Sims 2 Slow load times

[lincer556]

Hello everyone:
I've bought a new computer in the last 2 months:
AMD x2 Dual Core Atlhon 64 5000+ Black Edition
With 2 gb of Ram
SATA Disk of 160gb
and Geforce 8600GT

I've noted after installing all the expansion packs, not accessories, that the load times on the game are Really Slow comparing my old Pentium 4 of 2.56mhz (installed to Ep4 Pets), i refered on the Dual-Core issue thread getting the sims 2 a limit of 1 core usage, but i've noted a lot of lag on the menus using 1 core, and in 2 cores (5ghz of speed) the game takes a lot of time to load...

The Bodyshop also takes A-LOTOFTIME to start and A-LOTOFTIME to close.
The custom content is not the problem also: because is the same files that i've used in the Pentium 4...

Also when i switch to 3x time speed and i come back to 1x Normal Speed the game starts to lag a lot... (This happens sometimes)

Another thing, i've patched everything, installed all the expansions on the correct order but all the installations without playing the game first.

So what's the deal... Can anybody help with this??
Or reffer me to another post to help me with this?

Thanks to all

[callistra]

Yeah, as the dual core guide said, you may actually get worse performance from switching to one core.

Load times aren't to do with the CPU anyway.

How long does it take to load exactly? Have you tried renaming or removing your EA Games folder in My Docs and letting it generate a fresh folder?

Long load times aren't likely an actual problem. The more expansions you add the longer the load time. Adding a lot of custom content can also REALLY slow down load time.

[lincer556]

I will try, but i think that's not the problem.
If it works, there's a way to recover the neiborhood with the families without getting the problem again??

I will try and post again

EDIT: Now the game works more faster on the load screens, now im gonna try if slows down with custom content
If not, i will try to back up the families and the homes...
I will need help on this step..

[Delphy]

Just to correct you a little - 2 cores doesn't mean "5ghz". It's just able to do more things at once and not neccesarily faster - depending on the application of course.

Also, we already have an FAQ on backup up things :)

[HystericalParoxysm]

Families/neighborhoods are all contained in My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods - copy that folder to back that stuff up, and restore it if you want to restore your backup.

Generally, with clean user files, no custom content, and all EPs - and a decent system - the game loads in under 2 minutes to the neighborhood chooser, and then maybe another 30 seconds to a minute or so to get into a neighborhood and then Create a Sim or a lot/house. With custom content, load times for all of it will increase, roughly proportionally to sheer volume of custom content. While EPs do increase load times vs. the base game, the difference is not terribly much compared to even a moderate amount (~ 1 gig) of custom content.

Other things that can help include defragging and shutting down unnecessary applications and processes running in the background.