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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 2:57 AM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life
Default Screen started flickering /glitching
Hey guys,

I've been having this flickering/glitching problem recently so I wondered if any of you knows how to fix this.

So I've been playing TS2 like a few months now on this laptop and I've never had any problems until today. The game does this annoying flickering from time to time, it kinda breaks the screen sort of speak ( see photo attached )

This lasts like 2 seconds max, but boy it's annoying and distracting!! Anyone else had this problem and can maybe give me some advice on how to fix it?

Thanks in advance
Screenshots
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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#2 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 3:03 AM
Another thing I forgot to mention, I download and use a lot of CC, can that be the reason maybe? Just guessing here.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#3 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 3:15 AM
Do you have the 4 GB patch and the graphic rules done?

Also what are your computer specs? RAM and Graphics card?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#4 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 3:28 AM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Do you have the 4 GB patch and the graphic rules done?

Also what are your computer specs? RAM and Graphics card?



Thanks for the reply Joandsarah77

I'm not sure what you mean with the first question, you mean I should do something? I have changed the graphics rules when I installed the game so it's higher resolution.

This laptop has 8GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 520 graphics processor.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 1:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Matt_Y
I'm not sure what you mean with the first question, you mean I should do something? I have changed the graphics rules when I installed the game so it's higher resolution.

This laptop has 8GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 520 graphics processor.

Sims 2 is an old 32-bit program that can only access 2 GB of memory. If you add a lot of CC into your game, the game will take up more memory and crash more often.

The 4GB patch allows old programs like Sims 2 to access 4 GB of memory and may help reduce crashing. You can get it here. Let us know if you have any questions.
https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371

Some laptops have problems with overheating. The most common symptoms of this include weird graphical glitches and crashing. Cooling pads are supposed to help (I never had much luck with them myself and ended up switching to a tower). You may want to get a utility that shows your system's internal temperature so you know when it's getting too hot. I don't know much about this stuff myself. Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable will be able to suggest some solutions for you.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 1:35 PM
Hey guys, I just found this tutorial and people saying it works!

Although I am not sure in which folders to save these files because I can't find these locations I don't have Origin Games folder ( I assume that's EA Games folder though? ) I also don't have Fun with Pets folder... Can anyone help me?

WHERE TO INSTALL FIXES:
In the Program folders:

\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\Config\
\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSData\Res\CsConfig\
MUST BE INSTALLED IN BOTH FOLDERS

Graphic Rules - INTEL
Video Cards.sgr - INTEL - 0a16

Once you've installed those two cards, you will be able to push your smooth edges up to max, and the flickering will go.

Also make sure you are running the game as admin.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#7 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 1:44 PM
Thank you so much RoxEllen!! I will try this right now and I'll let you know how it goes

Thanks again, much appreciated.

And yeah, I noticed it overheats sometimes, so I guess a cooling pad would probably be a good idea considering the amount of time I spend on TS2 lol



Quote: Originally posted by RoxEllen1965
Sims 2 is an old 32-bit program that can only access 2 GB of memory. If you add a lot of CC into your game, the game will take up more memory and crash more often.

The 4GB patch allows old programs like Sims 2 to access 4 GB of memory and may help reduce crashing. You can get it here. Let us know if you have any questions.
https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371

Some laptops have problems with overheating. The most common symptoms of this include weird graphical glitches and crashing. Cooling pads are supposed to help (I never had much luck with them myself and ended up switching to a tower). You may want to get a utility that shows your system's internal temperature so you know when it's getting too hot. I don't know much about this stuff myself. Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable will be able to suggest some solutions for you.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#8 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 2:06 PM
That tutorial is probably for Win 7 and the UC are you on disks?

I am on Win 7 and my game is installed to Program files (x86) and I am on disks. Your install files are probably on C drive, unless you purposely placed them elsewhere but in that case you would know that. So you need to find where it is installed to.

Don't play Sims 2 on a laptop with a ton of CC and no cooling pad. You can be doing damage to your graphic chip since that is all it is, a tiny chip on the motherboard. If it gets hot enough it can melt and take out your entire laptop.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 6:53 PM
Thanks for the advice, I really haven't thought about the motherboard but that's a good point! I'm buying that cooler first thing tommorow.

btw I have attached a photo of my instalation folder, I have everything on the C drive, however I can't see that particular folder from the tutorial =/

Another question, lets say I don't manage to fix the flickering and I decide to uninstal and instal the Sims 2 again. I have many CC that required to be installed with the Package installer. Will I have to install this CC all over again one by one? Cause honestly I would hate to have to do that again, it's like 70 files or something lol



Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
That tutorial is probably for Win 7 and the UC are you on disks?

