Red walls/Crashing/Install and Performance issues

[The Star Hermit]

Common graphics and performance issues

This thread is intended to bring together some of the more common technical and computer problems we see posted on the forums, and the solutions that are offered. Hopefully it will make it easier for everyone to find the information if it's in one thread.

Contents

• Why do I have red flashing walls in my game?
• I have problems installing the game or an expansion/stuff pack!
• My game keeps crashing/freezing!
• My graphics or game performance is poor!

Please Note: While the information in this thread is accurate to the best of my knowledge and much of it can be found by visiting the EA support website, it should not be taken as an 'official' technical support thread, it is posted here for your convenience. For official technical support from EA, visit the Electronic Arts Support Site.

[The Star Hermit]

Why do I have red flashing walls in my game?

Minimum PC Requirements

This problem of red flashing walls started with the Family Fun Stuff pack and is an ongoing problem for players who are using unsupported graphics cards or chips. It's important that you check that your computer meets the minimum requirements for the pack or expansion you want to install, otherwise you may experience this type of problem.

See the section Minimum PC Specifications for information on how to check what you have installed in your computer and what the minimum pc requirements are.

Update Your Drivers

A small number of players have been able to restore some playability to their game by updating the drivers for their graphics chip so it's worth trying; see Updating Graphics Drivers for more information on how to do that.

You may be able to help the situation a bit more by altering the in-game graphics settings, press the F5 key to enter the game options.

If updating drivers and changing settings doesn't help, updating to a newer supported graphics card is going to be the only solution if you want to use those packs.

[The Star Hermit]

I have problems installing the game or an expansion/stuff pack!

This could be for a number of reasons, the following are the most likely solutions. First check that your pc meets the Minimum PC Specifications to install and run the game.

If you are installing an expansion or stuff pack and get errors when the game tries to update or patch your previous versions, make sure you have all the patches for your current game and expansions (see Patches Thread for details) before you install. If you are using any downloads/custom content, move your Downloads folder out to the desktop before you install as there may be files that conflict with the install process.

Make sure your disks are clean as dust, dirt or fingerprints can prevent the data on it from being read, a clean t-shirt is good for this if you don't have a proper disk cleaner, always clean from the center outward, never in circles.

Shut down all the Background Tasks before trying again in case there are processes running (such as a virus scanner for instance) which may be causing conflicts. Also empty your computer's Temp Files as corruptions here can prevent install.

Try renaming the Install Shield folder:

1. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
2. Double-Click on the C:
3. Double-Click on Program Files then on Common Files.
4. Right-Click on the InstallShield folder.
5. Select Rename.
6. Rename it to InstallShieldOld.
7. Start the installation again to reinstall the InstallShield components with the newest version.

If that doesn't work, you'll need to try some general Disk and Drive troubleshooting steps, such as disabling Emulation Software, updating your drive's Firmware and installing Safe Disc Update, you can find these and other steps in more detail in the EA article CD/DVD Troubleshooting. Be sure you check through them all.

If that doesn't work you can try performing a Manual Install instead, which involves copying the files to your hard drive first before installing.

If none of these steps work then you'll need to contact Electronic Arts Customer Support Team for further assistance, just click the CONTACT US tab on the support site.

[The Star Hermit]

My game keeps crashing/freezing

Crashing or CTD (crash to desktop) can be caused by one of many reasons and include such things as what you were doing at the time, what the specifications of your pc are, what software you have installed and how up to date all your drivers are. Some of the more common reasons and solutions are listed below.

Some general solutions you can try

• Check for the minimum requirements - check that your pc meets the minimum requirements to install and run the game, if you don't have at least the minimum then there is no guarantee that you will be able to install the game or be free of problems. See the Minimum PC Specifications thread to see if your computer can run the came.
  
• Close background tasks - programs or processes running in the background can monopolise the resources that the game needs to run, closing them down can prevent conflicts that may be causing the crashing. See Background Tasks thread for information on shutting them down.
  
• Update drivers - outdated or corrupted drivers can cause miscommunication with your graphics or sound card/chip causing the game to hang or crash, they may also be incompatible with the version of DirectX that the game uses to run (see DirectX - Why You Should Upgrade Your Drivers). Updating your drivers may solve the crashing problem, see the Graphics Issues and Sound Issues threads for details on how to update them.
  
• Empty temp files - The Sims 2 places auto run and other temporary files in your computers Temp folders when it starts or runs, these can become corrupt and may prevent your game from starting up or cause it to crash. Emptying the temp folders will force the game to create fresh copies the next time it runs, see Temp Files thread for details on how to empty them.

