Sims 2 keeps freezing
 

Since the day before yesterday when I tried to make a family it's been freezing, and I just don't know why. Before you ask yes I did try the guide for technical help on the Sims wiki and it made sense what to do, but I didn't feel comfortable doing the backup part and renaming the Sims 2 folder, and hopefully I won't have to do it. I'll post in all detail I can about my problems along with bullet points for what I did.

Like I said above since the day before yesterday my Sims 2 has been freezing, like it first started in the CAS, but more so when I tried to make a second or third person, or even combining two married couples DNA to make a child. Now I tested this without putting any custom content on a sim and I just randomized and I believe I chose different hair, and it was fine. But when I used like makeup, clothing, and hair it would freeze. I only was lucky ONE time where I could get it back when clicking "Wait for application to respond." and the rest it didn't go so well. It then happened when I tried loading lots and such, I tried loading my custom made sims home and one or two times it worked, and also a default sims family and that went dandy too. Other times it just wants to be a dried up prune and stop!

I admit it could be my Local C drive because its red and nearly full. I tried clearing it up with programs like CCleaner, Disk cleanup, Programs (that comes with your computer in control panel), and Defragger. (Or whatever the bloody hell its called). Nothing seemed to clear the redness up! And the game had been working smooth till now. I'll put some things I tried

*Removed download folder, tried running game with no CC, and than put it back.
-Result: Still kept freezing

*Cleaned up downloads I didn't need and any bad files I saw.
-Result: Still kept on freezing

*Ran in full screen mode
-Result: Still kept freezing

*Tried clearing up my Local C drive for anything I didn't need or didn't want.
Result: The bar where it shows if its full or not is red and nearly full.

I just don't know what to do guys! I mean.. I don't want to uninstall if I don't have to. And I don't want to try the back up method if I don't have to without uninstalling if I also don't have to.. any suggestions or even help?

Well since I did that I will post my system specs below!~:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 6/25/2012, 18:42:22
Machine name: ADMIN-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.120402-0336)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebook PC
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5450 @ 1.66GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.7GHz
Memory: 2038MB RAM
Page File: 2045MB used, 2267MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

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DxDiag Notes
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Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Sound Tab 3: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

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DirectX Debug Levels
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Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

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Display Devices
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Card name: Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family

Your computer probably isn't up to playing the game. This might help to understand the problem:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...nboard_Graphics

Thanks for the advice! I installed what I needed, or what I think I need from my laptop makers site, that was a little bit ago, not like a few years ago. And I don't have lots of CC on my game either. Hopefully I get other suggestions to

If you are playing Apartment Life on that computer, you could be doing serious damage.

You can run the game with no CC at all and all graphics options on low, and STILL not get good performance out of that graphics chip.

In other words, there's no magic bullet that's going to fix this for you. Plain and simple, the computer you're using is not suitable for Sims 2, except perhaps something from the Stories line (Life Stories, Pet Stories, Castaway Stories) which was created specifically to be more laptop-friendly.

Forcing this issue could cost you your computer.

@Mootlida - Oh wow I didn't realize..

@Darby - Oh that's interesting to know. Yea, I shouldn't force it on my computer, I mean it's refurbished so in a way its not COMPLETELY new but still.

Thanks for the answers so far!

You may also want to read this: http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...r_is_Like_a_Car

How new a computer is doesn't matter. What matters is how powerful it is. In the same vein as the link above, an older truck is better at hauling heavy loads than a brand new convertible.

Wow that was real helpful! Thanks!

As Mordant says, "new" means nothing. AND, that chipset has been around at least five years, so even if "new" DID mean something, it wouldn't apply to what you've got, I'm afraid.

I know this sort of thing is hard to hear. Upside is that if you're willing to do some research on what sort of specs you need to run the game well, you end up learning a useful bit about computers in general. I'm very far from being an expert, but I know my way around a computer perhaps a little better than the average user, just from what I've picked up while troubleshooting my game.

The clue is always Intel graphics card or chip. I always run my eye down to that. Even without looking at the other specs that says it's only good for light games, email and web surfing. If someone is trying to sell you a lap top that 'will suit all your needs' and they say yes it has an intel card/chip then run far far away. New does not = good and intel graphics are rubbish.

@ Darby - Ah I see.. and its not hard to hear because Sims 3 won't run either on my laptop since its such a big game and all.

@ joandsarah77 - Ah I see.. good information!

You might want to put a copy of your favorite neighborhood(s) onto a thumb drive anyway. Backups are always handy, and if your computer dies and you have to install the Sims on a new one, it's nice to have your old game waiting for you on the thumb drive.

I was going to do something like that but more so transferring saved files onto my sims 2 game on my other computer. I'm surprised it still runs it even WITH how old it is.

Yea I was going to do that! Since I have to SD slot to transfer it onto there. (My laptop was refurbished and my internet didn't work, so my cousin had to remove the SD piece to fix something within it so I can't fit my SD in there no more unless I like force it in which didn't do damage last time, but the other way I heard was to email the files to yourself. By the way, is there a saved file for your custom neighborhood? I don't want to loose it if I don't have to..

The default number continues on from N003, so unless you did something particular, there'll be an N004 folder which will be the first neighborhood you make, N005 which will be your second, etc.. You can just copy that whole folder - it contains Lot, Character, and Storytelling folders as well as everything needed for subhoods, secret lots, etc. It's a good idea to do that regularly, so that if something goes wrong you have a good copy to restore from.

Thanks for letting me know. I thought I was doomed. Hopefully its easy to find for me and easy to transfer.