Well, Clean Installer will sort items by the date you put them into the Downloads folder. That may help you track the culprit(s) down more efficiently.

BTW, .rar and .zip files serve no function in the Downloads folder other than taking up space. Either delete them or move them to storage elsewhere. Ditto for most .jpg and any .txt files in the Downloads folder - those generally just take up dead space as far as the game loading is concerned.

What is INSIDE the .rar or .zip folders - the .package files and sometimes some other items that you get after unzipping or un-raring the compressed files - are what should be in the Downloads folder.

And if any of the stuff you recently downloaded includes Collection files, those go in the Collections folder (along with the accompanying collection .jpg or .png file, if there is one), not the Downloads folder. Having those in Downloads can crash the game as you described.

Well, there's this:

http://www.drivercleaner.net/

But it is not free.

It's a little cumbersome, but you can do it yourself.

First, turn off your anti-virus program.

Then follow the steps here:

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nvidia.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=10&p_created=1096404673&p_sid=z4jrb7dj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MzE0LDMxNCZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD11bmluc3RhbGw*&p_li=&p_topview=1

After the Restart (yoiur deskptop screen may not look normal with the old driver uninstalled), you can install the new driver (again, turn off your anti-virus programs before doing so). If you get an alert box about Windows not liking the driver upon installation - for whatever reason - ignore it and proceed.

Wouldn't expect that because you have already gone back and forth with the drivers once that the above will cause any problems but if it does, give a shout.

Must have been having an extended senior moment.

Just fired up my game for the first time in about three weeks and realized that the instructions I'd offered regarding Shadows are not in the in-game options, but rather something I'd added to the userstartup.cheat file.

Besides the boolprop useShaders false in that file as recommended, add an additional line to the userstartup.cheat file:

boolprop objectShadows false

THAT is what fixed the black/gray flashing which I was experiencing, the same symptom as you reported.

Profuse apologies for not remembering precisely where that fix was. That is the boolprop cheat which removes the shadows on objects outside the house.

Also checked my in-game settings and realized the Graphic Effects is also set to Medium.

Note the words "seems to"- there isn't a driver which solves it, period. Any newer driver will also incorporate improvements or additions from earlier versions, so the latest one is the way to go.

Sorry to hear the newest one didn't work out for you -- did you completely uninstall the old one first? And also, did you turn off running processes such as anti-virus before uninstalling the old and installing the new one?

Try installing the new one while in Safe Mode as opposed to regular start-up (keep tapping the F8 key during start-up or else choose Safe Mode from the options screen - don't be shocked stat-up takes longer than usual and also if your screen looks odd while in Safe Mode, that is normal and expected), then Restart back to a normal start-up and see if that helps.

One other thing comes to  mind and that is if you have Gunmod's Radiance Lighting mod or the Scriptorium or any other lighting mods, remove them and check the gameplay then.

Fine and dandy if one's computer can handle it. Way beyond mine's specs. Highest level it can carry is a 256 card into an AGP 8x slot. The 6200 is actually an upgrade from the factory chipset which I installed about 6 months ago, and for 99% of uses it operates like a dream - the only discrepancy is with Sims2 (in fact, was aware of the potential prob before purchasing it), and I can readily live with that.

You can safely bump up what is now set to Low to Medium. Did neglect to mention that there is also a setting with a vertical slider control as well. Keep that one all the way up at the top (or else very, very near to the top). See if that alleviates the flashing you're experiencing. If not, look for the 'Outside Shadows' setting (I think that's what it is called - don't have the game running here at the moment - it isn't he one labeled 'Sim Shadows' it is whichever other setting has the word Shadows in it - it may be in game options rather than graphic options - I simply don't recall without looking at the game in action) and set that to Off. That will almost surely fix the dark flashing right up.

My settings: Texture at Medium, everything else at High, vertical slider all the way at the top, whatver theat other Shadows setting is called set to Off, everything else with an On/Off setting set to default, Lot Fade set to the middle setting.

Sorry if I seem unclear about what each setting is actually named, but my  memory isn't what it used to be.

I'd say keep it at 1024x768 and 32-bit, and keep the vid card settings as they are, that is to say at default. Changing any of those parameters will have no discernible affect one way or another insofar as the blue screen goes. That glitch is just an unofrtunate factor of Sims2 and many nVidia cards not playing well together (both EA/Maxis and nVidia have acknowledged the existence of the conflct, but neither has actually ever offered anything which fully resolves it). The only settings I'd recommend fiddling with are the in-game options - not the resolution but rather experimenting with setting some of the options that are set at High to Medium. Again, bumping down the Texture option a notch has helped out a little on my system.

As mentioned before, there are some things you can do to help get more game play in before the blue screen shows up, but there is nothing whatsoever that will stop it from happening now and again regardless.