I am on Win 7 and my game is installed to Program files (x86) and I am on disks. Your install files are probably on C drive, unless you purposely placed them elsewhere but in that case you would know that. So you need to find where it is installed to.

Don't play Sims 2 on a laptop with a ton of CC and no cooling pad. You can be doing damage to your graphic chip since that is all it is, a tiny chip on the motherboard. If it gets hot enough it can melt and take out your entire laptop.
Screenshots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#10 Old 2nd Jun 2020 at 7:46 PM
Hey again!

I just downloaded the patch, however I have no clue where to save the file or how to use it. Can you please let me know how to use this?

I have attached a screenshot of my instalation folder

Thanks so much!
Mad Poster
#11 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 2:25 AM
Here's a tutorial by Pleasant Sims. She gives the install path for both the Ultimate Collection or for a disk-based game like yours and mine. Post back here if you have trouble understanding something. The patch is really easy to use - just point it at the .exe file you want to patch and click "Open". Pleasant Sims is using Windows 10, but the procedure for Windows 7 (which I have) isn't any different.

Pleasant Sims tutorial
https://pleasantsims.com/sims-2-windows-10/
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 4:30 AM
Thank you for this, tried everything and did everything the tutorial said, no luck :/ the Log still says it's only using 1024MB which is weird I thought it would use 2084 or something.

Anyways I think I'm gonna uninstall and instal the game again at this point. Just a question though if you know ofcourse, will this affect the CC I downloaded and then installed with the package installer?

I think they will stay intact and in the game once installed again right? Because they are already unpacked in the download folder with everything.

Thanks for all your help!
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#13 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 7:48 AM
Try the video in the sticky thread http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=610641

Please don't uninstall and reinstall that will do nothing but remove and put back your files, this flicking is not caused by installation file issues, but by not having enough memory, your chip and how its all working together.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#14 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 1:31 PM
Reinstalling the game will not fix your problem and if you do it often enough, it may mess up your Windows registry.

Here are some more tips you might try. Jessa's video covers a lot of possible fixes and there are more tips in the support thread.
http://modthesims.info/t/610641
Mad Poster
#15 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 3:13 PM
More useful advices here: http://modthesims.info/t/594532
Lab Assistant
#16 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 5:21 PM
I'm having the same problem, glitching. I hope it's okay if I post here as well.

I installed the 4GBpatch, and I moved the exe file to the CSbin, but my memory does not read 4096, but it reads on memory: 3984 MB, and on free memory: 556 MB.
I also tried this: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/di...2-uc-flickering
and this: http://modthesims.info/t/543086
but to no avail.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#17 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 5:44 PM
Guys thank you sooo much for all your help, I finally did it!!!

Annaminna thanks for the tutorial, I actually figured out that the smooth edges on my game were set to low, once I set them higher the flickering disappeared and now I can play the game properly again. SOO HAPPY!

Thank you all for the help, I have attached some screenshots of a build that I'm doing currently, It's Grace and Frankie's house from the show. Hope you'll like it. :D
Screenshots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#18 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 5:49 PM
Hey Candyboot!

You have set your game to highest resolution right? If not this is a tutorial that shows very easily on how to do it easily - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BRX0JlN8lM&t=92s

About the patch, I'm really not sure how I got it to work, I've tried many options, moved the exe into the CS bin etc ( then I figured out I didn't even had to do that ), Are you maybe patching the wrong file? (I did that at first lol ) Can you please send screenshots so I can have a look?

About the glitching I've been struggling and struggling as well, and at the end I figured out that the problem was actually the smooth edges. When you set the game to high res, open the game, under game options, graphic options you will see the Smooth Edges option. Set that to more, the glitching disappears. At leas for me that did the trick.

Let me know if anything though, happy to help if I can.


Quote: Originally posted by candyboot
I'm having the same problem, glitching. I hope it's okay if I post here as well.

I installed the 4GBpatch, and I moved the exe file to the CSbin, but my memory does not read 4096, but it reads on memory: 3984 MB, and on free memory: 556 MB.
I also tried this: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/di...2-uc-flickering
and this: http://modthesims.info/t/543086
but to no avail.
Lab Assistant
#19 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 5:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Matt_Y
Hey Candyboot!

You have set your game to highest resolution right? If not this is a tutorial that shows very easily on how to do it easily - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BRX0JlN8lM&t=92s

About the patch, I think you have to use one based on the graphic card you have and it will work fine. I tried many, moved them to the CS Bin etc, however this one helped and I didn't even had to move the file to the CS Bin -

About the glitching I've been struggling and struggling as well, and at the end I figured out that the problem was actually the smooth edges. When you set the game to high res, open the game, under game options, graphic options you will see the Smooth Edges option. Set that to more, the glitching disappears. At leas for me that did the trick.

