The Sims Zone :: Knowledge Database

This can have many reasons. Out-of-date drivers are a common cause for this. Go through the following checklist, which may help you solve the problem:

* Make sure your computer matches the system requirements. Anything better (or newer) than what's listed should do. Note that for processor speed, 1 Ghz is about 1000 Mhz. Similarly (but slightly different), 1 Gigabyte is 1024 Megabyte for both RAM and hard disk space. AMD processors may have a so-called "PR rating". If you have an "AMD Athlon 2400+", the "2400+" indicates it performs about the same as an Intel Pentium 2400 Mhz. However, the actual clock speed of such an AMD is a bit slower (approximately 2.0 Ghz in the case of 2400+). Make sure you check the real processor speed when checking if your system meets the requirements! There are some tools to check if your computer is good enough to run the game. Several fansites, including SimPrograms and ServoPro have made such tools, and there's also the GameAdvisor from Microsoft.

* Download all critical updates from Windows Update (Internet Explorer only).

* Make sure you have installed the latest drivers of your graphics card. To check what card you have, click Start, then Run and enter "dxdiag" (without quotes). On the Display tab, you'll see the Manufacturer and the Graphics card name. Note these down, or remember them.

Then go to the manufacturer's website. For ATI (Radeon cards), this is ati.com, nVidia (GeForce) drivers can be downloaded from nVidia.com. Make sure you download the drivers for your graphics card and operating system.

* Download and install the latest DirectX version: microsoft.com/directx. Use DXDiag (see above) to check which version you currently have installed. You can also find DirectX on the CD or DVD of the Sims 2, or on many magazine cover CDs.

* Make sure your computer is virus and spyware free. Use an up-to-date virusscanner to check for viruses. Common (commercial) scanners are McAfee or Norton, a popular free scanner is AVG Antivirus. Make sure you update your virusscanner before scanning the entire system.

Ad- or Spyware is malicious software which often tracks which websites you visit, or it keeps showing you ads at random times, interrupting your work. You might not always notice it. Common programs to check for and remove ad- and spyware, are AdAware SE by Lavasoft, or Spybot Search&Destroy. Update the scanner before doing a full scan.

Note that if you do a fresh install of a virusscanner or ad/spyware scanner, they might contain outdated definition files (which are used to identify malicious software). Make sure you update the software before using it to scan your computer.

* Some programs running in the background, like virusscanners or firewalls may prevent the game from running properly. You can turn off such programs temporarily while playing the game, though you must be sure to turn them back on after you finished playing (rebooting your computer will often do the trick, but make sure the programs are enabled again after rebooting, otherwise start them from your start menu!). Programs that run in the background often have an icon near the clock in the system tray. Right click (or for some programs left click) the icon to get a menu to show up, with which you can switch the program on or off. If you use the task manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) to switch off background programs, you will have to run the programs from the start menu to start them again.

Disclaimer: The Sims Zone is not affiliated or endorsed with any external companies or websites linked to in this article. The Sims Zone is also not responsible for (the content on) those sites.

Answered at 02:00 on Sunday 12 September 2004 by The Sims Zone
Answer Rating: Not Rated Yet.

Report this Answer