TSAudio error causing crashes

[invisiblgirl]

Intel duocore 1.87 ghz
1 gb ram
graphics (onboard) Intel 82945 G Express Chipset family
Realtek HD audio
Vista OS, all expansion packs + FFS, all patches installed

I've had problems with the game crashing ever since I installed it on my new computer. I've been slowly adding some custom content, but the problem was happening before I added anything - it was a completely clean install, without any of my old Sims or neighborhoods.

The crashes are quite random and not all that frequent (I can play for several hours without one), and they always occur while I'm playing a house (never on start-up, CAS or build/buy). My graphics card is not 'compatible', but I have absolutely no problems with graphics - the problem seems to be audio, and it's the audio errors log that has the errors after the crash. The last two times, I've noticed something similar in the log: errors related to steps. Last time, it was 'foot_step', this time, 'foot_stair':

ERROR TSAudio: Object(N004_User00194 - Melanie) Modifier(destsurface) String does not exist. Event(foot_stair)

There are also numerous references like this:

ERROR TSAudio: Segment at %DataDirectory%Res\Sound\Locale\%Language%\Sfx\Samples\Karaoke\ has no extensions defined in section DBSegmentDirectoryFiles
.\source\TSAudioResourceManager.cpp(944) [I don't have the karaoke machine in any of my houses]

and

ERROR TSAudioMusic : Music category (Buy) listed twice in category property set.
.\source\TSAudioMusicManager.cpp(1651) [The same appears for (Build), (CAS) & (NHood) - and I was in a house when the crash occurred.]

and these errors:

ERROR TSAudio: Failed to cache resource. 0b9eb87e:0da1f2ca:ff99e0de
.\source\TSAudioResourceManager.cpp(1220)
ERROR TSAudio: Failed to get neighborhood occupants.
.\source\TSAudioAmbienceSystem.cpp(822)
ERROR TSAudio: Failed to cache resource. 0b9eb87e:eb8ab356:ff8bceb2
.\source\TSAudioResourceManager.cpp(1220)
ERROR TSAudio: Failed to GetSoundDefinition for sound(0x4a1ae6e2fffaf86c) instance(f513783f)
.\source\TSAudioSoundInstance.cpp(211)

I found a similar problem in the forum archives, but in that case, the problem was related to custom content.

[Canoodle]

http://thesims2.ea.com/help/detail.php?help_id=281 Here are the requirements for playing Sims2 on Vista. Note that the article does not include EP's which require more from your computer than this article suggests.

The sound error logs are common. Anytime I have had a crash, I have had the audio error logs. If most people look in the logs folder, they will find them. You can try to update your sound cards drivers, but I doubt that is causing the problem. Also, make sure you have the latest drivers for your graphics chipset.

I would suggest you try this tutorial to see if it is game files or user files that are causing your problem: http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Game_Problem

If you can't solve it using this article, you will have to start considering that your hardware is causing this to occur. Since the game runs fine when doing things that do not tax your processor/graphics chipset/ RAM and starts to crash when you run houses, which start to give your computer a workout, you might find that you have a hardware problem. It could be faulty RAM, loose connections, overheating, or any other number of hardware related problems. It also could be due to running the expansions on a computer with an unsupported graphics card and ,what I consider, not enough RAM.

I would suggest you run through the article to determine whether or not the problem is caused by game files/user files before delving in any deeper.

Let us know how you get on. :)

[invisiblgirl]

http://thesims2.ea.com/help/detail.php?help_id=281 I would suggest you try this tutorial to see if it is game files or user files that are causing your problem: http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Game_Problem

I would suggest you run through the article to determine whether or not the problem is caused by game files/user files before delving in any deeper.

Let us know how you get on. :)

I didn't try that because I started with absolutely fresh, spanking-clean user files and the game crashed the first time I played. (It's also an impossible problem to re-create - the only way I'll know I've found the problem is if it doesn't crash, but it crashes completely at random - the first time it happened, a Sim was changing clothes to get into bed, and they'd done that before and have done it since without a problem.) I did go on further with the game help wizard, but ran into a stop at 'I suddenly get a blue screen and the timer, and nothing happens!' - the link leads to an edit page.

I forgot to mention that I usually get a repeating sound when the crash occurs. At the EA site, the fix for this is to change your hardware acceleration for your sound card, but that isn't an option in dx 10 - at least not with my card. And I've gone out and picked up all the latest drivers for my hardware.

Is it the cigen.package that can be deleted without any ill effects and that will sometimes fix things? (I'm throwing things into the air - I ran everything but Seasons on my old P2, and it was slow but never crashed.)

[Canoodle]

Yes, you can delete the .cigen package. Also consider deleting the groups.cache. I delete that one as a matter of course at least every few weeks or so.

You may try posting your question at our sister site S2C in the hardware/software forum. They would know more about dx10 cards, or try the manufacturers website.
:)

ETA: all the pages in the wiki article work for me. You can also access them from the menu at the top of the page for the article. Hmmm.

[scampy1]

I am no expert but I remember reading somewhere that sims2 doesn't run well with on board graphics card. On your old pc did it have an onboard graphics card or was it a separate card?

[invisiblgirl]

You may try posting your question at our sister site S2C in the hardware/software forum.

I may try that - the crashes seem to occur most often when I've been playing for several hours, which makes me wonder if there is a memory leak or if something else starts to run in the background. I used to disable my virus scan before playing, but I can't do that anymore, and there just isn't much information yet on all the Vista processes to decide what really needs to run, what can be disabled, and what shouldn't be running at all.

[invisiblgirl]

I am no expert but I remember reading somewhere that sims2 doesn't run well with on board graphics card. On your old pc did it have an onboard graphics card or was it a separate card?

It was a separate card, though it had far less memory and wasn't up to game specs. Overall, I'm thrilled with the improvement in graphics and speed - I used to run in fast mode all the time because medium speed was just too slow. A new card and more memory are definitely on the list, but I can't really justify the expense right now. Fortunately, it's not crashing all that often - I save a lot.

[scampy1]

Maybe your computer is over heating. I'm glad the graphics have improved with the on board graphics card! Does this problem only occur with the sims2 or other games?