Issues with Installing any Patches and Beyond the Sword

[Marcus820]

I am running Vista. I installed CIV IV Gold which has Warlords. I have gone into the game and tried to run the update feature. It says there are no updates. I have tired to install every update off of the website but I get an error message that states there is no version of Civilization installed on my computer and there must be to install the patch. I called customer support. They said that Gold doesn't need any patches. They had me uninstall the program, reinstall it with my firewall turned off. Nothing. I even downloaded the newest version of direct x separately. Nothing.

When I go to install Beyond the Sword, it goes and searches for a patch. It finds a patch it wants to install but gives me the same error.. that there is no previous version of Civilization installed and there must be to install any patches.

Civ IV Gold runs great. No issues at all whatsoever. All of my drivers are up to date. Does anyone have any ideas. All the tech guys from the game keep telling me to install different patches.. and I keep telling them I can't install any patches.. and no matter how many times I uninstall and reinstall the game.. nothing is different.

[fowned]

/bump

I am experiencing the same problem. It started after I bought, downloaded and installed both expansions off of Direct2Drive. I downloaded and installed, without any incidents, quite a few patches for the original civ4 during the months previous to my buying Warlords and BTS.

Help!

[Petes4all]

I am having the same problem... Had Civ4 installed, then installed the expansion. After hours of downloading the newest patch ,3.13 I think, I got the message "...no previous version of Civilization installed..." and was quite frustrated.

Also, the first version of BtS I installed has some name issues, inparticular the names of the new Civs and leaders. Not the way they are supposed to be... More like some extended file name rather than a name actually to be used

I will try some more things later today...

PLEASE advise if anyone has solved this issue!!!!!

[kellino]

There seems to be an entire population of Civilization customers that have become disenfranchised as a result of this problem. I see posts on this issue at CivFanatics.com from many users with no resolution found. Some have had the problem for months!

Either 2KGames or Firaxis (whomever is responsible) is missing in action on this. People have had this problem for months with no solution.

In hopes of isolating what variables might cause this problem here is my background.

I purchased Civ4 and previous expansion packs via retail and never had any issues installing patches. I got a new computer with Vista x64 and reinstalled existing Civ just fine.

Then I purchased BTW expansion via Direct2Drive.com.

When I try to download updates from within the game, it downloads them, but then no attempt is made to install them.

When I download the patches manually, I get the following error:

"The setup has detected that no version of Sid Meir's Civilization IV -- Beyond the Sword is installed."

From what I can gather on this forum and the Civfinatics forums, this problem happens with ANY version of a BTW patch.

I have Vista so I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with the DirectX issues I see some having. The attempt to install the patch never takes place because the pre-flight check (check to see if Civ4BTW is installed) fails -- despite that it is installed and works fine.

I'm getting the impression from what I've read that no one is terribly interested in understanding this problem that is disenfranchising many Civ customers, let alone fixing it.

[2K Elizabeth]

i'll check on this for you tomorrow.

[IBMer23]

I can't reinstall civ 4 it always detects 1.74 and say's to uninstall.. can't do a normal uninstall... and so I deleted everything I could find civ4.. includeing registry files.. where is this elusive 1.74 detection file at... HELP me reinstall Civ 4

thank you

[10tremp]

I am running Vista. I installed CIV IV Gold which has Warlords. I have gone into the game and tried to run the update feature. It says there are no updates. I have tired to install every update off of the website but I get an error message that states there is no version of Civilization installed on my computer and there must be to install the patch. I called customer support. They said that Gold doesn't need any patches. They had me uninstall the program, reinstall it with my firewall turned off. Nothing. I even downloaded the newest version of direct x separately. Nothing.

When I go to install Beyond the Sword, it goes and searches for a patch. It finds a patch it wants to install but gives me the same error.. that there is no previous version of Civilization installed and there must be to install any patches.

Civ IV Gold runs great. No issues at all whatsoever. All of my drivers are up to date. Does anyone have any ideas. All the tech guys from the game keep telling me to install different patches.. and I keep telling them I can't install any patches.. and no matter how many times I uninstall and reinstall the game.. nothing is different.

im having the same problem I called custumer suport 2 times
no help from them re instaled 27 times I need help if you can help me email me at PJT0620@gmail.com

[docbiohazard]

Having this problem installing BTS Patch 3.13 on a Windows XP system (SP2), with BTS installed via the CD (no direct2drive or any of that). I was able to install and patch the same software on my laptop (Vista) just fine.

Does anyone have a fix? Any word from 2K?