Some common reasons for crashing

• Crashing at splash screen - if you are crashing at the splash screen, as well the reasons mentioned above this can also happen here if the game has trouble reading from the disk. See the EA article CD/DVD Troubleshooting for details on how to solve this.
• Crashing after a full black screen - this is usually down to the reasons mentioned above.
  
• Crashing when patching the game - see the What if I can't install the patch? section in the patches thread.
  
• Crashing while installing an expansion or stuff pack - see the problems installing the game section above.
  
• Crashing at special event scenes - this is usually caused unsupported graphics cards/chips or out of date/corrupted drivers.
  
• Crashing during loading - as well as the causes outlined above, this can also be caused by any custom content that you may have in your downloads folder. To check this move your downloads folder out to the desktop and restart the game, if you are able to load the game now then it would indicate that one or more of your downloads are either corrupt or incompatible with your game.
  
  To find the problem file(s) return your downloads folder to the Sims 2 folder and try using the Content Manager Tool to disable or delete the more obvious target files as they will appear in red, then restart the game again and check if the problem has been resolved, if it has then you will need to reactivate each of the disabled files one by one, restarting the game in between until you find the problem file and remove it. If disabling the more obvious targets didn't solve the problem then you will need to disable all the files and repeat the procedure until you find the problem files, which may take quite a while if you have lots of them.
  
  If you prefer or if you have trouble running the Content Manager Tool, you can search for the problem files manually. The first step is to shut down your game and remove your Downloads folder again. After this create yourself a new Downloads folder and start returning your files one by one. If you know the names of the hacks or new mesh files then you could start with these as they are more likely to be the problem, restarting the game again to check if the problem has been resolved.
  
• Random crashes - random crashes at non specific times whilst playing the game are usually caused by the reasons outlined above.

If none of these solutions have solved your problem, you'll need to contact the Electronic Arts Customer Support Team for further assistance, just click the CONTACT US tab on the support site.

[The Star Hermit]

My graphics or game performance is poor

First of all check that your computer meets the minimum specifications at least to run the game, see the section Minimum PC Specifications for information on how to check what you have installed in your computer and what the minimum pc requirements are. Remember that these are the minimum and don't guarantee that you will have good performance even if you meet them, you can't expect to get the best performance if your pc is at the lower end. A slower processor, lower amounts of RAM, an older graphics card or using an integrated chip for graphics, will all contribute to a slower game with poorer graphics.

When you run The Sims 2 for the first time or add an expansion pack, the game will automatically configure the graphical and performance options for your machine's specification. If the game performance seems sluggish or choppy, here are a few suggestions to try and improve things:

In the short term:

• Turn off all other background applications while running the game, you may have processes running that are using the resources the game needs. See Background Tasks thread for information on shutting them down.
  
• Defragment your hard drive for optimal disk performance. See Hard Drive Housekeeping for information on that.
  
• Updating your drivers may improve things, see the Graphics Issues and Sound Issues threads for details on how to update them.
  
• In the game, go to the Graphics/Performance Options panel. Reducing or turning off options will improve the game's performance. Reflections, Screen Size, and Smooth Edges are options that will affect performance the most but Shadows and Lighting will also have an impact.
  
• The number of Sims you have on your lot is one of the biggest factors in determining performance. Lots with low numbers of Sims (4 or less) will run more smoothly than lots with many Sims (8+).
  
• Some large showcase lots in the game (like 1 Wright Way in Pleasantview) may be slow when scrolling around. The performance should pick up considerably when the camera stops moving and you start interacting with the Sims.

In the long term:

• Increasing your system RAM is a good way to gain performance, this is the memory the game uses while it's running, the more expansions you have installed, the more sims on the lot, the larger the lots and more objects you have on it all use up more and more RAM. Add to this any background tasks you may have running, such as an anti virus program, firewall, instant messenger or web browser for instance, all use up the RAM quickly too. I would suggest at the very least 1GB RAM be installed, if your computer can support it.
  
• Don't use an integrated chip for graphics. Although some integrated chips are actually supported by the game and some of the expansions, you will probably have poorer performance, they usually need a higher processor speed and some of the graphics options may be disabled. Investing in a proper graphics card will inevitably give you better graphics performance. You will get better graphics with medium to higher end graphics cards, there is a higher minimum requirement if you are using the Windows Vista operating system, see the Vista FAQ thread for further details.