My game has started crashing frequently no doubt due to the excessive amount of lots I have placed on the neighbourhood.

Does anyone know how to avoid this happening without having to sacrifice lots? Cheers.

There's really not a limit to the number of lots in the neighborhood, unless somehow you've placed an absolutely ridiculous number of lots and have completely filled a neighborhood entirely and have a low-powered computer... but I would expect it'd pretty much crash after loading regularly in that case, rather than just "frequently." Just how many lots -do- you have, and does this only happen in your overloaded neighborhood?

Have you gone through the Game Problem FAQ just to rule out other things that could be the issue?

What are your full system specs?

Hi HP. Its definately due to too many lots. Twice I have tried to fill in every milimetre (yes, I know) and this has started happening. It will crash mostly during loading screens but can happen on neighbourhood view also (on this particular hood).
I have a very powerful computer but cannot access Control Panel (!) to see specs. Its 2 GB ram, 2 x 2.4 processor, 8600 gtx, ASUS motherboard, can't remember the rest right now, but thats pretty irrelevant anyway really because it is due to my overloading.
How many lots? Suffice to say I don't even know if I can count to the number that would be the answer. Thats how many.

Okay, looks like I have to trim the amount of lots. Just thought there might be some sort of "trick" to stop the crashing, which in hindsight was a bit hopeful.

Thanks

I know of a problam many people have with older games when they have 2gb of RAM or more. The Sims 2 has a 2gb limit, meaning that if you have alot of lots and custom content, the game will try to take advantage of more RAM. But once it reads 2gb the game will crash.

Next time the game crashes, look at how much RAM you have available in the Task Manager. If it's somewhere around 1.5gb to 2gb being used for a single program I know of a fix for this, if that is your particular issue.

Not true; there are many people with more than 2Gb in their Downloads folder alone.

tizerist, why can you not access Control Panel?

possibly might be referring to the RAM footprint? Last time I checked my Sims was drawing like 400mb of RAM, and the largest I've ever seen was Age of Conan at 1.25gb, but I don't have a large amount of CC, and my largest 'hood has maybe 40 lots or so in it.

No, I meant the RAM not the Downloads folder. The downloads folder can have like a gizzilian files. It's not going to crash the game, only slow it down.

But if the system memory has 2gb or more RAM availiable the game will still try to take advantage of it. The more custom content, lots, files you have running at once, the more RAM hungry the game will get. Since the Sims 2 is an older game without the "large address aware" flag in it's programming, once it hits that 2gb RAM usage it will definitely crash the game. There are many people with high-end computers who have had this exact same problem, including myself. It's mostly bad programming that wasn't futureproofed very well by Maxis (when they first released the game, 2gb of RAM was very exspensive. So this issue was not prevalent then). But it can be fixed easily.

Please, I have experience with this issue and know what I am talking about. Perhaps I can tell you the solution and you can add it to the Sim2Wiki FAQ?

Eyedolon: when playing the Sims 2 does the system memory ever exceed over 50% in the Task Manager? How much RAM do you have?

I'm sorry but my computer can play the game with every expansion, every stuff pack, and 25gb of custom content and it still doesn't take 2gb of ram up. I have 2gb of ram installed so it COULD try to use it.. but it doesn't. It also doesn't crash. Ever. I agree that the game really is poorly optimized with the way the custom content works but I don't believe having too much ram available will cause the computer to crash. If anything the opposite would be true. Not having enough ram can cause the game to crash.

It depends on your BIOS manufacturer as well. If you have an ASUS motherboard, then it tends to allocate too much RAM to a particular program. Vista Ultimate and Premium (as they require at least 1gb for system memory) are known to be the main culprite for this issue.

Do you have Windows XP? XP runs fine on only 128mb of RAM, but there's a huge leap between that and Vista.

Jasumi I'll run some scenarios tomorrow after work and see how big it gets. I have 4 gigs of RAM on Vista64, with Pheonix? BIOS on Nvidia chipset.

I don't have anywhere near 2gigs of CC though =S.

I know I've run TS2 for 8-10hours straight before without any crashing, but if it has a memory leak like you're describing, an older game like TS2 would take a long time to bog down my RAM. Last night I was having an issue with my computer just straight up turning off, and if it persists I might be tempted to assign blame, but it's a stretch. I'm chalking that one up to power surging.