Let me know if anything though, happy to help if I can.


Hi

Do I have to have the highest resolution so that the smooth edges will work?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#20 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 6:21 PM
Yes, that is correct. You need to have the highest resolution for that, also your game and neighborhoods will look waaay better.

Please see the screenshot attached, the right side is with the resolution set to max. (Please note that I'm not quite sure if this works for all computers/laptops, I wouldn't want to cause any damage to your graphic card )


Quote: Originally posted by candyboot
Hi

Do I have to have the highest resolution so that the smooth edges will work?
Screenshots
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#21 Old 3rd Jun 2020 at 11:58 PM
To those whose config-log.txt isn't reading Memory:4096MB and Free memory:4096MB do you have enough RAM to use the patch?
It can't give you what your computer doesn't have. If you are on Win 10 your laptop needs at least 2 RAM to work then what is left is for your game, so 6 RAM at minimin but 8RAM is better. If you are under 8RAM it may be best not to use the patch.

If you have a NVIDEA card you can make that do smooth edges but if you are on a chip this may strain it. Especially if you are using high res CC. Sims 2 may be an old game but if you toss tons of high poly high res CC into it, you are trying to run a demanding game and you can't do that on a chip unless it's one of the gaming chips and you have everything tweaked + cooling pad and keep an eye on things.

The Intel 520 is not a gaming chip.
https://forums.tomsguide.com/thread...-gaming.415086/

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#22 Old 4th Jun 2020 at 2:12 AM
Hey!

I have 8GB RAM,
processor - Intel Core i3-6100U (6th Gen)
graphic processor Intel HD Graphics 520

Am I good to use it? I don't really know much about this stuff.. I got the cooling pad btw

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
To those whose config-log.txt isn't reading Memory:4096MB and Free memory:4096MB do you have enough RAM to use the patch?
It can't give you what your computer doesn't have. If you are on Win 10 your laptop needs at least 2 RAM to work then what is left is for your game, so 6 RAM at minimin but 8RAM is better. If you are under 8RAM it may be best not to use the patch.

If you have a NVIDEA card you can make that do smooth edges but if you are on a chip this may strain it. Especially if you are using high res CC. Sims 2 may be an old game but if you toss tons of high poly high res CC into it, you are trying to run a demanding game and you can't do that on a chip unless it's one of the gaming chips and you have everything tweaked + cooling pad and keep an eye on things.

The Intel 520 is not a gaming chip.
https://forums.tomsguide.com/thread...-gaming.415086/
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#23 Old 4th Jun 2020 at 2:30 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Matt_Y
Hey!

I have 8GB RAM,
processor - Intel Core i3-6100U (6th Gen)
graphic processor Intel HD Graphics 520

Am I good to use it? I don't really know much about this stuff.. I got the cooling pad btw


Your RAM is fine, it's your chip that isn't made for gaming and given these glitches I think its your chip being strained. I would not use high res CC.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#24 Old 4th Jun 2020 at 9:12 AM
I used to get some minor glitches on rare occasions on my older laptop with Windows XP which is about 13 years old now and my current laptop is Windows 7 and it's almost 8 years old and the game runs much better on it even without that patch and high graphics as well as multiple tons of CC and tins of hacks.I do use a cooling pad and limit my game sessions because I play TS2 in windowed mode since my shortcut was set for the game to load in a wondow.
Lab Assistant
#25 Old 6th Jun 2020 at 8:47 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
To those whose config-log.txt isn't reading Memory:4096MB and Free memory:4096MB do you have enough RAM to use the patch?
It can't give you what your computer doesn't have. If you are on Win 10 your laptop needs at least 2 RAM to work then what is left is for your game, so 6 RAM at minimin but 8RAM is better. If you are under 8RAM it may be best not to use the patch.

If you have a NVIDEA card you can make that do smooth edges but if you are on a chip this may strain it. Especially if you are using high res CC. Sims 2 may be an old game but if you toss tons of high poly high res CC into it, you are trying to run a demanding game and you can't do that on a chip unless it's one of the gaming chips and you have everything tweaked + cooling pad and keep an eye on things.

The Intel 520 is not a gaming chip.
https://forums.tomsguide.com/thread...-gaming.415086/



It says on my computer: Installed RAM-memory: 4,00 GB(and 3,89 GB is usable.)

Thanks for the info.
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