New Laptop w/ Win 10- need help with Graphics

Hello there!

I had to get a new laptop this year- I got an HP Omen Gaming Laptop- and after playing Sims 4 for a few month and finding it fun, but not nearly as entertaining as Sims 2 I decided to install my S2 discs on the new machine and see if I could get the game running. After dealing with a few patch related issues and doing a lot of searching to get answers for those I was able to get the base and all 16 expansion & stuff packs on my machine and patched, plus I switched out the M&G exe for a NoCDNeeded crack to keep my laptop SecuRom free.

I knew going in I was probably going to have issues with graphics weirdness and I am hoping I could please get some help from you nice folks. When I had the first couple expansion discs in I opened the game up and found that I had the "Game is in low resolution - Smooth is off, and screen size is limited to 800x600." issue and then after I got everything installed and tried to open the game up using the NoCD Shortcut for M&G the game wouldn't open at all and I had the "Game does not start and has a message 'DirectX' message on a vanilla game." situation happen. I've read the fixes you have posted ( http://www.leefish.nl/mybb/showthread.php?tid=6883 ), but admit that I am challenged when it comes to tech stuff so I'm hoping that I can get talked through things- like a "Fixing Graphic Stuff for Sims 2 for Dummies".

A big THANKS in advance!!!

Here is my computer info and error notice.

  DxDiag.txt (Size: 107.63 KB / Downloads: 536)

  LAPTOP-V4CTJOE7-config-log.txt (Size: 1.09 KB / Downloads: 386)
   

@LisaG45 I'll give you some cards to fix this in a bit - got migraine at the moment so brain is not working. Thanks so much for the DXDiag, I will make you one that works just for you.

Thank you so much for the help. I really appreciate it.
I hope you feel better fast- migraine headaches are the worst!

@LisaG45

Here are your 2 cards:

Graphic Rules - Intel - 6216Mb Display Memory
Video Cards - Intel - 191b

You will need to install them in:

\Program Files (x86)\EA\The Sims 2 - Mansion and Gardens\TSData\Res\Config\
\Program Files (x86)\EA\The Sims 2 - Mansion and Gardens\TSData\Res\CSConfig\
MUST BE INSTALLED IN BOTH FOLDERS

If you have any of the compilations you will need to install them in a similiar folder (\TSData\Res\Config and \TSData\Res\CSConfig) for each of the expansion packs in the compilation.

Once you've done that, you will also need to do the following:

1. Troubleshoot compatibility on the SimsEp99.exe to Windows 8. (If you right-click on the exe you'll see a troubleshoot compatibility option).
2. Set up the shortcut to run as administrator.
3. When you get in game, set the Smooth edges to Max.

Let me know how you go.

Thanks so much for the help!

Just verifying- this graphics fix is for my Intel chip, not my Nvidia card? Does my Nvidia card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M ) not work with the game at all?

*Edit*

Also when you say install to those files you mean I should copy and paste the contents of the 2 rars to those folders right? I did that and tried to set the compatibility and such like you said and I'm still getting the Direct X error notice like I posted above.

@LisaG45 We're going to start with the Intel. We can set up for the NVidia, but generally when we're trying to set up to fix when it's not running it at all and you have dual cards, the Intel is the safest one to start with.

When I say install, I mean unrar those two files, so that you end up with two files "Graphic Rules.sgr" and "Video Cards.sgr",

then I want those two files copy and pasted into the folders I've mentioned above so that they over-write the existing Graphic Rules.sgr and Video Cards.sgr.

When you run your game, what folder is the shortcut pointing to? i.e. can you show me a screenshot of the properties of your shortcut.

Thanks again for all the help! I really appreciate it.

I did manage to get the game to open after all. I goofed something up, but I uninstalled M&G, then reinstalled it and figured out what I did wrong by slowing down and double checking my steps.

Changed out the 2 files you gave me- check
Troubleshoot the game to run with Win 8 compatibility- check
Shortcut to run as administrator- check
Set the Smooth edges to Max- can't do it. It is still Greyed Out.

Here's what I'm seeing in the game graphics area.
   
Properties of the No CD Needed shortcut I created (it doesn't have a Config tab- I don't know why? that is)
   
New Config Log in Case That Helps

  LAPTOP-V4CTJOE7-config-log.txt (Size: 9.33 KB / Downloads: 381)

Since I do not have a compatibility tab on the shortcut I created for the No CD Crack I have to wonder if I did something wrong when creating the shortcut. I am completely anti-SecuRom on my laptop so I need to play with the crack in place, but I'm not going to be able to play at all if I can't get the graphics functioning properly. Any feedback would be appreciated.

@LisaG45 I am anti-securom too, and running from the no-CD hack is what I do as well. OK. The compatibility tab doesn't show up in some places, but that's ok - there's a get around.

Right click on the shortcut and choose properties - then choose 'troubleshoot compatibility...' that will do the same thing.

What I'm seeing in the config-log.txt is that its picked up the cards correctly, but the graphic-rules.sgr is still keeping it at low resolution. That means I did something to stuff up. (I probably chose the wrong card when I took a copy).

So the good news, is that you've done everything right. The bad news is that I didn't. The good news is that I can fix this with this card:

Fixed Graphic Rules card

And if you put it where you put the other one, you should be good to go.

Yay! That worked- it enabled the smooth edges and it looks really good. Thank You SO much!
These new Graphic Rules were for my Intel Card or were they for my Nvidia card? If they are for the Intel card is there something I need to do to get the Nvidia card working to optimize the game's performance? Or will this fix cover me completely?