Admittedly the blue screen (especially when it doesn't eventually pop back to the game but rather just crashes) is an annoyance, but one many nVidia card users just have to become resigned to. Sometimes I get no more than 10 or 15 minutes of game play in; sometimes it runs smoothly for hours and hours, but happen it eventually does.

The only other advice I can readily offer is to shut down your anti-virus program before playing -- especially if you are using Norton, as Norton anti-virus has been demonstrated to accelerate the occurrence of the blue screen. (I use AVG free version slightly modified with a custom install for anti-virus and whether on or off, it doesn't seem to matter insofar as the blue screen goes.)

If it'll help, here's a link to a Google search on the situation -- likely, you'll get the same recommendations already outlined here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sims2+nvidia+%22blue+screen%22&btnG=Google+Search

For whatever consolation it may be, you're not alone:

http://sumomo.modthesims2.com/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:nVidia_Blue_Screen_Issue/Cards

Ah, the dreaded nVidia Blue Screen.

First the bad news: There is nothing yet available that will end or fix the problem altogether.

However, there are some steps you can take that will help prolong game play until the prob shows up.

I use the same card (GeForce 6200), and the steps outlined below have helped somewhat, especially in having the first instance of the blue screen be able to eventually reset itself and get back to the game long enough to Save and Quit.

First, get the latest driver for the card, uninstall the old driver and install the newest one. If you have WinXP, that is this one:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_175.19_whql.html

If not WinXP, go here:

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

and look under your operating system for the latest drivers.

Periodically check in at nVidia to see if there are even newer drivers available.

Also follow the instructions in Solution A --Make It Permanent, here:

http://www.modthesims2.com/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:nVidia_Blue_Screen_Issue

Also, in the graphic options, set some of the items from High to Medium. I've found that setting Textures to Medium does help a bit, but your mileage may vary dependent on your computer, your EPs and the sheer amount of stuff to be displayed in any house or lot. Turning off outside shadows has also helped, but even so the blue screen eventually occurs.

Last but not least, clean dust from your computer, both on the outside of the vents and inside the case. Heat build-up on the card as it is stressed by game play can trigger the blue screen as well.

I do not have Vista but if you do, setting the game's compatibility to XP should help a bit, too.

As well, in case you, for instance, have any Windows downloads pending, anti-virus updates to install, or anything else that will trigger a nag balloon in an icon in the system tray or a nag screen alert, take care of that before playing. Those ragga-fragga balloons alone can trigger the blue screen.

EDIT: Oh, two more things.

1) Try to remember to Save the game just after 6 p.m. in Sims time, as that is when scads of things are reset or updated by the game itself.

2) If a character has an age transition coming up shortly, Save, Quit and then after your hard drive has stopped doing its thing, start anew, as the age transitions do seem to stress the card as well.

If it'll help, Numenor's window wall set includes curved sections, both curved wall pieces and curved door pieces:

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=70222

There are also quite a few recolors for that set out there.

Glad to hear it worked out for you.

There are some OMSPs (slots) which, for whatever reason, either don't turn invisible in the recolor option or else revert back to non-invisible when the lot is revisited.

Don't offhand recall which OMSP designer is which, but have generally found that if the slots are green, they 'hold' the invisibility better than do the brown ones.

In some cases, I think, the problem lies with the slot itself. In other cases, it may be a small conflict with some other item affecting surfaces, such as a (pure guesswork here) 'make non-deco items into deco items' hack or perhaps with a 'make any surface a buffet' slot.Noticed that in my game, the in visibility got glitchy after using a 'make corner countertop into usable space' slot hack.

Personally, I use both types of OMSPs and the tiny visible footprint of the non-invisible ones doesn't particularly bother me, but of course your mileage may vary.

Mostly because of your asking about the underscore in moveobjects cheat.

Type:

help -all

into the cheat box to get a list of the majority of the cheats as offered/punctuated per EA/Maxis.

Beieve they actually may list the snapObjectsToGrid cheat as boolProp rather than boolprop, but outside of the userstartup.cheat (that is, in-game) using boolprop instead doesn't seem to make any difference.

Beg to differ, as I always - always - get an error flag in the cheat box, and the particluar cheat is not active,  if the proper caps aren't used.

And do patch them in the order of their release (Base game, EP1, EP2, etc.)

Sometimes, patching a later EP before patching an earlier EP can cause probs with doing the latter.

Make sure you are typing it EXACTLY like this, with the capital letters:

boolprop snapObjectsToGrid false

boolprop snapObjectsToGrid true

If these:

moveobjects on

moveobjects off

aren't working, try these:

moveObjects on

moveObjects off

There are also some custom objects out there which don't sit  on any surfaces (or if they are moved to a surface, are not usable), but are made to be placed only on floors or terrain, no matter what.