Difficulty loading Sims 2

Posted by: alex95 on 28 December 2004

Hi, any help would be appreciated.
After loading my daughters Sims2 game it would not function as I dont have an adaptor suitable for DirectX9.0c. I am guessing this is something to do with graphics chips. I have a Sony VAIO AMD Athlon XP 1.53Ghz and the Graphics are SiS740 integrated with 32MB shared video RAM.
Do I need a new graphics card and if so what kind ?
Is it easy to change and would DVDs work better too ?
Thanks
Spence
Posted on: 28 December 2004 by Martin D
Alex
Do you have the latest update patch, it cured it completely on our PC
Martin
Posted on: 28 December 2004 by alex95
Hi Martin
Sorry but I don't know what an update patch is.
Posted on: 28 December 2004 by Geoff C
Hi Alex

an up date patch should be available on the web as a download to your computer. This will install the latest version available.

Sorry if you did do this... but in the manual it states that if you are using a 'lower' spec computer it is important to switch off all 'background' programs when using the SIMS2, to avoid conflicts.

Good Luck!

Regards
Geoff
Posted on: 28 December 2004 by alex95
I have the current version of DirectX, but my PC doesnt have the adaptor to support it.
Posted on: 28 December 2004 by Tarquin Maynard - Portly
quote:
Originally posted by alex95:
Hi, any help would be appreciated.
After loading my daughters Sims2 game it would not function as I dont have an adaptor suitable for DirectX9.0c.
Spence


You and me both.

I look forwards to some constructive comments.

Regards


Miike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
Posted on: 28 December 2004 by matthewr
"I look forwards to some constructive comments"

Look on the side of the box, read the panel marked "Technical Specs" and compare to what you have in your computer.

If that doesn't work go to the game's website (I'm going to guess it's www.thesims.com) have a look for an FAQ and or a technical support section. It's 99% certain to contain the answers to your questions.

If the techno jargon makes no sense, you at least have the specific information needed to solve your problem and can ask more specific questions either via EA, any one of the (undoubted) gazillions of Sims forums, or here.

Matthew
Posted on: 29 December 2004 by Steve G
The Sims 2 installed no problem on our PC at home but it was fairly slow, particularily when loading/saving games. I upped the memory to 256MB and also upgraded the graphics card (which was getting a bit long in the tooth anyway) to a ATI Radeon 9600XT and the game now works well.
Posted on: 29 December 2004 by Tarquin Maynard - Portly
quote:
Originally posted by matthewr:
"I look forwards to some constructive comments"

Look on the side of the box, read the panel marked "Technical Specs" and compare to what you have in your computer.

If that doesn't work go to the game's website (I'm going to guess it's http://www.thesims.com) have a look for an FAQ and or a technical support section. It's 99% certain to contain the answers to your questions.

If the techno jargon makes no sense, you at least have the specific information needed to solve your problem and can ask more specific questions either via EA, any one of the (undoubted) gazillions of Sims forums, or here.

Matthew


Senor R

Once again, very helpful comments.

When I am sober I'll give it a go. ( Blame Davey and Seagull. Bloody 9% nerve agent stuff. ))

best wishes for '05.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
Posted on: 31 December 2004 by Mike Hughes
Let's not overcomplicate this.

1) Click on START and go to CONTROL PANEL. Look for the Direct X diagnostic utility (also known as Dxdiag). Run this and see if your PC has 9.0. If it doesn't then check your Sims software and instructions as they usually bundle it on the CD. If it turns out that you simply don't have 9.0 and it's not on your CD then go to Microsofts site and download it from there. Unlike earlier Direct X downloads it is virtually painless.

2) If you do have 9.0 then that message is indeed saying "buy a new graphics card just for a bloody game".

3) Do a search for Dxdaig if you can't find it immediately on your hard drive.

Happy New Year.

Mike
Posted on: 31 December 2004 by Tarquin Maynard - Portly
Thanks Mike.

We have the latest versopn of DirectX - 9c?. The problem seems to be that my graphics card/driver is not compatible with it.

Strange, because we have been able to play Sims2 previously.

I think I'll have a peek at the website Matthew mentioned.

Seasons greetings

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
Posted on: 01 January 2005 by Tarquin Maynard - Portly
Right.

How much is a DirectX 9c compatible driver and is it a big job to fit?

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
Posted on: 02 January 2005 by alex95
Right I do need a new graphics card and of the PCI type.
The main ones being Nvidea Gforce FX5200 128mb or ATI 9200SE 128mb.
Has anyone tried them and are they equal or is one of them better.
Posted on: 06 January 2005 by Roy T
Some more Sims fun and games.