FOR WINDOWS ONLY STEP BY STEP

WINDOWS 7 and VISTA also a brief for xp

To make your computer search for files faster make sure that windows search service is turned on it is worth it trust me. if not, check, go to left hand corner button next, type in services press yes
click local

scroll down and look for windows search if it does not say started under status right click it and go to properties, press start button next turn it into automatic make sure your on the first tab just in case your clicked a different tab.

restart your computer

to make a library

once windows is loaded go to C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES windows 7 or vista and right click on EA GAMES folder and click include in library and click new library

it helps to check your hard drive or hard drive's for errors go to start- computer- right click on C:\ click properties,

tools THEN error checking NEXT restart your computer and let it reboot and scan your computer for errors this will- fix windows errors caused by viruses and such but will not take care of or remove viruses to remove a virus or to check for viruses I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials it picks up the same viruses as Avast

1: turn on windows indexing
2: make the EA Games folder inside program files a library
3: check for viruses
4: check for windows errors
5: defrag hard drive sims is located on
6: cut down on processes in task manager
7: close other programs like Skype, yahoo messenger, and toolbars. itunes

(if really slow gameplay)
1: change sims 2 into lower graphic setting and change option to not display neighborhood. in lot
2: upgrade RAM
3: get faster DVD-ROM
4: upgrade faster RPM hard drive
5: upgrade computer processer
6: upgrade mother board or buy a better or newer computer
7: turn sound quality down in game.


also a better way to end processes is to go to start and type in msconfig press yes
go to process click the hide Microsoft services and remove and disable any messenger programs and any programs you don't think you need (ONLY for advance users)

restart and done and cut down on startup items if nessesary
also restarting the computer before playing the sims 2 is a big help too




(note) at first sims may run slower but once the computer get used to everything it will be like lightning at least this is my experience after doing this and my game is faster than I can blink

What's the purpose of adding the install directory to a library?

You're quite right that having a good antivirus installed and running is important. I'd recommend Avast! - it's free, very effective, and much less resource hoggy than Norton (Norton is, in fact, a complete joke). Other good free options are Avira and AVG.

Upgrading your CD or DVD drive won't make any difference: the game doesn't load anything from the DVD, it just checks it quickly to make sure it's real (not pirated), which takes less than a second.

For me the best one is Avast (great and the smallest foot print) with both SuperantiSpyware and Malwarebytes all free.

yes I have used Avast before! it is free, and has more features than MSE. Both are free. I have heard a lot of negative things about Microsoft security essentials but I still use it. It may not find small malware like malware bytes does.

I was going to keep MWB but found out I need to pay for real time protection! and I just recently downloaded it from the actual website!. I am well aware that MSE does not pick up as much but I still like Microsoft Security Essentials because it does not take up as much ram as MWB or Avast.

avast when I was running a server it did not stop the intruder I also use Ccleaner and windows tweaker to optimize my cpu Ccleaner is a free registry cleaner and extra file remover I would recommend it after uninstalling games or deleting files it cleans out the roots so you (can) do a clean install if something happened deep to the sims 2 or 3 or 1 just reinstalling corrupted games is not going to fix the problem without a registry cleaner the sims 2 for example won't install sometimes if previous registry file are present

your correct admin!

I was thinking about the sims 1 and how the cd-rom needed to keep spinning when I used to play that game now to come to think of it the cd rom always ran but not for the sims 2 or 3 however I think the music in the sims 1 needed the disk not sure keep me posted ok!

I don't know about anyone else but what I did to my computer lets my sims 2 load in less then 7 seconds to load on all screens even the community lots.

if only someone just read this post and maybe they can make their game faster I also got the sims 2 working better on windows xp on a 512mb ram pentium 4 processor so I know a lot about computers I want people from the CC thread to read this really bad because this could help them a lot this thread is a waste for it to not be idolized
also read

modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=523355&c=1&ht=&page=1&pp=25#startcomment

I have 2.71 gigs of custom content
windows 7 64-bit

4 gigs of processor ram
2 gigs of video memory
6 gigs of system catche
only a core 2 duel processor


in windows xp all you need is a registry cleaner i don't think you can index the files in windows xp also in all windows ops you can create a new user to make the game run faster also