I recently got windows 8 on my computer. I"ve never had a problem before with running sims 2 with windows 7. Now the game is just a black screen with the sims pointer. EXCEPT when I go to my desktop screen and cick on the icon it shows the neighborhood screeen in the window. Go back to the gam and its the black screen again. Someone please help.

I have Windows 8 and it runs perfectly on mine. I dunno what they're talking about.

Windows 8 seems a mixed bag for Sims 2 and me. Can run basegame, Uni, and Nightlife. Can't run things with the launcher. Haven't tried Seasons yet (though I'm optimistic, as it's as old as my Uni and Nightlife CDs.)

Still trying to decide if I want to play with just those three packs. (If I can't get Seasons to load, I won't, that much I know.)

Sorry if someone's already replied to this; I haven't gone past page 8.
Anyway, SimPE works just fine for me, as far as I've noticed (I could export Sims I had copied over from my old computer). Now if only the game itself would cooperate. Really wishing I had looked into this little issue before spending $400 on the dumb thing.

I'm sticking with Windows 7 until Windows 9/10 comes out, so just another reason to stay with 7.

But judging on Microsoft's track record things are just going to get worse.

I used to have an XP Machine but when it died I had no choice but to upgrade to Windows 7 as my computer is a 64bit based system. And in this hell hole of a country I live in the mindset of consumers & retailers is "out with the old and in with the new" which translates to "if your tech stuff is old stuff it no longer will be supported". And truth be told, you can no longer find "legit" copies of Windows XP on sale at major computer stores. The only other way you could get a hold of a copy of XP is buying it from "the black Market" (vendors who sell illegal/pirated copies).

This also holds true for videogames, I own a still functioning Super NES Console and I only need a replacement A/V Cable for me still use it. But because of the mindset of people here I usually end up with blank stares from people & some even go as far as to tell me to throw the thing in the garbage and just get a Wii & play SNES games on the Virtual Crapsole :P

When I first tried to install I couldn't get it to work, stuck on 600x800 etc. but when I tried again it somehow worked perfectly. CC and SimPE too. I guess I'm very lucky! Playing around with graphics rules helped resolution and smooth edges problems.

Same, it works better than on Windows 7.

I just found out today that Worms Armageddon is also on the list of games that are not compatible on Windows 8 . Looks like I'm not getting Windows 8 after hearing about some older games that aren't compatible.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wind...e&tempOsid=win8

Honestly, I find this whole situation a bit weird.

For starters, I own all the generations of the Sims (1, 2, 3), and only 1 works without any malfunctions or crashes. I also have an intel Core-i7 processor, with Windows 8, 8 GB RAM, 1TB Hard Drive, and touch screen.
For the Sims 1, I only own the Sims Deluxe (I had other expansions, but when I moved a year ago, they all went missing), and the game runs smoothly, unless you exit out and come back in. The only problem with that is pop ups (buy/build mode descriptions, phone pop-ups, etc.) don't show up, unless you click on where they are. I'm fine with that.
The Sims 2 doesn't work almost entirely. The trailer, loading screen (although it is a bit slow), neighborhood selection, and neighborhood map will show up, but when I try to enter CAS or an already moved-in family, the whole game just crashes. That's really annoying. For the Sims 2, I have all of the expansions except for Free Time, and the only stuff pack I have is Teen Style Stuff.
Everything in The Sims 3 works fine, except for the map view. When I go into Map View, everything glitches out, but the game doesn't crash. That's the only problem though. My expansions are World Adventures, Late Night, Pets, and my only stuff pack is High Loft Stuff.

This really pisses me off that everything except for The Sims 2 works fine. It's my favorite generation of Sims, the one I grew up with, and the one I enjoy playing the most. I'm really pissed off.

Game Help:Bypassing Launcher.

You must have only the base game then.

I'm only missing three expansions and it works fine for me on 8. Also, look at the Life's profile. Life's got all of the EPs.

The reason I said that is because I ran a test because I wanted to see if the game would run smoothly without any of the expansions installed. I've done that and it works fine.

I have expansion packs (e.g., "Fun with Pets" etc.). This method won't work with those.

I just recently upgraded to Windows 7 from XP myself after I finally decided I needed a whole new computer for the first time in years and years. Was already thinking I was probably going to skip Windows 8 because of the stuff I heard about it, this is just one more reason.

Why can't you bypass the launcher if you have collection packs? Or, do you mean that you can't bypass the launcher if you have the Store Edition installed?

You can't bypass the launcher with a collection pack. I tried repeatedly when I was on Windows XP, to not see that freaking launcher for "Fun with Pets."

You can bypass the launcher with "Fun With Pets". It's how I play the game. You have to point the shortcut at the M&G expansion pack. Target: "[Where you installed the game]\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Fun with Pets Collection\SP9\TSBin\Sims2EP9.exe".

I have never been able to get that workaround to work.

Anyway, I think I'm just too frustrated at the very thought of another installation battle with Sims 2 to even try it right now. (Also I definitely have an integrated HD graphics card - finally figured out where to look to find that info.)

So right now I'm dealing in family management with my inbred, kin-slaying, but brave and humble relatives, as a medieval ruler in Crusader Kings 2.

That implies that your computer is underpowered and you should really reconsider playing with the later EPs, including the Store Edition:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...nboard_Graphics

Yeah, at this point I've given up. I just don't feel up to another round of "Dance of the Disks."

Alright, I've noticed something.

On my computer, the Sims 2 (just base game) works fine. I installed The Sims 2 University to see if it would still work well, and sure enough, the game crashes again when I get to Create-A-Sim.

Any thoughts or ideas?

My first thought is: your computer is probably underpowered. Why not check out the system requirements in the wiki and see whether your computer is up to playing University?

I was absolutely dreading having to upgrade to Windows 8 when my old computer died because of all the horror stories I've read about getting the Sims 2 to work on it. Therefore, I almost crapped myself in shock when I ACTUALLY GOT IT TO WORK. Base Game installed fine, I had a problem with it crashing in CAS, but then I ran the program as an admin, in addition to it being in Compatibility Mode with XP SP 2, and I've had no problems. I ran into the same problem as most when I installed University, where the installation would fail at 99% after the prompt for the game to update itself. I did some research, and the way I found around it was to copy the files "TSBin" and "TSData" from the Sims 2 Folder under Program Files from my old hard drive which was running Vista. AND IT WORKED. The installation said "The game is already up to date", and now it's all smooth sailing. If you have an old working copy of the sims on a different computer, copy these files and paste them into your new Sims 2 Folder in Program Files (x86) or whatever its called in Windows 8.

The main reason I'm posting is because I am having trouble patching the Sims 2 on Windows 8. I burnt all the patches to a disc from the old Sims 2 Website, and when I try to run them, the installation crashes. Which, got me thinking. If could update the base game by copy and pasting the old "TSBin" and "TSData" folders from my old hard drive, would it work if I copied and pasted those respective folders from each EP installed on my old hard drive? Would that, in essence, patch the games? I wish I knew more about this.