The Sims 2

[sygnus21]

Glad you got it fixed.

Enjoy.

 

[Kaliemo]

Tried searching for a thread about The Sims 2, but can't seem to find it now, but anyway.

Trying to install The Sims 2 and all exansions on Windows 7 7057 on my other PC with 32 bit.

I've not finished installing all the packs yet, got 4 or 5 of them on, and thought I'd stop and give the game a try. The game launches, and the intro video starts playing, but when I try to skip it, or when it finshes, the game freezes and does nothing. I can get task manager up, and there's an error with just the red circle and X and no message, and the game closes.

Tried running in admin and compatibility mode, but still doesn't work.

The game compatibility list is confirmed as working for build 7000. Any ideas why it's not working now?

This is the exact same problem I had. Did you ever figure out how to fix it?

 

[Everlong]

Tried searching for a thread about The Sims 2, but can't seem to find it now, but anyway.

Trying to install The Sims 2 and all exansions on Windows 7 7057 on my other PC with 32 bit.

I've not finished installing all the packs yet, got 4 or 5 of them on, and thought I'd stop and give the game a try. The game launches, and the intro video starts playing, but when I try to skip it, or when it finshes, the game freezes and does nothing. I can get task manager up, and there's an error with just the red circle and X and no message, and the game closes.

Tried running in admin and compatibility mode, but still doesn't work.

The game compatibility list is confirmed as working for build 7000. Any ideas why it's not working now?

This is the exact same problem I had. Did you ever figure out how to fix it?

Welcome to the Seven Forums

And no I don't think I did. I think I gave up with it, and just waited for the Sims 3.

 

[ncuday]

I'm having an issue. I'm wanting to go back to the base game after Bon Voyage, mostly to save space. I have the Sims 3 installed and have had no trouble with either one until now. I uninstall all the expansion packs I have, and when I go to do this to the base game, it tells me expansion packs are still installed. I've manually uninstalled them (using registry editor)

I've even tried using a system restore, but it had issues with the game when it had no problems before I started uninstalling. I really have no idea what I've done wrong. It showed no signs anything didn't take up to the point I was ready to uninstall the base game. What can I do?

 

[sygnus21]

I know nothing about Sims 3 but if the expansions are part of Sims 3 then when you uninstalled them (expansions) you probably took some updates to the base game with them.

Also, I have no earthly idea why people uninstall stuff through the registry, but this causes more problems than good. I don't care what anybody says, you're not saving any space by removing registry keys. All you're doing is creating issues as you've found out.

With that said, you'd have better luck uninstalling the game, then reinstalling it and patching it. Don't install the expansion packs if you don't want them. Also, since you did the uninstall the way you did (expansions removal and reg key deletions) don't expect your save games to work correctly. If they do fine, if they don’t.... don't be surprised.

On other thing….if you find you can’t uninstall the base game….blame those reg key deletions. In that case you can try and find a system restore point before the reg key deletions. Or….. you may have to repair Windows - http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R

Good luck.

 

[pepper03]

Well I am baffled.

The Sims2 and the multiple expansions have been working fine on Windows 7-until the other day.

Now after twenty minutes or so of game play it freezes with a noise like a beep, I have to go to task manager, and then under processes it says sims is running but there is also another sims running which is an error message that reads "the application has crashed. The application will now terminate". When you press OK the game shuts down and the computer returns to the desktop.

I have no idea why this was running perfectly since August and now it is doing this. There have been no software downloads recently, the only thing that has been changed is an Update to McAfee and several Microsoft updates on 2/20.

Any ideas? I would just like to go to Sims 3 but I have so much $ invested in these programs I don't want to if I don't have to.

Frankly, this game has been a pain on multiple computers for years.

 

[SledgeDG]

Well Sims 2 and Sims 3 are 2 different worlds. I wasted spend quite some time debugging/fix those games since my lady is a Sims addict
As for your Sims 2 problem. If I understood you correctly, you were saying you didn't install anything sims related and you didn't add any new custom content recently, right?