After work tomorrow I'll run a home for a few hours and see if it booms up a bit. Any ideas on large house/small house, if the number of sims makes a difference? I have a fairly wide variety of test scenarios (I sim kinda ADD <.<) so I could try a few iterations.

Ah, sorry- I get what you mean now. I was thinking you were meaning that the game couldn't manage more than 2Gb items in memory, not the physical RAM. Yes, if you have any solutions that you think will help people with any problems, you can post them here and we will always add them to the Wiki if they are useful.

Eyedolon: It does not sound like you have a memory leak. The Pheonix BIOS is usually stable and you said you've played the game for 8-10 hours straight. What graphics card do you have and what happens during the crash? Please disregard the information written below. Though the more custom content you download, the more neighborhoods you create, the more families you create, the more lot file you add, the more prone you will become to hitting the 2gb physical system RAM limit in the future. I suggest you read the following, but I don't recommend attempting it for now.

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SimSample: Wonderful. This has been plaguing me for a while and I would love to be of assistance.

Some issues may be due to a memory leak. This can be used as a last resort, and usually only afflicts high-end computers. The solution differs depending on whether you have 2gb, 3gb or 4gb. The main symptom is game crashing every 10-20 minutes or at complete random, and when the Sims 2 program approaches the 2gb mark since older programs have a 2gb limit. This basically means that the game will try to access as much RAM as possible, but has not been programmed to use more than 2gb.

Everyone with Vista and a graphics card with 512mb or more RAM should download this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105

It is the KB940105 hotfix issued by Microsoft. This will change the Page File Virtual Address Space so that it mimics Windows XP. For those of whom who do not have 2gb or more of RAM, but do have a graphics card with 512mb of RAM, this alone may solve your issue. If you have regular system updates, you may already have this file.

Step 1: Download this file: http://files.filefront.com/3GB+enab...;/fileinfo.html. It is a 3gb Enabler and will allow the program to see 3gb of RAM.

What you need to do is copy the application file from the base game and all expansion and stuff packs individually per process into the 3gb Enabler Folder. Do not have all files in at the same time.

Go to Start->Computer->Program (If you have Vista x64 then Program (x86))-->Ea Games->The Sims2-->(expansion/stuffpack/basegame category)-->TSData

Here you will need to copy the program file with the picture that resembles the desktop icon.

Remember to backup the original application (.exe) files before continuing. For example, you can open a folder called “Sims2 Backup App” and place them in here. If your harddrive is partioned, you can move the original to the other drive.

There is a trick however. This enabler was made for “Supreme Commander.” Change the name of the application to “supreme commander” and then click the startme.bat file.

Once you have added the “Large Address Aware” flag to all expansion packs, stuff packs, and the base game, change the name of the application file back to its original name (you can look at your back-up applications if you have forgotten). Copy the files back to their original folder.

Step 2: Use the 3gb switch. This can be risky if you have a very large amount of drivers running at the same time, as Vista uses 1gb of resources. For those with moderate to low driver usage, attempting the 3gb switch will be failproof.

If you have 2gb RAM:

Start->Accessories->Command Prompt->right-click on Command Prompt and run as Administrator

Enter “bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2304” exactly as written without the quotations then restart.

This gives games and programs 2.3gb of virtual RAM. This can slow your system, again relative to how many program and drivers you have running at once. It is best to turn them off while running the game via Task Manager (NEVER close System or Local tasks. Only the tasks under your username, and do not close the Explorer, Task Manager, or the Kernel program). I believe the Sims 2 manual tells you which files can be closed as well.

If you have 3gb RAM:

Start->Accessories->Command Prompt->right-click on Command Prompt and run as Administrator

Enter “bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2560” exactly as written without the quotations then restart.

This gives games and programs 2.56gb of virtual RAM.

If you have 4gb of RAM:

Start->Accessories->Command Prompt->right-click on Command Prompt and run as Administrator

Enter “bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2900” exactly as written without the quotations then restart

If the game still crashes, then retype the command with the value “3072” instead of “2900” and restart. Whether you use “3072” or “2900” varies depending on your motherboard. If one option does not work, simply try the other.

