How to best run the game

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can help. I have faffed with various Graphics Rules and have got to a point where the game is playable (as I'd like it) but I am getting an intermittent Blue Screen.

This doesn't seem to actually be a crash, as I'm able to press the Windows Key, go to Desktop and then click back on to the game and it will be fine - there is just obviously a setting that's not happy. I've attached my current Config Log and current Graphics Rules (as a text file - I don't know if that's actually useful).

Could someone please take a look for me?

Thanks so much - apologies in advance - super out of my depth here!

Becky

Attached File(s)

Thumbnail(s)
   

  LAPTOP-C2NLF1KP-config-log.txt (Size: 10.33 KB / Downloads: 436)
  Graphics Rules.sgr.txt (Size: 34.12 KB / Downloads: 402)

Sorry guys - think I may have committed a cardinal sin and just found the files made by Kiri. Will try to use that with Smooth Edges turned right up (to stop the flashing) and see how I get on.

Thank you!

Still no luck - will play for a little while and then the same issue starts. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Thanks,
Becky

@Beckylou67
Yes. You're running Windows 10. You're not going to be able to run it for much longer. Get an older laptop, with a dGPU, and run it on Windows 7. Problem solved.

I have several laptops, running Win7Pro, and Win7hp. I have zero issues running The Sims 2.

Older Lenovo ThinkPads are fantastically reliable, and will run TS2 quite well.

Your video card is not in the database and you have just 2gb of memory. You need to edit the video cards.sgr and add yours and then enable the 4gb patch on the EP9.exe, as I am guessing your computer really has more than 2gb of physical RAM.

Though I agree with @Kunder that you'll soon need to get an older laptop, because a few updates from now, Win10 will no longer allow you to play TS2 at all, there is a good point to @HugeLunatic's argument, too. For as long as the game still plays, somewhat, your system would work better with the right video card added. So I will provide you with instruction on how to do that.

In the "Apartment Life" installation folder, under the "TSDATA/Res/Config/" folder, open the file "Video Cards.sgr" and search for the line that reads:

Code:

vendor "Intel" 0x8086

Directly below that line, add another line that reads:

Code:

card 0x5a85 "Intel(R) HD Graphics"

Then save the file, and copy it to the CSConfig folder as well. Then restart the game, and the correct cart is now used by the game, and it will be shown in the config-log file correctly.

Good luck.

Thank you so much guys - Recognise both usernames from back in the day. I know this is a lot of the same instructions over and over, so really appreciate the time you've taken to reply.

Will give that a go and report back. Thanks so much and hope everyone is keeping safe!

Still the same problem

I'm sorry, @Beckylou67. I'm afraid that there's little else we can do. The ways in which Win 10 screws stuff up, are numerous and insidious. Following @Kunder's advice is likely the best you can do. Get an older Lenovo Thinkpad! There may still be other ways, but as time passes they get more and more complicated to maintain. And at some point you'd be going to have to give up anyway.

And I'm sorry for giving up with trying to get TS2 to work on win10. However, not being able to play TS2 on Win10, it's been an inevitability for quite some time. I've been warning Simmers about this since 2017, and now, we're there.

If you love The Sims 2, and want to keep playing, most any older Windows 7 laptop, with a dGPU, will play it fine. I understand that the availability of older laptops at a reasonable cost aren't at a premium in most places, but in the U.S. they're plentiful, and cheap. Right now, your only option for trouble free TS2 play, is Win7 or "vanilla", Win8.1 machines. As Win8.1 keeps updating, you'll eventually run into issues with that.

I offer help for Simmers in the following ways:

I offer advice on what machine will play TS2 without issues.
Personal on-line support, you can only get here, on LEEFISH.
I'll help you get through the entire process of getting the right computer, where to get Win7, where to get a NoCD TS2, that actually works, how to set it up, how to do upgrades, and repairs.

I'll even send you a Simming machine" at my cost. You'll have to pay shipping. Generally, around $40-$50 USD to NL, UK, and a few other European countries.
That "Simming machine", will also come with a very, nice surprise on it.

That's about all I can do, folks.