DocBH

[The Gryphon King]

I've had just the same trouble, sadly. I've been with the Civ franchise from the beginning and this is a bummer! Hopefully you all can work some code magic and make things work out. Thanks!

[brrman]

Just an FYIbecause I had such a problem with this - even though this thread is so old...

The answer to this problem -where it tells you that it doesn't find an installed version of Beyond the Sword is this:

If you downloaded BTS from "Direct to Drive" then you need a patch from them - the regular patch from Firaxis will not work.

download from here (you must log in)
http://www.direct2drive.com/patches/index.aspx
you will notice the patch is much bigger than the Firaxis one.

cheers
Brr

[puddnhead]

This problem is not due to just using D2D. I have the original collectors ("Bible") edition of Civ4, and a store-bought DVD of BTS. I just needed to reinstall my computer. Everything isntalls fine, Civ4 and then BTS. But then the patch (3.13) insists that I don't have BTS installed. The same patch that I just download from inside BTS.

I would type LOL after that but it's no laughing matter. I've just wasted hours of my life, searching civfanatics, reinstalling everything, etc. And I come here to see this problem was reported over 6 months ago on the 2K forum, but no one from 2K has even replied to this thread? I cannot begin to express how disheartened I am to see this.

So what am I supposed to do here? Get used to playing BTS unpatched, because the patch can't figure out where've I've installed it? I've even gone so far to search through my registry with F3 and confirmed that EVERY registry edit is pointing to the right install location. I'm at a loss what else to do ... short of spending a couple days backing up & reinstalling all of winxp, and even then not being sure it will work. All because the patch that has been out for 6 months has what HAS to be some very easy to remedy problem that 2k has known about for over 6 months. Grr.

[puddnhead]

i'll check on this for you tomorrow.

Just to emphasize why I'm frustrtated, is the fact that this is the official 2k forum, and the only comment posted to this issue (which is the only 5-star flagged post I see) is this comment. "Tommorro" based on the date of that post would have been 10/18/2007.

2K, please acknowedge this problem and give guidance. Thank you. I love your game, and after having invested $50 + $30 for collector + BTS expansion, I would kinda like to be able to PLAY it at the current version, not 3.0!

[Betong Åsna]

Just another bump here. I get the feeling there's a hell of a lot of people feeling very let down by this and the way it is - or rather isn't, that we know of - being handled. Even if you simply can't find the solution, you could at least let us know that much!

[JBAdams]

I'm right there with you, pal.

If Firaxis/2K thinks that ignoring people's problems and complaints is better than simply telling us that they will never make Civ 4 playable again, then they have another thought coming. I'd rather have an honest answer from Firaxis that they have abandoned supporting Civ4 than to keep seeing absolutely no response whatsoever from the developers.

[OneCrazyCanadian]

I have been devoted to Civ4 multiplayer from the start and now I'm going to play other games because Civ4 is no longer working with 3.17. People have to realize that this game has a multiplayer fan base as well as single player.

[Betong Åsna]

You tell 'em, Shira! Firaxis - and/or 2K, whosever job it is - should be letting us know what's happening with a game we've bought and can't play as advertised.

[Ouro]

Hello,
Any updates on a patch for the "Civilization IV: Complete" distribution? It's a pack combining Civ IV with the Warlords and Beyond the Sword updates sold in the UK and elsewhere. Upon attempting to use the latest patch an error message is displayed stating that a civ install couldnt be found. I've tried tinkering with the registry to point it at the installation folder without success. Unfortunately the in game updater doesnt function either, it simply hangs indefinitely waiting for an update.
Thanks.

[Bantams]

http://www.bigdownload.com/games/civ...word-317-patch


get patch from the above link

[Ouro]

Thanks, that patch succesfully installed.

[VaranSL]

okay, i'm having a lot of difficulty installing BTS.

I've already been able to install it on another computer, but when i've tried to install it on my laptop(that can support it, it surpasses the minimum requirements) it pops up the installation screen. But after it says it has to download "DirectX Runtime Component" and that it'll only take a few minutes it closes the screen without any explanation.

I know that BTS comes with the DirectX but i felt that maybe it didn't work properly so i downloaded the latest version. Still nothing.

I turned off the internet and my firewalls tried it again. And again nothing.

Any help for me? Please Sid?? (is it ok if i call you guys Sid?? You guys are the one who made the game, which means you guys need to help.)

I am seriously reconsidering getting any future games from the creators. I don't want to waste another small fortune in buying these games that don't work. I'm tired of spending 50 - 70 dollars of hard earned cash, and it doesn't work. Please, please help me.