This gives games and programs 2.9gb (or 3.072gb) of virtual RAM to work with.

To turn off the 3gb switch enter “bcdedit /deletevalue IncreaseUserVa” and restart


The game will stop crashing now. And if it does, it will be due to conflicting hacks, corrupt custom content, system settings, or malfunctioning hardware.

EDIT: The crashing I had a couple nights ago wasn't game crashing; my computer was literally turning itself off. Curious indeed, but in light of my readings below, probably due to excess heat. I'll remove the OC and run some tests to see what's what.



Ok, so I ran the sims with a few diag tools up (task manager, Nvidia Monitor and EVGA precision), and I got some pretty wild results. I wrote a lot of stuff down, so I'll try to organize it how I can.

System Specs
Intel Q6600 2.4ghz Quad, OCed to 3.15ghz (1400mhz QDR)
2x2gb GEiL DDR2-1066 @ 1050mhz
EVGA nForce 780i SLI mobo
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 896mb PCI-E 2.0 (superclocked edition, factory OC. Idle is 45*C)
Vista Ultimate 64bit

System Base
Vista on its own (with music, AVG, Steam, Java and my diag tools) uses 31% system memory, 61 processes running and barely a blip on the CPU (3-5% avg). The CPU usage seemed to register between 2 and 10% at all times throughout the test *while I was alt-tabbed*. I do not have Sim While Minimized enabled, and all readings were done without the game "in motion". My heat readings were (in Centigrade throughout) 49 CPU, 43 GPU and 30 system.

TS2 Base
Starting TS2 to the 'hood menu changed it to 41% ram and barely a degree of heat difference, 50/46/30. The .exe (with everything installed, but disk versions of everything) is clocking in at 322.5mb.

Empty 'hood
I choose a low-pop hood, with 14 lots (11 built), 2 active lots with 6 sims total. Temps: 52/49/31, .exe: 456.2mb

Busy 'hood
I move to my bloated older hood, with 47 lots (46 built), 28 active with 73 sims, of which 2 are pets and 1 servo. This is 14 minutes in, temps are now 61/51/31. Alt tabbed my CPU usage is low, but it seems to spike so I start watching it now as soon as I alt-tab to check readings. The .exe spikes massively to 934.4mb, and overall usage is now 61% of RAM. Now I start testing individual lots.

Small Lot, low CC
First lot is an old and small lot, one sim, and one piece of CC (a fresh-prince car; I use them everywhere!). Lot size is 1x3, 1 floor house and 4 neighborhood houses are rendered. Time is 18 minutes, temps are still 61/51/31, .exe clocks 672.6mb, RAM usage 55%, and I notice a weird CPU usage on core 3 (the 4th core of a quad). It's about 10% more, even though I have set TS2 to only use core 0 via process affinity.

Small lot, some CC
I jump to another lot, 2x2 with one sim and one servo, 26 CC items, 10 lots rendered around it. Time is 28 minutes, temps 63/50/31, .exe clocks 781.9mb. Here's the odd part. As I alt-tab to get my readings, I notice that cores 2 and 3 are both WAY up (50%) while 0 and 1 are low (~15%). The moment I alt-tab, all cores drop to below 10%.

Medium Lot, low CC
I accidentally hopped into a random lot moving around (that old 'hood actually does lag a bit on my comp), and decided to record it for kicks. Lot is 3x3, was actually snowed when I loaded in, 3 sims, 3 npc and a random dog. 3 CC items, and 15 lots rendered around it. Time is 35 minutes, temps are now 69/54/31, .exe clocks 886.2mb

Now, I decide to see if I can identify a memory leak in the day-to-day operations of the game. I load back to my small hood and click in to a large (for me) lot that has a lot of CC and has been giving me trouble before.

Small lot, take 2
Here's the changes:
Memory usage: +297mb (743.1mb)
Temps: +14/+2/+1 (66/51/31)
Time: Didn't record! oops =( roughly 40mins in or so.
~~Each time I alt tab, my second two cores are working HARD! 50% or even more in some cases. The moment I alt tab, they drop to ambient. This is true of every recorded instance, and makes me wonder if the affinity actually did anything at all.~~
Overall RAM usage right now is 2.37gb. Let's see what we get.

