Big Problems running Sims 2 on Vista Home Premium

[technologicallyimpaired]

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The SIMS 2 (for PC) and New VISTA laptop?
My Sims 2 CD works fine on my old laptop.
I checked on systemrequirementslab.com and it said that my computer PASSED
for all of the requirements, both minimum and reccomended.
I downloaded the patch from Maxis.
The computer no longer says there are compatibility problems... HOWEVER,

I load the game, get to the neighborhood, and then click on a family - it
never loads. The music just goes and goes and goes, then I press
ctrl+alt+delete and it says that the program is not responding.

Also, when I change the game settings it sometimes freezes.

Help?

Additional Details

- I have PLENTY of room for the program on my computer.
- I have tried the compatibility option "run compatibility with Windows XP"
as suggested in a similar question
- The disc is in great shape
- I have a DELL Inspiron 1525
- I have Vista Home Premium

I have also tried "running as an administrator" - no luck. Same exact problem!

 

[simplifyme]

Your Open QuestionShow me another »

The SIMS 2 (for PC) and New VISTA laptop?
My Sims 2 CD works fine on my old laptop.
I checked on systemrequirementslab.com and it said that my computer PASSED
for all of the requirements, both minimum and reccomended.
I downloaded the patch from Maxis.
The computer no longer says there are compatibility problems... HOWEVER,

I load the game, get to the neighborhood, and then click on a family - it
never loads. The music just goes and goes and goes, then I press
ctrl+alt+delete and it says that the program is not responding.

Also, when I change the game settings it sometimes freezes.

Help?

Additional Details

- I have PLENTY of room for the program on my computer.
- I have tried the compatibility option "run compatibility with Windows XP"
as suggested in a similar question
- The disc is in great shape
- I have a DELL Inspiron 1525
- I have Vista Home Premium

I have also tried "running as an administrator" - no luck. Same exact problem!

I had the same problem. Many online forums blame the integrated Intel video
card. But I wasn't satisfied with that explanation as Sims2 ran fine on older
laptops I had.

After trying EVERYTHING, including Sims2 sw patches, video driver updates,
etc. as a last test I simply blew away Vista and installed Windows XP. I was
happy to find out the the Dell Inspiron 1525 runs Sims2 GREAT with XP, the
problem isn't the laptop, isn't the video card, its VISTA.

My advice, ditch Vista and go with XP....

 

[technologicallyimpaired]

Then you're giving him bad advice. There's absolutely no reason to use
XP over Vista if your computer can handle Vista.

To the OP: Try this link.

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-games/40120-sims-2-a.html

Thanks to you both for your suggestions - I can't seem to find a specific
update that is a fix for Vista... The Sims2 patch did nothing - and I really
can't change operating systems - too much of a hassle and $$$ (as you can't
downgrade for 'free' if you have vista home as far as I know)... Plus I like
Vista as far as everything else is concerned - and I suppose the Sims 2 isn't
a priority. Is there any link for this update - or what should I be looking
for?

P.S. I'm a "her". Haha.

 

[Andy [YaYa]]

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Thanks to you both for your suggestions - I can't seem to find a
specific update that is a fix for Vista... The Sims2 patch did nothing
- and I really can't change operating systems - too much of a hassle
and $$$ (as you can't downgrade for 'free' if you have vista home as
far as I know)... Plus I like Vista as far as everything else is
concerned - and I suppose the Sims 2 isn't a priority. Is there any
link for this update - or what should I be looking for?

P.S. I'm a "her". Haha.

Actually it's sort of funny, there's a stipulation in the Vista EULA
that states if you don't agree to the Vista License agreement, you can
install another OS and get a "refund" for Vista.

I read an article somewhere that some guy got HP to cough up $200. I
think it was theconsumerist.com, but it took a lot of effort and
bitching to get them to cough it up.

There is no update specifically for Vista for The Sims 2, If you have
the latest patch from the Sims 2 website, everything should be right as
rain.

The only thing The Sims 2 site suggests is updating video card drivers.
The problem with the "compatibility checks" (I'm not sure what check you
are using, but...) is that sometimes the checks are based on old
hardware. With the new hardware it just assumes you're OK, but sometimes
you can't go on that information alone.

Dispite what people said earlier, it'd be best to check your drivers
again. Since you listed your computer, I can now look up your video card
and do most of the legwork for ya...

dell.com/support - says you have an Intel GM965 chipset/video. So
instead of downloading that driver from Dell, lets get the one from
Intel, it tends to be more up to date...

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx - Found your chipset/driver
by going to this link and selecting from the left menu... Graphics >
Laptop > Express 965 chipset... or something to that effect. First file
link takes you here: http://tinyurl.com/66eu8a

Download that file and run it on your system, hey you now have the
latest video driver for your computer. joy. I believe this also covers
all your other Intel system drivers. Joy joy!

Try the game again.

Still busted?

Go into your Documents folder and the EA Games folder, RENAME (don't
delete) The Sims 2 Save games folder to something like The Sims 2.bak,
that takes your current saves out of the picture.

Run Sims 2 again, it'll take a long time to boot this time because it's
gonna reset all your save files. And see if you can get into a house
now.

Sorry you're having so many problems. Try running the game as admin, or
if it's really killing you, turn off UAC (in the User Accounts control
panel), for now.

 

[Kalpha]

I have just got a new lap top too (with Vista 32 bit) and have had big
problems installing and running Sims 2. I read that Windows Vista
Firewall could be the problem. So I added the game to the Firewall
exceptions list. Doing this and also right clicking on the desktop shortcut
to open Sims 2 and selecting "run as administrator" has the game working
properly.

It's a fairly simple fix - but worth a try if you haven't done it.


"technologicallyimpaired"