OK let's start from the top
What is your latest extension (the one you usually start from) ?
Did you use any patches that might have come out after your last extension?

This "beep" and the error you describe usually points to a corrupt file (either a game file but more likely some custom content, hack or even a core mod.
So what I want you to do, just to exclude them as possible source of errors:
move your Downloads and SavedSims folder to desktop (My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\)

Clear all caches (go to Go to My Documents \ EA Games \ The Sims 2 and delete the following if present:
groups.cache
cigen.package
Content Registry and accessory.cache) and start the game with no custom content whatsoever, play some 30-40 minutes (you don't have to use your old save files...just start and play around in the hood you're using (like take some guys from the family bin, move them into a starter home and play them for a while.
If the game still crashes, you probably have corrupted game files, if not, one or more custom content files are the culprit.
Well, let's see so far and go from there

-DG

 

[pepper03]

Thanks for the help-I will do this today and post back.

I do this for my daughter the Sims addict!

It is her laptop but I do know there were no new installations-whether or not a patch was downloaded I couldn't say. I too have spent more time fixing this game over the years first for my son and now my daughter than I care to think about-and this is the last time I am going to try and do this on my own-:sarc:

 

[SledgeDG]

I feel your pain, trust me. My daughter first, then my wife became total Sims fanatics Even tho they're on Sims 3 now I still remember all those countless hours I spent debugging #2.
But the red circle X I vaguely remember. It was either attributed to a faulty EA patch (whenever EA fixes something, they make sure of breaking something else in the process
or some interference with your graphics drivers. Say, have your drivers been updated recently by any chance (you mentioned several automated Microsoft updates...I wouldn't use their graphics driver updates...better get them from the manufacturer's site)
Another idea, since especially Sims put a lot of strain on your average laptop...see if someone played with the graphics settings in game and tone them down a notch. if the cause were corrupted (game-) files it would crash right away not only after 20,30 minutes.
So if taking out CC doesn't help I would check if I have all the latest patches for the Sims TheSims2.com - Updates and update my graphics drivers

Good luck
-DG

 

[Everlong]

Bit of a necro, but thought I'd check it out after I've just seen the amount of views this thread has amassed, lol.

A lot of freezing errors in The Sims 3, and most likely The Sims 2, can sometimes be fixed by adding them to the exception list of DEP if you use custom content for the game. My girlfriend is addicted to the game as well, so I spent time fixing her problems and this usually fixes any freezing problems she has.

To add them to the exception list, right click on Computer>Properties>Advanced System Settings>Settings in the Performance section>Data Execution Prevention tab then select "Turn on DEP for all programs...except those I select" then just add the .exe files of your Sims games. Need to restart the PC for the changes to take effect.

 

[sygnus21]

Bit of a necro, but thought I'd check it out after I've just seen the amount of views this thread has amassed, lol.

A lot of freezing errors in The Sims 3, and most likely The Sims 2, can sometimes be fixed by adding them to the exception list of DEP if you use custom content for the game. My girlfriend is addicted to the game as well, so I spent time fixing her problems and this usually fixes any freezing problems she has.

To add them to the exception list, right click on Computer>Properties>Advanced System Settings>Settings in the Performance section>Data Execution Prevention tab then select "Turn on DEP for all programs...except those I select" then just add the .exe files of your Sims games. Need to restart the PC for the changes to take effect.

Thanks for the tip. My daughter is a big.

BTW she's done what most of us couldn't do..... get Sims 2 to run on her Windows 7 x64-bit machine..... a lap top at that! :huh:

After telling her all about the issues people were having with getting the game to run, and showing here some of the threads here..... she e-mails me to say "Dad, I got the Sims to run on my machine" What :huh:

She said all she did was put the disk in the DVD rive, hit install and it worked, she hadn't even patched it at that moment, she did however patch it though.

