00 8b 58 78 eb 02 33 db 8b 7d 08 8b 45 0c 8d b4 87 38 29 00 00 8b 0e 3b cb 74 2e 85 c9 74 05
0x72f21fb7   e8 f6 b7 ff ff 85 db 89 1e 74 07 8b cb e8 6b f9 ff ff 8b 4d 0c 33 c0 40 d3 e0 09 87 7c 29 00 00
0x72f21fd7   81 8f 6c 1a 00 00 00 00 80 00 5f 5e 33 c0 5b 5d c2 0c 00 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 6a 08 b8 51 ca fb
0x72f21ff7   72 e8 02 fd fd ff 8b 75 08 68 9c 20 f2 72 68 74 20 f2 72 33 db 56 8d 4d 0b 89 5d fc e8 3d f9 ff

If you're not familiar, Xfire is an online PC gaming community, and the Xfire client tracks your gameplay hours for different games and allows you to use certain features (chat, video and still capture, etc.) in any game. After some further investigating, it appears that the in-game feature for Xfire was somehow conflicting with SC4 and causing it to crash as much as it did. All I did was turn off the in-game capabilities, and the game works fine again. However, I don't have this problem with any of the other games that I have. Plus, without it on, it's an inconvenience to keep alt-tabbing out to chat with someone, and I like the screenshot and video capture features of it. Has anyone experienced this problem, and is there any sort of fix or workaround for it?

[HappyDays]

First (And likely unrelated to the actual problem, bear with me), it appears you're running a vanilla version of Deluxe...try patching it to the latest version:

http://www.sc4devotion.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=

Run through the legal spiel, look for and download "SC4 Update( Rush Hour / Deluxe Version)" that's on the next page, install it. This'll make the game more stable, AND work better, no less! Might indirectly solve the problem right there (Along with fixing possible issues with plug ins). As for the direct issue, XFire, it may be simply be SimCity 4 not liking programs integrating themselves with it (Which seems to be what it does, by your description). SC4 already despises outside influences, notably when Nvidia/ATI cards control video settings, so Xfire may simply be something it can't deal with. In other words, I don't have a solution off the top of my head for you.

However, I also notice you're using Vista. SimCity 4 is not a fan of Vista, and performance issues can creep up. I suggesting setting compatibility to XP (Right click the .exe, properties, compatibility tab, check the box under box in compatibility mode, select XP). This may or may not help, sadly, but it's worth a shot.

Might be something else lurking in that exception report pointing to a possible cause beyond the obvious, but I'm not technically savvy enough to find it.