sims 2 freezes at start-up

[jamie]

Hi, I'm helping my niece install & run her Sims 2 game, at start-up it
will show the initial splash screen of ea games, then it freezes. I
have to use task manager to shut the game down.
OS: Windows XP Pro, and has new video card: geforcefx agp8x.
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Jamie,

| Hi, I'm helping my niece install & run her Sims 2 game, at start-up it
| will show the initial splash screen of ea games, then it freezes. I
| have to use task manager to shut the game down.
| OS: Windows XP Pro, and has new video card: geforcefx agp8x.
| Thanks in advance for your help.

Updating video card drivers can solve most gaming issues. Here's some
simple abc's to always keep in mind. a. Shut off download accelerators,
firewalls and antivirus programs when downloading or installing updates;
b. Check for game patches: www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a
c. Make sure you meet the game's minimum video and system requirements;
d. Check for known issues with your video card at the game's web site.

1. Before you update your drivers, I recommend you re-install DirectX from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...11-62FE-4F61-ABA1-914185249413&displaylang=en

Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver. If you've
never done this before I recommend you also look over the Installation hints
and Release Notes both of which are linked to from their download page.

2. Download the latest driver for your Nvidia Card

Win XP/2000: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_56.64
Win98/Me: http://www.nvidia.com/object/win9x_56.64

3. Save the .exe driver in My Documents\My Drivers\nVidia

4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.

6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.

7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

8. If Windows prompts you to install the adapter, click "Cancel".

9. Double click the nVidia driver we saved to My Documents\My
Drivers\nVidia folder in step 3 to install.it. If it complains about
Windows Logo Certification just click "Continue". This is normal.

10. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per
my website: http://www3.sympatico.ca/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11

Your program might not support dual monitors, or "dual head" video cards
You can disable the extra video output in your display properties control
panel. Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advanced.

Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
your Video card. These steps are listed at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

Perhaps the old Nvidia drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
case, use this utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step 7:
http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0

The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
(Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:

BETA Drivers: http://download.guru3d.com/
OMEGA Drivers: http://www.omegacorner.com/

There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them!

--
Cheers,
Jimmy S.

Additional Support Resources: My Zone.com Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk
Microsoft Online Tech Support: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=376
Game FAQ's: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________



|

 

[jamie]

hi Jimmy, Thanks for the info.! I have updated the drivers for the
video card, and have the most current version of dirextx, and I still
have the same problem.
I did try this: I started the program, and it froze at the splash
screen, so I left it like that, I came back in a little while, and the
game was running, and I was able to play it. So I am still trying to
figure out why the game hangs at start-up. Thanks again.

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Jamie,

You might be affected by the introductory clips that play
before you get to the game menu.. try locating the file(s)
in the game's directory and rename them.

--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com


Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

| hi Jimmy, Thanks for the info.! I have updated the drivers for the
| video card, and have the most current version of dirextx, and I still
| have the same problem.
| I did try this: I started the program, and it froze at the splash
| screen, so I left it like that, I came back in a little while, and the
| game was running, and I was able to play it. So I am still trying to
| figure out why the game hangs at start-up. Thanks again.
|