Troubleshooting Please Read These Messages First

What Is The Technology Hub For?

This forum is meant for any technical support for your computer and Sims 2.
IT IS NOT HERE FOR TECH SUPPORT FOR THE GAME ONLY.
Appropriate posts would be like the following example:

NOT

If you are having Game problems, post HERE
If you are having problems running The Sims 2 on your computer, post HERE

Thanks!

 

Gary's Step by Step Guide To Getting Help Fast

Below are some details regarding troubleshooting issues with the Sims 2 and your computer. It would help the people providing assistance here if you check these recommendations before posting with problems you are experiencing. This will both save your time and their time and ensure that you may be helped more easily.

Maxis Minimum Hardware Requirements:

If you have a T&L capable video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM then you need at least:

* 800 MHz processor or better
* 256 MB RAM if Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 98 or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

If you have a non-T&L capable video card (an Intel Extreme Graphics or a Radeon 7000/VE Series) then you need at least:

* 2.0 GHz processor or better
* 256 MB RAM if Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

Get the most current driver for your video card. The manufacturers usually have the video drivers on their sites for you to download. Visit the nVidia site, the ATI site or the support site for your computer's manufacturer for the latest drivers for those video cards.

Supported video cards (and the more video memory the better

* ATI RadeonTM series (7000 or better)
o Radeon 7000/VE series (non-T&L; requires 2.0 GHz processor)
o 7200, 7500
o 8500, All-In-Wonder 8500
o 9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800
o X300, X600, X800

* Nvidia QuadroTM series
o Quadro, Quadro2, Quadro4

* Nvidia Geforce series (GeForce2 and better)
o GeForce2
o GeForce3, 3 Ti
o GeForce4, 4Ti, MX 420, 440
o GeForce FX 5200, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, 5950
o GeForce 6600, 6800

* Intel Extreme Graphics (non-T&L; requires 2.0 GHz processor)
o 82845, 82865, 82915

Recommendations (Not by Maxis

The above are obviously minimum requirements. For a good experience, the more memory you have the better, and after that a higher spec video card and CPU (Processor) help.

I would suggest 1GB of memory for a good gaming experience as well as an ATI Radeon 9500 or Nvidia Geforce 5 or higher for optimal game play.

Setting your display settings in the Sims 2 graphic display options also will help. In general, the quicker your computer, the higher you can set each of the individual settings. When starting the game for the first time, the Sims 2 will check your hardware and set recommended settings for your computer.

How do you check what your computer specifications are? Please see the later section on gathering information.

Hardware Considerations:

It is possible that your hardware could be causing problems which are interfering with your Sims 2 game. If you receive errors in other programs as well, along with possible blue screens or sudden reboots or shutdowns, this could indicate that your computer might have possible hardware problems. In this case you can test for possible problems with the following tools:

Memtest86+ http://www.memtest.org/

This utility will allow you to create a boot disk that you can use to test your memory. Download the "Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win)" version and unzip to a temporary folder. There is a install.bat file that will allow you to make a bootable disk. Allow this program to run for at least half an hour to check for any errors.

Prime95 http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

This utility is a program that searches for Mersenne prime numbers. It has a Torture Test built in that runs a burn-in-test on your system. If your system is not stable this will cause it to bring up the problems you might be experiencing such as rebooting or blue screens or memory errors. Run this for at least 30mins to an hour.

3DMark http://www.futuremark.com/

3DMark is a graphics benchmarking utility. You can download a demo from the above website. Run this utility to test your graphics card. If your graphics card is faulty, this test can cause your computer to possible reboot or generate a blue screen.

All of these utilities need to be used with care. Should your computer reboot, give errors, or fail on these tests or benchmarks, then it is best to shut down the computer and if you do not have the experience to fix the hardware problems yourself, contact the manufacturer or store where you purchased it, or contact a reputable computer dealer in your area.

Software Considerations:

Firstly you need to ensure that your PC system is running all the latest patches and version of DirectX. You can get these off Microsoft's site and Windows Update. (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and http://download.microsoft.com/).

Also you would need to check that you have virus and spyware protection. If you do not have a commercial version of an Antivirus application or Spyware removal tool, AVG Free is a freely available virus scanner for personal use, and Adaware Personal Edition and Microsoft Anti-Spyware are freely available versions of Spyware removal software. (http://free.grisoft.com/ and http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ and http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx )

Is your Sims 2 up to date? Go to http://thesims2.ea.com/update/ to check for patches available for your game.

Finally: Have you searched these forums for a similar problem?

Finding Your System Specifications
Help Us To Help You
In order to assist us, and to help us solve your problem with the utmost accuracy, and urgency, please have the following information ready and have it posted along with your issue:

1. Processor: Name and speed (MHz/GHz)
2. System Memory RAM (MB/GB)
3. Windows Version (98/XP etc.)
4. Free Hard Disk Space
5. Total Hard Disk Space
6. DirectX Version
7. Display Adapter (Graphic/Video Card) Name & Model Number
8. Display Driver Name and Version Number & date
9. Approximate Total Video Memory
10. Game Detail (eg: Sims 2 CD or DVD Version, expansion packs owned)
11. Nature of problem (more details the better)

Much of the information above can be (and if you're in any doubt should be) gotten by running dxdiag

dxdiag can be run on any Windows Machine by following these instructions:

• Click the Start button
• Click Run (bottom of the right-hand half of Start Menu)
• In the pop-up box, type in dxdiag
• Click the OK button and wait for the 'puter to chug through its business. (May take a few minutes)
• Items 1 thru 6 in the list above are to be found on the dxdiag report's main tab that is labelled System
• Items 7 thru 9 will be answered on the Display tab