I need to know if this will work (problem inside)

[Shaddeh]

First of all, I am a complete moron, who installed an expansion pack without backing up her saved-game files. It overwrote my files, so now I cannot uninstall the expansion without taking the saved game files with me.

This is depressing. It's been three months, and I want to play my damn game.

So, I had an idea.

What would happen if I took the saved game files, backed up everything onto a disc, uninstalled the expansion so I could play, then later when I could get the expansion to work, dump the files back into the game? Is this impossible, or could it work?

[caffeinated.joy]

First of, what problem are you having that you want to uninstall your EP? If it's just because you don't like it and want to remove it from your game, then you're stuck with losing everything if you have no back up of your game pre EP. You can't restore your pre EP game by using a current EP backup, if that makes sense.

So you either have to live with the EP you hate, or chalk this up to a learning experience and lose your game when you uninstall.

[ancienthighway]

What would happen if I took the saved game files, backed up everything onto a disc, uninstalled the expansion so I could play, then later when I could get the expansion to work, dump the files back into the game? Is this impossible, or could it work?

Yes, you can backup your TS2 folder and set it off to a safe place, then reinstall it once the EP is working for you.

[Shaddeh]

First of, what problem are you having that you want to uninstall your EP? If it's just because you don't like it and want to remove it from your game, then you're stuck with losing everything if you have no back up of your game pre EP. You can't restore your pre EP game by using a current EP backup, if that makes sense.

So you either have to live with the EP you hate, or chalk this up to a learning experience and lose your game when you uninstall.

I bought a used copy of Nightlife, so for some reason, it didn't have the system specs on the box (because EA is a user-friendly company like that). It doesn't support my ATI Raedeon 7200 video card, and thus, the game undergoes a graphics meltdown whenever I go to Downtown. AKA, it crashes so I can't play.

@ancienthighway: That's what I wanted to know. I backed up my downloads + Neighborhood folder to a DVD.

I know I won't be able to use the save files right now, though. I wanted to fix it so my sister could play the base game at least.

[caffeinated.joy]

OK..got it. I read your question wrong, my bad.

[Shaddeh]

It's okay.

I'm going to work more on this tomorrow, so I'll post an update on this, just in case something else goes wrong.

[Trepie22]

Have you tried getting the patch from the ea website? Sometimes they fix incompatibilities with graphics cards^^

[Shaddeh]

I haven't, because it says in the system requirements on the website that they only support ATI Raedeon 8x00 series and up, while mine is an ATI Raedon 7200. Mine's just old, and I would've known this if they had put the sys. reqs. on the frickin' box. -___- They aren't even in the manuel.

So, that's why I'm going to uninstall it today, and see if the base game will work.

[DarkAmaranth]

Supposedly, my older NVIDA card is not supported either but, fully patched and by disabling all unneeded processes in the task manager, going offline and, disabling my anti virus; I can play ALL EP and SP fine on this:

System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 8/18/2008, 11:34:09
       Machine name: MINE
   Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp.080413-2111)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061
       System Model: PP150AA-ABA SR1303WM NA510
               BIOS: Rev. 3.11
          Processor: AMD Sempron(tm)   3000+,  MMX,  3DNow, ~2.0GHz
             Memory: 704MB RAM
          Page File: 361MB used, 592MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode


Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
     Manufacturer: NVIDIA
        Chip type: GeForce FX 5500
         DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0326&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_A1
   Display Memory: 256.0 MB
     Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (75Hz)
          Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor

Okay, I know that's supposed to be a borderline machine at best for TS2 and all SP/EP but, I also run tons of cc, inteen, insim and lots of stuff and it doesn't crash or lag except when loading or unloading a car and it's river from the lot, then it lags for about 2-3 seconds is all.

[caffeinated.joy]

I had the same problem with NL and patching didn't make my old ATI card suddenly work. I had to get a new card.

[Shaddeh]

Your computer is better than mine, though. My computer lags a bit even with a CC-free base game (because I kick up the graphical settings so it doesn't look like crap). I have a 1.1GHz processor, 512meg of ram, and an ATI Raedeon 7200, and I run Windows XP Pro.

My comp is a dinosaur.