BTW, you almost HAVE to become a bit computer savvy to play this game and have it work right, especially if you use a lot of custom content and any hacks. So, get to know your computer.

It could be that your computer doesn't have the proper combination of things that work for this game. Check to see if there are incompatibilities using the references in the readme files that come with the game. You can look in 'my computer/device manager' to find this information.

Check to see if you have the updated drivers for your graphics card and that your operating system is up to date on patches, updates, etc. Do a cleanup on your hard drive. Run a disk scan and defrag if you haven't done that for a while.

If all those things check out ok, then you can panic. Mainly, this is a process of elimination to find what's bugging your computer. Have patience and go through the observation, compatibility, and maintenance steps. If none of this works, let us know.

When you find all of this information and if you do all those things and it still doesn't work, post your computer specs here. List your operating system, graphics card, RAM, CPU, and everything else you can think of that makes your computer go. There are many capable people here who can help sort it out.

Check this out. Paste the site address (below) into your browser and when you get to teh download page look over on the left side. You will see several selections there. Click on Manual. I tells you how the Clean Installer works. There is other information there as well. Happy hunting!

http://sims2pack.modthesims2.com/index.php?page=3

After wrestling again and again with new computer issues, here's this: I went out and bought a *new* copy of Sims 2 Deluxe. I know, I know, I just gave EA/Maxis more of my hard-earned money, BUT! Being completely fed-up with installing, uninstalling, hide-and-seek, I just gave up.

They must have fixed a lot of things since I first got the game. One, it works with Vista. Two, it seems to update everything else that you load after it. I have loaded all the EPs up to and including Seasons, all the stuff Packs except Family Fun Stuff and Celebration Stuff, and it works fine (crosses fingers, knocks on wood), even with Vista. When I checked the Exchange for patches, it informed me that each EP was up to date, a first.

Last night I loaded most of my cc and didn't notice any new issues. I've got the CEP, Q-installer, and will get Clean Installer today to sort it all out.

I'm going to give my first copy of Deluxe to a friend who has a bit older computer and is running XP. It should work fine for her as it di on my old computer.

Good luck. I hope you find this useful.

After wrangling with Seasons/Pets, a tech went in remotely and found some stuff that had been hidden by Vista. I say hidden, but in reality, I'm just not used to the way Vista stores things as opposed to XP, which is pretty straightforward. There were little snips and snaps of Sims items hanging around.

That said, if your game is settling down, go with you instincts until it begins to bother you. Knowing how the game should run (as experienced on my old XP computer), and trying to tolerate the craziness on my new Vista computer is too much for me, especially having paid so much for it.

Now it's their turn; a tech is coming to fix it, and I will not let him/her leave until all my programs, including my game, work properly. I hope you have good luck getting it to work. Pulls hair and screams...

I just got one of those fancy badass computers from Gateway. I had a bunch of problems, too, only I attributed them to Vista, so I'm a bit surprised that XP is weird, too. As it turns out, I uninstalled the game and all of the EPs and stuff packs, and searched around in the depths of the computer for any fragments of Sims 2, deleted all of it, re-installed everything, ending with Seasons, and Voila! She works. Not just works, but works beautifully. Yes, it will take a lot of time, but you probably don't have to do a system restore just yet.

Have you updated your drivers? They aren't necessarily the most recent ones out of the box, even if it's a specially built computer. Go to the Nvidia site -http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and check for updates. Go to Microsoft for theirs, too. Sometimes this alone will resolve an issue.

I'm beginning to think some of it is just a new computer thing, like having a badly behaved child who has more power and goodies than she knows what to do with, so she resorts to throwing her food and pitching tantrums....I say ask a tech for some help, and beyond that play around with it yourself. Be advised that you will be blessed if you find a tech that knows this game. I did, after several who didn't, and she made all the difference in locating the problem.  

I can't begin to explain what I ended up doing that resulted in success, but it took hours of poking around, reading forum posts, applying appropriate suggestions, asking for help, and walking away from it when it got too intense.

This site is exceptional for finding detailed and helpful information if you take the time to look. Fixing the issue will take some time, no escaping it. Good luck. ...turns to go and fix my own badass computer problems....

Thanks, adalita, I will keep an eye on it. So far so good, but I have even begun to add content, yet. I think that will be the proving ground. I have the Nvidia Ge force 8600. I went to the Nvidia website and checked drivers. Seems mine is up-to-date. Guess I'll just have to get some play time in and start adding content to see if it all holds up.

Jane Rob- check this out -    http://www.insimenator.org/showthread.php?t=70046. I had a similar problem. You have to get into your hard drive and locate every scrap of Sims2 related items and get them out of there before you can re-install them. This might mean backing up your custom content onto a CD or DVD so you can delete all the file(s) on your hard drinve.

Everything had to be uninstalled. All my custom content had to be removed. Fortunately, I backed it up to a DVD, so I still can selectively add it back in. All my neighborhoods, lots, and Sims that I made are gone. There was something in the cc that just wouldn't let the game run and it kept crashing when I clicked on a lot. There is no reason for it not to work on this computer from a hardware standpoint -the computer has a Core2 quad CPU, Nvidia 8600 graphics card, and 4 GBs of RAM, 500 GB hard drive. It had run fine with all the cc on the older XP computer and a lot less frills, just slower and choppy.

