The Sims 2 will not start (Solved)

So, I've spent about 3-4 hours today installing The Sims 2. I have a Windows 10 PC, I previously installed it last year on a Win10 laptop with little to no issues. I had crashing problems but using the 4GB patch fixed it. This time around, I can't even get the game to start. I had trouble installing the game in the first place - with University, I had to do a work around just to get it to install (see my post here).

So after over 3 hours I finally got all the EP's installed, and I still can't start my game. I've tried running in compatibility mode for XP Service Pack 2, I've tried running as administrator. I've also backed up my .exe file and am trying to run it with an exe I have used on my previous Win10 laptop and on my Win7 PC that bypasses the CD check (since the CD check doesn't work on Windows 10). I've updated my application with the 4GB patch and checked the config log to make sure it worked. I also tried the Data Execution Prevention and added The Sims 2 to the list of programs it excludes. I still can't get it to even start. All that happens is my screen resolution will change, then after about 30 seconds I'll get a message that "the application has crashed, the application will now terminate." Also, I have all expansions, and Family Fun, Glamour Life, Kitchen & Bath, and Mansion & Garden. The exe I'm trying to run is from Mansion and Garden. I'm honestly not sure what to do. I have no cache files in My Documents. I've tried to be really thorough but I can't even get a loading screen at this point I've spent my entire Saturday doing this and am at my wit's end. I have no idea how I got it to work on my Windows 10 laptop last year. Any ideas or suggestions? Any help is appreciated.

*Edit: Attached my config log, sorry about that
Also, these were installed from the discs. I do not have the Ultimate Collection, just the original CD & DVD-ROMS.

Attached File(s)

  DESKTOP-JHR3JOK-config-log.txt (Size: 9.5 KB / Downloads: 9564)

In case someone else doesn’t get to you with their flavor of fixes, I would try updating your video card drivers. Apparently the newer AMD cards such as the 5700 XT have a really hard time working with DX9 games. I think I read that newer drivers might fix the issue. If the updated driver still fails, I’ve had anecdotes like this in my thread about the DXVK approach on MTS about the DXVK+5700 XT being a usable workaround for this issue:

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.ph...ost5589929

Please hit me up on the discord link if you have any issues.

You will need to add your graphics card to the videocard.sgr and edit your graphicsrules.sgr. The lack of your card number in the database and texture memory at 32mb could cause crashing.

And generally when you have patched the exe you don't want to run in compatibility mode as it unsets it.

(28-12-2019 10:54 AM)crazysim Wrote:  In case someone else doesn’t get to you with their flavor of fixes, I would try updating your video card drivers. Apparently the newer AMD cards such as the 5700 XT have a really hard time working with DX9 games. I think I read that newer drivers might fix the issue. If the updated driver still fails, I’ve had anecdotes like this in my thread about the DXVK approach on MTS about the DXVK+5700 XT being a usable workaround for this issue:

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.ph...ost5589929

Please hit me up on the discord link if you have any issues.

Thanks for your help on here & modthesims, I'm going to probably try messaging you on Discord as the update didn't work, but I couldn't get the optional update as recommended, I didn't have the option for some reason. I do have the 5700 XT so that is likely the issue. I'll have to try the DXVK approach, I'll look into that a little more.

(28-12-2019 12:35 PM)HugeLunatic Wrote:  You will need to add your graphics card to the videocard.sgr and edit your graphicsrules.sgr. The lack of your card number in the database and texture memory at 32mb could cause crashing.

And generally when you have patched the exe you don't want to run in compatibility mode as it unsets it.

Thank you for your help, so I got my card number added to the Graphics Rules file and I finally got my config log to update from 32mb to 4096MB, but still the same. Also tried running without compatibility and without running as an admin, still just crashing immediately. I can't even get an EA logo or load screen of any kind. Now something I couldn't figure out was how to add my graphics card to the video card sgr file, I did some hunting online but I wasn't sure how to put it in there (sorry, I'm really out of practice with this stuff). I've attached my updated config log, tried to attach my graphics rules but it wasn't letting me.

Thanks again to you both for your help. I hope I can get it working.

*Update: Probably just giving up with this. I have it working properly, with no graphical errors or crashing (so far) on my Win 10 laptop and on 2 different Windows 7 PCs, and so far it's been an exercise in futility with this computer. I just bought this new computer because my laptop screen broke and I figured it would be nice to have my games on a new, souped up pc, but I guess that's where I went wrong. Since I'm not the best with all this technical stuff and there is just so much room for error here I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong, but again pretty sure the graphics card is the culprit, and I've just still had no luck. Most the games I play are older like Sims 2, Sims 1 and Elder Scrolls Oblivion, so I'm sure I'll have a lot of issues trying to get them to work on this PC and I already have them functioning on my laptop so I'm just going to plug it into my monitor and use that instead. It's just a lot of time and work and it's kind of going over my head, in the future if I buy a computer I'll just go for an old school desktop for my games and probably will be using this PC more for file backup and ripping some DVDs and stuff. But I do want to say thank you again to everyone who offered all the good advice and help and knowledge, I really do appreciate it. If I could at least get a loading screen or something I would feel better but so far nothing I've tried has changed anything. At least I can play the game on my other computers so it's all good. Thanks again, everyone

Attached File(s)

  DESKTOP-JHR3JOK-config-log.txt (Size: 9.41 KB / Downloads: 554)

Your config log shows your video is not listed in the database. You said you added it to the graphics rules.sgr, which is incorrect. Is that a typo? You need to edit the video card.sgr.