I check, sure enough Sims 2 is running. Alllllll Righty then. LOL

Anyway thanks for the tip. I'm sure it'll come in handy.

 

[Everlong]

Lol, how odd. Though it's like me and my girlfriend, too. She has the freezing problems with The Sims 3 that doing the DEP trick sorts out, yet I never have any problems :huh:

 

[HoneycombAG]

Hey, I'm having a different problem, except this time, in-between the "Please Wait" screen and the screen where you pick to load a readme file or quit Setup, it just crashes. Then, I try to uninstall it and the thing goes "Uhh, no, there's an Expansion Pack installed in front of it. You can't delete this!" So there's got to be a registry key buried someplace or a removal tool to clean out this discrepancy.

 

[SledgeDG]

BTW she's done what most of us couldn't do..... get Sims 2 to run on her Windows 7 x64-bit machine..... a lap top at that! :huh:Anyway thanks for the tip. I'm sure it'll come in handy.

I can confirm that But it only works with the DVD-version (Double-Deluxe or so) but not with the original 4 CD Version.Matter of fact I managed to install S2 on Windows 8 64-bit. But that's a totally different can of worms. It includes copying stuff from a working windows 7 install and some registry tweaking.

Lol, how odd. Though it's like me and my girlfriend, too. She has the freezing problems with The Sims 3 that doing the DEP trick sorts out, yet I never have any problems :huh:

One Thing about Sims 3: That Game has no Vsync !!! Which means, your graphics card always runs full speed. The game itself is internally set to run with 30 fps which is totally sufficient but on my rig it went up to 147 fps :lol Try it out, go into the console (Ctrl-Shift-C) and type fps on if it's any higher than 30 your graphics chip has to work too hard. So those freezes on Sims3- machines with better than average graphics cards might well be related to overheating issues. It wasn't an issue with Sims 2 since those operations were largely done by the CPU which usally is better cooled (and better protected) than a graphics chip/card.
My solution to that: get the 3booter and fpslimiter from one of the best Sims expert sites I know
TOOL: 3Booter, the Incooperative Game Kicker
(I'll attach them here)
In a standard installation you would unzip both into the Sims 2 root folder like C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 and from then on start the game with the 3booter.exe

Hey, I'm having a different problem, except this time, in-between the "Please Wait" screen and the screen where you pick to load a readme file or quit Setup, it just crashes. Then, I try to uninstall it and the thing goes "Uhh, no, there's an Expansion Pack installed in front of it. You can't delete this!" So there's got to be a registry key buried someplace or a removal tool to clean out this discrepancy.

EA leaves you quite some entries in the registry
The relevant ones all are under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\The Sims 2 (on 32 Bit windows it's the same without the Wow6432Node Here you find all installed PSs and also all Serial numbers (in the ergc subdirs)
and also here HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA GAMES
with more indepth info on the installed EPs.
But rather than butchering the registry you should uninstall backwards until you got rid of what you wanted to get rid of and simply re-install the still wanted EPs. That's a Sims 2 issue in Sims 3 the installing sequence of EPs and SPs doesn't matter anymore. In any case please make a backup of those keys you intend to alter

Good luck and have fun

-DG

 

[Everlong]

Good points, Sledge. Never thought about it that way with the lack of Vsync. I'm usually too busy swearing at the PC about the b*astard texture tearing. :roflmao:

 

[SledgeDG]

I know it, right I only learned about that some month ago myself but it made a lot of sense to me: good expensive graphics cards fused into expensive electronic recycling items. (the first pc I installed ts3 on was simply to crappy to be affected by this EA or Maxi's-Fail but when the fan kept going off full speed on the better computers I investigated and stumbled over said issue)
Even with all the extra stuff added to Sims 3 I personally still like the sims 2 better (mostly because of the huge modding community which has some unbelievably talented people!! Hats off to them for making an average game absolutely awesome