I had some technical help from a very patient tech assitant, and she couldn't figure it out easily either. She did the one thing I hadn't done, which was get rid of the cc. We looked for drivers, patches, updates, and everything else before deleting the cc. Sigh.

I would highly recommend that anyone switching computers or changing their Operating System to Vista be careful with the custom content and get the game itself running before adding cc back in to see how it goes. Put your great creations on a disk; CD or DVD so you'll have it when the  game crashes repeatedly, forcing you to drastic measures. This step will also keep anything related to Sims 2 off your hard drive, avoiding the hunt for it when you get the magic box.   You have to chase it down and make every trace of it go away or a box comes up that says it was not uninstalled, and it won't let you re-install the game. I had some problems completely uninstalling the game, EPs and Stuff Paks. I did 3 system restores to completely get it out of there.

Now for the good news: the game looks wonderful on the new computer. Crisp, sharp, clean, and very detailed and bright. Way better!! There is not one hint of choppiness, and it loads like a breeze, quick.

I am now looking forward to getting Marvine's and Beos' slim bodybuilder, the bodybuilder, the athlete, all the great skins from Louis, Numenor's window-wall, Wirelessguy's clothing for all the above, and that awsome raggedy old Factory from Olemaniker back into my game, among other things.

Sorry for the long post, but others might benefit by knowing what a pain Vista can be. Once the bugs are worked out, I think it's going to be a fine game experience (crosses fingers, holds breath and looks at the heavens).

Just giving a quick rundown of the new computer issue:
Still no luck getting the game to run properly (or even close) using my saved game with CC.  I un-installed all the EPs and SPs successfully until I got to Sims 2 Deluxe, which has Nightlife with it. The computer kept giving a message that it could not uninstall it until all the EPs were uninstalled. Nor would it install when prompted, even though I couldn't find any sign of an EP.  After trying to find a remnant of an EP and failing, I did a system restore back to before I had installed any of the Sims game parts. I have not installed anything back in yet.

Problem: I have lots of wonderful custom content saved on a DVD that I would hate to lose, along with the game I have been playing, however, none of it showed up in the new install. As with many of us, I have become attached to my Sims, most of whom I have created, the wonderful custom content I have found, and the joy and challenge of the game.

Question: In your more experienced opinion, are there any ideas you might have to salvage my game and content, or should I shrug, sigh, and simply start over? I mean, it's just a game, eh? AAAACK!

I'll be away from the computer for a few days, so if anyone wants to mull it over, please do, and I appreciate your thoughts on how to correct this problem. Thanks for thinking about it.

By the way, when the game loads, it starts out with Seasons, which is in the DVD player, then it somehow reverts to Pets during just before asking whether to enable custom content. Should I re-install one or the other?

SNZZZT! Ok, now that I've vented -

I have done the Vista 'easy transfer' thing from my old XP computer, thinking all my game, CC, lots, neighborhoods, etc. would happily show up......well, no, as a matter of fact, nothing does.  Not only does nothing show up, I now have 'ghost' neighborhoods that should have a story from the original CDs, but don't. I also have grid (mesh) repetitions of the same neighborhoods that have nothing in them.

Interestingly, all my cc and game info shows up in the file directory. I am determined to work through this and share whatever I find out about Vista/Sims 2/XP file transfer when I have a few hours to dedicate to it. I'm hoping I don't have to start over, but feeling I might. Sigh. So many hours....so much good content....so many sims lives lost....GRRRR! All those Marvine and Beosboxboy babes and hunks! Drat! ....fans self...whew.

Any thoughts? Or is this just something that we new Vista-ites have to do until all the micro-bug-softs get worked out? Or could it be the dreaded *user Error!!!!*?

Thank you, caffeinated. I updated my drivers. I'll have to go through all my CC to make sure I only keep the best of it for the new box. It's great getting a new computer, but it sure takes a while to upgrade, download patches and fixes, etc. I appreciate your candor about Sims 2 not running as well on Vista, but mine was becoming so choppy on some lots with CC that it was working my nerves at times, and I wouldn't play those lots as a result.

Numenor's window wall is going to be a great test for the new graphics card. Also, with a brighter monitor and better computer, I think I'll start tinkering with creating some content.

Thanks again.

I just got a new computer. The graphics card should do it *NVidia 8600*, and there are over 3 GBs of RAM. Is there anything particular to Vista I need to think about? I have everything up to and including Seasons, even the dreaded Pets, most of the stuff packs, and lots of CC in my old computer's hard drive. I know to back up my game and everything involved w/ Sims2, but was wondering about any quirks peculiar to Vista that might muck up everything.

Any information or experience will be appreciated. Although I'm a hoverer (as distinct from lurker) I look to you for guidance. I like your quality and style.

WhooHaw! Now all we need is a horse.

Or a motorcycle

Or a bicycle

Anyway...love the chaps.