freezes while in create a family

[h20plochck11]

Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU t5450 @ 1.66GHz (2 CPUs) ~ 1.7 GHz
Memory: 2038MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Display Adapter: Mobile Intel 965 express chipset Family (Approx. Total Memory: 358 MB)
Display Driver Name, version Number, and Date: igdumd32.dll Version 7.14.0010.1437 (English) 2/11/2008
Free hard Disk Space: 134 GB
Game Detail: Sims 2 Double Deluxe

When creating a family, the graphics will freeze, but the music will keep playing normally. I can still move the mouse around, and the pointer will sometimes morph into the hourglass, then back to the pointer. If i somehow manage to get through the create a family screen (which has only happened once), it will freeze on the loading family screen, again, still playing the background music. The drivers should be up to date, I have tried turning Aero off, compatibility mode (tried running it as Windows XP/ME) and trying a different screen resolution (1024 x 768), but it still continues to freeze. anything else I can try before uninstalling and reinstalling it? Also, if reinstalling it doesn't fix the issue, what else can I try?
Oh and i almost forgot, this is a laptop computer (if that makes any difference).

[swmeek]

Have you tried turning off your anti-virus,anti-spyware, firewall and/or internet connection while you play?
Running these plus the game will tend to bog things down a bit.
also are you using a laptop cooler?
The cooler the laptop runs the faster it will run.
Also try deleting the cigen package in your sims 2 folder.(not the program files one )

[h20plochck11]

Have you tried turning off your anti-virus,anti-spyware, firewall and/or internet connection while you play?
Also try deleting the cigen package in your sims 2 folder.(not the program files one )

I tried turning off my anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and internet connection, and was able to get through creating a family, but once it was loading the family, it froze. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program, but it froze in the same spot. Where is that cigen package, and I will try deleting that.

[swmeek]

Well in windows xp you would go to your "My Documents" ( I think it's just Documents in Vista) and look for your ea games folder. open it and then click on the sims 2 folder icon and it should be located in that folder.
If you still can't find it do a search on your computer for the file.

[h20plochck11]

I checked that folder, and i saw nothing that said cigen. I also did a search, and there weren't any results. Should I try uninstalling and reinstalling again, or am I looking in the right place?

Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2

The only folders I have are:
Cameras
Collections
Config
Logs
LotCatalog
Movies
Music
Neighborhoods
Projects
SavedSims
SC4Terrains
Storytelling
Teleport
Thumbnails

[swmeek]

It won't be a folder but a file . It usually sits down at the bottom of the folder page when you open it.
If the body shop program is not working corectly it might not make the cigen file.
Also are you using the body shop program that came with the Sims 2 game when you installed it or are you playing with the downloaded version?
I just did a search of mine and it says it found it but i can't find it anywhere.
Wierd

[h20plochck11]

i have no idea what I did, but i was looking at some other threads here, and someone posted an update to the driver that i guess I hadn't done. I downloaded that, and now everything works like a charm! Thank you so much for your help though, I really appreciate it!

[swmeek]

You might post a link to the post you're talking about so that if someone with a similar problem might find it and help them out too!

[h20plochck11]

definitely!! the link to the thread is:

http://forums.worldsims.org/showthread.php?t=15983