Big lot Loadin
Time: 46mins
Memory: 889.5
Lot details: 5 sims 1 npc, 40 CC items, 4 lots rendered, 4x3 (with 5 floors!)
Temps: 71(ouch!)/55/31

NPC gone
Time: 51mins (5mins past start)
Memory: 937.4mb (~48mb above start)
Temps: 72/54/32

One sim at lot, others gone
Time: 53mins (7 past)
Memory: 929.7mb (~40mb above)
Temps: 69/52/32

One day passes (sped), all sims present
Time: 63mins (17 past)
Memory: 941.5mb (~52mb above start)
Temps: 73/54/32

Conclusion?
So, above discovering that maybe my cpu doesn't like its overclock, the ram footprint of the game increased about 50mb in less then 20mins. It spent most of the test (45 minutes) above 50% of total system RAM, and itself accounted for from 15-30% of total RAM usage, depending on the situation. I'm really curious about the core usage, because I had read that the affinity was supposed to lock the process to one core, and it appears that not only is the process not locked to one, it doesn't seem to use the core I specified much at all!

I wonder about whether the amount of neighboring lots being rendered (I run at 1280x1024 fullscreen with every option maxed) has a relation to the RAM footprint, or the amount of CC. The CC does appear to affect it, but I'd have to set up specific test lots for that. Maybe I'll run some more tests when I have some time tomorrow. Any ideas for focus?

I noticed that you have one of the newest nVidia cards on the market right now. It's possible the drivers are fairly weak at this moment. I have the 3870x2 and it also had immature drivers and frequent crashes for a while.

You said it was NOT in motion? If your neighborhood spikes up to 1g by just sitting there, it could be a memory leak, as the game is not programmed to run on more than 2gb RAM (and you have 4gb like myself). Interestingly enough, I noticed that 90% of my crashes were in the neighborhood and that's where you saw the massive spike. Try letting the game hover in the nieghborhood with motion on. If it crashes, don't close it yet, open the task manager and see if it hits 75%. If it does, then it's possible you have the same issue I used to.

Though if the computer turns itself off randomly it could indeed be due to your overclock or a motherboard shortage--do you have any loose wires in your case? A Q6600 at 3ghz would require a pretty good aftermarket cooler like Thermaltake or ArticCooler. Are you using the stock cooler?

I really need to jump in here and point out that this is forum is not for computer tech help. This forum is just for sims 2 help, and we've definitely moved off from that here. Sims game crashing is one thing but your entire computer turning itself off is quite another. There are lots of forums out there that can help with getting your overclock stable, memory leaks etc, but that's really not what this forum was designed for. Since this could really be a potentially damaging problem for you, I do want to point out your Q6600 temps are too high. Beyond that, I am going to have to ask that we keep this forum to sims game help, and that people seek assistance elsewhere for computer issues. Thank you for understanding.

Going to leave the thread open for now and give the OP a chance to respond back.

Eyedolon: you can send me an email if you need to: [email protected]

The hardware issue I'm just now aware of and I can take care of it..

As for the memory footprint, I'll leave it hovering in my big 'hood with motion on today while I'm at work and see whether it's still alive (heh) when I get back

Carrying on from here:
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=294813

(Can we reopen the original thread please?)

Hey Jasumi , thanks. But I'm a bit confused about this bit:
Step 1: Download this file: http://files.filefront.com/3GB+enab...;/fileinfo.html. It is a 3gb Enabler and will allow the program to see 3gb of RAM.

What you need to do is copy the application file from the base game and all expansion and stuff packs individually per process into the 3gb Enabler Folder. Do not have all files in at the same time.

So do we have to copy the exe from each of the expansion packs and base game into this folder?
If so, what do you mean by not having all the files in there at the same time?
And does it matter where the 3gb enabler folder is on our computer?

And is it safe to use this 3gb enabler even if I only have 2gb RAM?

No we cannot open the thread. Like I said in the other thread, this forum is not for computer tech support. The user invited you to contact them personally, so if you want them to provide you with tech support I recommend taking them up on their offer.

Closing.. please do not open another thread asking for computer tech support.