Can't Play The Sims 2 - Brand New G1S-X1

hey everyone,

well - i got my brand spankin new g1s-x1 on friday - vista is a bit of a pain (albeit a pretty sweet looking os), but so far ive been able to set everything up "okay"

last nite - i decided it was time to install the sims 2 - i got it installed with no problem - but when i start it up - the computer hangs - it hangs to the point where i have to reset

at first, it hung right at the beginning - when the ea logo first began to appear, it froze (i mean - the logo didnt even fully appear - it was when the graphic FIRST started) - but the audio continued with the "ea...challenge everything" (or whatever it is she says)

i then updated the nvidia drivers to 169.01 - i was able to update without a hitch using the laptopvideo2go files (including the modified inf) - now, when i start the game - the logo fully appears without a problem, the audio does its thing with the "challenge everything" - but then the computer just hangs there - with the ea logo on the screen - the final time i attempted, i let it sit like that for a full 5 minutes - nothing happens...

again, i have to reset the computer

what gives? i cant even install the sims 2 update (which supposedly fixes a few problems with vista) - it gets about 30 seconds into the update and i just get some "error installing update" error - so i cant even tell if the patch will fix anything

ive disabled uac - so it shouldnt be anything with that - but im a little confused as the notebook is currently my most powerful computer - im able to play the sims 2 on my 3 year old desktop machine with a radeon 7250 card without issue

it kind of stinks - i was expecting just to install it and have a smooth running game without any problem - i mean, the machine has plenty enough power to run it, at least, theoretically...

any ideas? anyone else run into any similar problems? doing a quick search - pretty much everyone else says the sims 2 runs "fine" - without any problems on their g1s notebooks - im hoping at least one of you has had some issue that you've resolved

any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

Try right clicking on the patch executable (or game) and running that as administrator. Sometimes in Vista even with UAC disabled, older programs still need to be forced to use admin rights.
Also, if you installed with UAC on, then disabled it... the game may have installed some files to somewhere other than they should be (ie to C:\Users\--user name--\AppData\Roaming).

 

I had this happen to me on my desktop. For me it was my zonealarm running in the background. It was hanging up at the same spot. once i turned it off it ran fine. hope this helps.

 

ahh - fascinating - of course, ill be at work for the next 8 hours so i wont be able to test it out until i get home - lol

but ill definitely try these things out (i didnt disable my anti-virus software at all before or after the install - so ill uninstall everything, disable av, and try to reinstall everything again - using the administrator idea as well)

on a good note - the laptop itself is amazing!

 

i didnt need to disable anything :S
but for me..it did freeze for a short while..but i just waited and it loaded maybe you just had to wait a little longer

 

^ really? THAT long? you'd figure, with a computer of this caliber and speed, you wouldnt have to wait very long to load a 4-5 year old game...

how long do you have to wait?

 

lol around like 3 minutes :S
and dont minimize it..if you do it doesnt load..lol

 

I have the X1 too, did you get it from best buy? The first day I had it, it gave me BSODs when I was installing things. I highly, highly recommend to just reformat using the recover disk. However, when it asks you for the driver CD, just shut off you computer instead (you have to hold down the power button), and then start it back up and you will have a CLEAN install of Vista (without stupid norton anti-vir, which I think may have caused the problem in the first place). Then just pop in the driver CD and install only the things you need.

 

^ yeah - i did purchase it from best buy

i was actually thinking about the recovery disc but i havent had any problems whatsoever (besides this sims deal) - from what ive read, it looks like ill have to turn off my anti-virus - the computer hasnt crashed at all and i have yet to see a single bsod (knock on wood)

i have read a few comments about things becoming worse after the recovery disc was used, however - thats why im kind of wanting to steer clear of that until its a necessity...

EDIT - and i have fully uninstalled norton (and a host of other bloatware)

 

lol hopefully you cut off your net connection before you uninstalled norton xD

 

^ lol - oh yeah - i definitely did that - i forgot what show it was from, but i remember seeing a video on the net about just how fast your system can get attacked if its unprotected - i think in something like 2 minutes this guy had a host of viruses - it was crazy!

 

uh, you'll be fine without virus/firewall unless you are downloading a bunch of stuff... no one is going to attack your computer. the recovery disk gives you a clean install of the OS, there is no way that it could make your system worse in ANY way.

 

Upgrade to 169.04 and make sure the game is running in XP mode? maybe there's some problems with it running in Vista mode.... Although, so far every game I've played on XP, I can play on Vista with no problem as well except for Dark Crusade which needs a workaround.

 

^ ill try that now

i tried changing all of the permissions for every sims 2 folder - im running everything in xp sp2 compatibility mode - i disabled my av program - im running everything as an administrator - im still getting the exact same problems

still cant even start the game - still cant update via the patch

this is the suck

 

alrite - still no dice with 169.04 - i cant believe this old game is having trouble on this brand new computer - i dont understand what the problem could be

 

just to keep this thread updated - i decided to start from scratch

i popped the recovery dvd in and am now starting with a clean install of vista - when i get home, ill install the rest of the drivers and THEN try installing the game

right now - all i have on my computer is vista, the programs that come with the os itself, and my av program (which ill disable whenever im doing anything with the game - this, by the way, is ridiculous to have to do)

if the darn game wont work on THAT - its definitely back to xp i go - its ridiculous to have to deal with uac, running as administrator, folder permissions, compatibility modes, etc. just to get a half-a-decade old game to work on a "gaming notebook" - i pity any novice computer users who get stuck with vista - lol

 

Well, typically your Anti-Virus programs shouldn't have anything to do with game performance. Also, so far Vista has been quite good to me. Not a single problem so far.... Knock on wood. I've searched on Google a bit, here's what I've found:

The Sims 2 is CONFIRMED to work on Vista....

http://thevistaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=10580
http://www.vistareadygames.com/showthread.php?t=9

 

For antivirus, I suggest NOD32 (paid) or AVGfree (well, free). Lightweight, no need to disable when gaming.

 

^ well, im lookin for the free solution - so ill take a look at avgfree - would you recommend it over avast?

@Theros123 - lol - my friend was making fun of me because i seem to have the worst luck with computers - it seems like EVERYONE can get this silly program to work but me - i think i even read one article that said something to the effect of: "it almost seems like the sims 2 was made for vista - installation was a breeze - and a joy to play - even works in window mode" - lol

could it possibly be avast? i mean - it seems like such a light, no-frills av, but you never know, right?

 

No, I don't think so.... Then again, I could be wrong. I use Avast, and have no problems with any of my games. But again, I don't play the Sims lol. Good luck on that problem

 

I don't have your problem, but I have the "Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered" problem when playing Sims 2. Sucks freaking balls.

 

SUCCESS!!!

well - after a fully clean install - i got it working - and thats with the standard video drivers from asus and no patches installed

now im going to download the 169.01 drivers, install the expansion packs (which ive havent even opened yet), and put the computer down for a few hours to play halo 3 online with my 360 - lol

funny thing - i originally installed this on my desktop pc a coupla years ago - so its been a while since i did an install - whats interesting is that during the install process this time - i was able to play the mini-game they put in there to kill time during the install - i TOTALLY forgot about that game

all of the times ive tried to install since i got this notebook - that game never appeared - it was just a blank white page - which i figured was normal

boy - i sure am glad i did a clean install - the computer is runing so much smoother now

thanks for all of your help!