Help needed with graphic-settings.

[AlbinoBambi]

Hiya!

I kinda need your help. You see, just yesterday, I got my new pc.
After installing every single Sims 2 EP and SP there is out there, I put in my back/up, so that I still have my contest-sims.
The only issue I now have, is that my shadows and refresh rate are still grayed out, as in: I can't change them. I know for sure that this new pc can handle it, so I'm guessing it has something to do with me putting my old files in, and maybe overwriting a file which now makes my game think that my pc still can't handle that.
I think it's a file in my Config. folder, but I wanted to check with some people who know more about this, before I end up killing my game.
Sooo, any idea's on how to fix this? I thought that maybe I could just delete the Config. folder, but I don't know if the game will automatically generate a new one. So yeah, any help would be greatly appreciated. ^^

:help:

[rwills]

If a graphics option is grayed out, usually means that it is an option which the game has determined your video card cannot handle, or one which if enabled might cause damage to your video card.

3 questions:

1) Have you installed all the patches for the game and for each EP and SP?
Patches should ideally be installed in the same order as you installed the EPs and SPs.

2) What video card is installed on your computer?
If it a card on the low-end of the 'suitable for Sims 2' list, it just may not be capable of handling some of the additional more intensive graphics requirements of the later EPs.
A new machine may or may not have installed at inception a perfectly adequate but not necessarily robust video card geared towards gameplay.

3) As it a new machine, are you running Vista on it?
If so, is it a dual core or quad core system?
Sims2 and all its packs are designed for single core systems, but there is a way to set things up on dual or quad core systems to get around that.

[Engram]

Try changing those options while inside a lot and not in neighbourhood view, maybe? I know for a fact that you have to change shadow settings while inside a lot, so maybe the refresh rate, too?

[AlbinoBambi]

Engram, ok, haven't tried that yet, indeed. Could do that. ^^ Thanks for the tip, I'll check back on that later.

rwills, I haven't installed any patches yet, because I don't trust EA. xD But I don't think it's any of that, I really think there's just a certain file that I need to replace, but I don't know which file.
I'm not quite sure what video card it is, but I'm positive it is not on the low end. I know for a fact that it can handle it, so all I can think of is that there is some file in your Sims 2 folder that remembers your graphic settings, and since I put my back-up in, it now remembers that my previous pc couldn't handle that. And apparently, it doesn't recognize it's on a new pc.
And no, I'm not running Vista on it, luckily. I hate Vista. ^^

[Tenshii~Akari]

What screen resolution are you running on, Ilse?  I've noticed on my machine depending on how big or small the screen is, certain options come and go.  Have you tried testing other resolution sizes to see if the options are accessible then?  :angel:

[AlbinoBambi]

Haven't tried that yet either!
 I play the windowed version, because I dislike the fact that with wide screen-proportions, instead of adding screen on the sides, they remove screen on the top and bottom.
If that's it I might just play without shadows though, I'm not sure if I want to play using a smaller window. xD

[Tenshii~Akari]

:lol:  I play windowed, also.  Doesn't make too much of a difference, other than the fact that it can easily be minimized that way.  

I had to stop playing on the biggest resolution because my computer kept "throwing up" every time with the BSoD.  Too much memory usage on my end either way... had to select a median between that I liked, so I opted for the third largest setting.  That's when I noticed some options that were finally enabled.  :lol:

[rwills]

rwills, I haven't installed any patches yet, because I don't trust EA. xD

Strongly recommend getting all patches.

Unpatched games can generate all sorts of little glitches, malformed interactions, wonky Sim memories, things just missed (or which never came up) during beta play testing, etc. Over time, the accumulation of glitches within the history of the gameworld may impact the entire game negatively. Too, there exists the possibility of some custom content not performing as expected or completely as intended in an unpatched environment.

Would that any complex interactive software (not just Sims 2) came fully and functionally perfect out of the box on first release. But that just ain't the nature of the beast.

[AlbinoBambi]

Yeah I know.. I plan on getting them, eventually. But I have the most critical fixes that are made by the community already, so for now I'm fine.

Ok so, I indeed couldn't change the shadows until I went into a household. Still can't adjust refresh rate, but I don't care about that anyways. So, feel free to close this thread and thanks for all the help and advice.

[Tenshii~Akari]

You're welcome!  Locking thread for ya.