Just in case you do not know how exactly to add your card (because getting it wrong is easier than getting it right), I'll give a little help:

Find the file "TSData/Res/Config/Video Cards.sgr" in the installation folder of your last EP (for UC users, that would be Mansion and Garden Stuff").
In this Video Cards.sgr file, go to the ATI section, and add a line that reads:

card 0x371f "AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT"

Then save that file, and make a copy of it in the folder "TSData/Res/CSConfig/" as well.

THAT should at least make the game recognize your card as present in the Database. That may not yet solve any other possible issues there may be, but at least you'll be one step closer.

So, I fixed it, huge thanks to crazysim (basically crazysim fixed it, honestly!) Here's a link to the post on modthesims.

@crazysim had pointed out to me that I needed to make sure to change my TSBin folder permissions to allow for everyone. I followed craysims's tutorial document from this thread step by step, slowly taking my time with it (which I should have done in the first place). I had added some extra .dll files in there trying to fix it a few days ago and I removed those, changed the permissions, added d3d9.dll and made sure I cleared out any folders generated in my local app data folder, and it loaded up instantly! It loads up in under one minute, I loaded up Veronaville, CAS and a residential lot real fast in 4k with no crashes or graphical issues of any kind.

@HugeLunatic
That's strange. I did add it, I ended up using the Graphics Rules Maker program actually, and when I checked it today (because I went back in with the Graphics Rules Maker and did it a second time) it had been modified on 12/30/2019. But it may have something to do with the permissions issue that ended up resolving my problem?

@BoilingOil
Thank you for showing me how to do that, I really appreciate it! So, I actually resolved the problem, but my video cards sgr file didn't update (even though Graphics Rules Maker said it was adding my card to it). Should I add it or just leave it alone? The Game seems to be working great so far.

Screenshot of the working game I'm so excited! Thank you so much to everyone for all the help. It's so difficult because each time I install this game on a different computer there are a new set of things to do, but I'm going to try and save all this info in case I have to install it again. Thanks again to everyone also for putting up with me, sorry I'm so bad at this!

I also wanted to add that this fix works for Body Shop crashing as well. I did a 4GB patch to the Body Shop exe, set the permissions to allow for everyone of the CSBin, and added d3d9.dll and Body Shop is now working.

Quote:@BoilingOil
Thank you for showing me how to do that, I really appreciate it! So, I actually resolved the problem, but my video cards sgr file didn't update (even though Graphics Rules Maker said it was adding my card to it). Should I add it or just leave it alone? The Game seems to be working great so far.

@ForestBalrog
The Graphics Rules Maker is not as great as some people make it out to be. And I've heard that especially with Windows 10 it does an awful job. But however well it may or may not do, it is important to remember that it is not a "Video Cards" maker, but only a "Graphics Rules" maker.
Even if it says that it adds your card to the "Video Cards.sgr", I would always check if it has actually done so. And if not, I would urge you to indeed do so yourself, even if your game seems to work fine. Because having the card properly added is an important part of getting your game to display its content correctly, making use of all the features that the card has to offer.

FWIW, DXVK/D9VK will report to the game that it is a "GeForce 7800 GTX". This is a card that's already in the stock database and enables the highest features.

https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/blob/8...g.cpp#L225

However, the files will still need to be edited to set some forced texture memory above 128 MB for anti-aliasing/higher resolutions with the default files. I think it has something to do with the DXDiag COM component returning improper results in newer versions of Windows which DXVK/D9VK doesn't/can't/won't do anything about. The WINE version of this component returns something palatable for Sims 2 so the developers aren't exactly gung-ho about solving this issue on Windows.

I know this thread is REALLY old but I've been working on fixing things for the last 2 days. I downloaded the 4gb patch, graphics rules and the x32 dx or whatever file that was needed, and it would still crash upon opening. What finally fixed it was going into compatibility properties, making sure compatibility mode WASN'T on, and change the color to 16bit. The game works perfectly fine now. The only 'issue' is that every time I start the game, I gave to go into settings and change the resolution to the highest setting as graphics rules doesn't seem to stick every time, but that's not really a problem. Everything runs fine. So I suggest anyone who runs into this thread try that. ^-^