[markly]

I'm having the same problem installing bts, it says it's checking directx runtime components then eventually just goes away. I've got civ 4 and warlords installed but can't get them to run. they keep going to the load screen then asking for the correct cd.

[levyavi]

I had a problem where i couldnt install bts, and i couldnt patch to 1.73
Here is what i did to fix it:
1. I uninstalled civ
2. cleaned all the civ related folders
3. install civ 4 vanilla (i have the cd version)
4. install patch 1.61 (downloaded from firaxis website)
5. install patch 1.73 (downloaded from firaxis website)
6. install bts (cd version)
7. install patch 3.19 (downloaded from firaxis website)

The vanilla cd that i have is with version 1.09. I couldnt patch it to 1.73 directly, and i couldnt install bts.
it took me a while to realize it. you need to install 1.61, and then 1.73
when you have 1.73 you can install bts.

[Wolfieberserker]

I have had the same issues as all of the posts above. 2k support is, indeed, "missing in action" as a previous post has stated. The issues I am experiencing have been going on for months on my brand new Vista 64bit laptop in spite of repeated calls for support and promises of "Tier 2 support", which apparently means an endless circle of emails suggesting that I delete the Civ4.ini or the game cache or some such useless nonsense.

I can get vanilla Civ4 to run some of the time, but it is not stable and I am not able to play mods or scenarios or install any patches, as this causes the game to crash on startup. Warlords is unplayable and I refuse to even consider buying BTS or Rev, because I am sure they will not run.

At the very least I would appreciate it if 2k would admit that there is not, nor ever will be a fix for the 64 bit Vista issue and give us hope for a Windows 7 version of Civ5.

All in all I am extremely disppointed with the inability of 2k to handle this issue as there are so many of us that cannot play the game. If there is something like this going on, techs should be briefed on how to handle it as a united front to keep customers happy.

[Bantams]

did you delete the mygames folder from my documants?

if the answer is no I would recommend deleting that folder and then removing or unistalling all civ and then reinstall the game make sure also you run the program as a administrator

and it does work ok on 64bit vista and 64bit win7

[Frankenscence]

I was having trouble installing the 3.17 and 3.19 patches for BTS. So, I decieded to reinstall the game in the default location instead of the location of my choosing. I am now able to install both patches with no issues.

I am running XP and Civilization 4: Complete.

I hope that can help some of you

EDIT: I forgot to add that while patching the game I would get the error that the BTS installation could not be found. This occured on the in-game updater and while using the downloaded patches. When I solved my issue I used downloaded patches.

[Matthais Re]

I browsed these forums to find a solution to solve the installation error where the game would try to update the runtime package and close without warning or an error message. I downloaded the full Civ4 package from Direct2Drive and installed it with Comrade.

I got around the issue by keeping the 'install comrade' box checked before installation, even though I already was using Comrade. It reinstalled Comrade, and continued past the runtime error to install the game without error.

I'm not sure if this fix is just for my computer or what, but I hope it works for everyone here!

[IcyFrozen]

I had Civ4, Warlords and BtS installed for years. I got a side-along error or whatever its called so i un-installed. Now when i reinstall BtS goes to check for components and the installer ends without installing BtS.

Any advice?

[radl22]

I realise this thread is rather old but as I had issues with this today when trying to install and I had to find a solution by myself because every where I went I found no solution. Alright so I imagine everyone having the issue of the game downloading the patch but the patch never installing with the error message "previous version of civilization not found" has either Vista or Windows 7. The game when following the default location goes into C:\UserName\Program Files (x86) however it seems that the patcher expects it to be in C:\UserName\ProgramFiles instead, Im guessing due to this game coming out before Vista or Windows 7. I reinstalled into C:\UserName\ProgramFiles and ran the game as Administrator(I tried without admin rights first with no success) and it finally downloaded and installed!

[MadInventor]

SOLUTION TO "PREVIOUS VERSION NOT FOUND" ERROR:
In my case, it was because I had downloaded the game from http://game.gamesplanet.com/ but got the patch from the Firaxis website.
There are different versions of the patch for the version of the game sold ONLINE - including CIV IV Complete etc. - and for the RETAIL version. The Firaxis website and, I believe, the in-game update check only downloads the patch for the retail version.
I obtained the patch for the gamesplanet version from the "additional downloads" under the game's entry in "my account" on the gamesplanet website. It worked fine. I believe someone already posted a link to get the patch from Direct2Drive earlier in this thread.
I know this thread is old but so is this problem and maybe this will help someone.

[JOnas919]

Hi. If possible, can you share the patch file somewhere? I cannot find that section under downloads anywhere. Thanks