I really miss the Sims 2

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I have every expansion pack for the Sims 2 and I am not going to let them all sitting there doing nothing. They are all installed on my laptop, and I can go on to build mode and build houses with no problems at all, but as soon as I go on to create a family mode, the game terminates. It's been doing this since I stupidly updated to sh***y Windows 10, which was about 3 years ago. I've been enjoying building houses and things, but now I so badly miss creating Sims and putting them into my houses. Like I said, I have Seasons, Pets, Nightlife, and all the rest of the expansion packs, and I keep thinking of all the lives I could create with my Sims.

Surely there is a way to get my game working properly again. I've tried everything so far; reinstalling the game, downloading patches, setting the compatibility to earlier versions of Windows, running the game as administrator, and recovering my computer, but none of it makes the slightest bit of difference. No matter what I do, it still terminates in create a family mode.

There MUST be a way to get my game running properly again. Could I ask a computer technician to manually reset/recover the laptop? I don't even care if I have to pay lots. Please someone help!!

Maybe you should install some sort of virtual machine software such as QEMU or VirtualBox with Windows XP in it.

Emulators are generally crap for games, to get a multiboxed setup for a MMO i tried VMWare, Virtual PC, Virtualbox and some others, but the lack of support for DirectX, Video cards and 3D acceleration make them really suck, and gaming emulation is not really a priority for virtualization products.

Sims 2 was made way before Win 10 came around, either go for a downgrade or find an old computer that can play it. Or consider picking up Sims 3 which is quite similar in functionality and feels more like an expansion to Sims 2.

Sims 4 is an alternative, but it's more of a ret*d non-open world version of Sims 3, and features more loading and i really really hate everything about Sims 4 because of this. You can't just stroll around any more or ride a bike/car to anywhere.

I've been away from home virtualization for some time but I have to grant the fellow poster above that he's at least partially right because these days all of the previously mentioned applications feature some sort of video acceleration but they may be inappropriate for gaming. Besides, turning on those features often requires some degree of technical fiddling that the average user may not be wanting to go through.

The other options which spring to mind would be:

- As suggested, having an old PC put aside for the sole purpose of running old games.
Pros: the gaming experience itself will be as authentic and smooth as anyone could get.
Cons: old machines may require frequent maintenance (or maybe not), old operating systems can be vulnerable to worms (this is most likely).

- Have a spare partition or second hard disk with an old OS installed and make a dual boot.
Pros: compared to the previous alternative, you won't have to fiddle with very old hardware that could be failing within the week.
Cons: again, the old OS vulnerabilities. Multiboot can be tricky, depending again on the user experience. For one, if your PC is recent, WinXP/Win98 typically won't install on SATA hard drives very easily.

If it were me, I would have gone the old PC path from the beginning because that's what I do but I don't use it for gaming. I'm a Linux user when I'm home.

Well, i did try it a few years ago, and support for VMGaming is a bit, shall we say - non prioritised... Main reason for running games in a VM was to be able to multibox several Everquest clients so i could drag a small party around, like 3 clients with a mercenary attached to each account, that makes 6 character (more if you are using an illusionist or a Beastlord), the main problem was DirectX applications, they simply refused to work.

I solved it later on by parsing the text log and using a program i wrote with sendkey to give commands when they detected a command in the log sent by a macro on the main client, but i was limited to two clients because i didn't have enough memory to run more, and there were also performance issues.

I would still love to have a VSphere host capable of multiboxing 12 accounts at the same time. Would be awesome.

I did buy a Windows 7 laptop from a secondhand store, which was the version I used to be able to play Sims 2 on without any problems, but when I installed the game on to it it done the exact same thing it does on Windows 10, which is terminate in create a family mode. When I went back to the store to return the laptop, they wouldn't give me my money back, so basically I got conned. I've tried looking for an even older laptop or computer but they just don't sell them anywhere any more. I so badly want my game back. I am thinking of going into a computer repairs place but I'm scared they will say that there is nothing they can do.
I don't want the Sims 3 or 4 because then I'd have to find all the expansion packs, and I have all the expansion packs with my Sims 2 game so I just want to be able to play it properly again.

Why oh why did I ever let my laptop go ahead with updating to Windows 10??? Worst decision of my life.

I strongly suggest going to a forum that's actually associated with the game to get opinions and tips on this one.

One way or another, we have VERY few PC gamers here. But a site that's actually associated with the series will have *tons* of people that are familiar with every single entry, including the old ones, as both the first and second games are still played frequently even today.

If you want answers that will do the job, that's the sort of place to go. You'll get the problem solved so much faster that way. But be ready to have to do some work on your own. Almost definitely, nobody will do the fixing for you. This includes PC-fix companies. Their job is not to get extremely specific games running, but to fix more "total" problems, or hardware failures. So it's going to be up to you to implement the advice that you find.

Good luck to you. I too know the blazing suckage of Windows. It's driven me crazy to the point where I'm going to get a new PC soon, and it's going to be a dual-OS type: Mainly running Linux (after I discovered that ALOT of games I have work fine with that), with Windows around to be used only when no other choice is present. I'm just so tired of putting up with the usual Windows failures.

You know, I remember a time when Windows wasnt bad. Unbelievable, huh? It's true though. Ah, those were the days.... so very long ago now, the 3.1 days. I'd say the real suckage began though once XP happened.


Also this series has been on my mind alot lately too. Gonna jump back into both 3 and 4. But also the very first game.... I have so many memories of it. Yeah, it was simpler, but it was so good.

What sort of forums do I go on to get the right answers and support? I need to go on one where there are people who are experts at this sort of thing and will definitely find a solution. I do google this problem of mine a lot but each forum I visit the replies are all the same, they all just say "yeah it keeps happening to me too", which is useless because I want technical solutions, not empathy.

I have no idea. I normally end up just fixing problems like these on my own. But on the occaision I need a bit of help, there's always somewhere to look.

But it's important to remember that when you find a forum, you also need to go to the RIGHT PLACE on that forum. If you're posting these questions in the wrong section, you're definitely not going to get any help.

But also, you're going to need info. The *exact* problem you have, right down to even the tiniest error messages or effects it may be producing, need to be marked down so you can explain them. Miss even one step and you'll get the wrong solution, or one that could even make things worse (yes, that's possible).

Also, make sure you've actually tried all the things available to you without others stepping into help.

For instance: https://windowsreport.com/fix-sims-2-crash-windows-10/

A quick 2 minutes on Google led me not only to that, but to a bazillion other things like articles and forum posts related to people that had trouble getting the game to run at all. There are many things to try out on that article alone. The specific things it lists there may seem simple, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to forget to try them. Other sources of info will provide you with more specific solutions, but only if you perform more specific searches. That's why you need super-exact info about what the problem is.


But beyond that, there's one more thing: Keep in mind that it might actually NOT be Windows doing this. That's the problem with computer gaming, you never know what screwball thing might be actually causing the issue you experience. Dont get me wrong, Windows is pretty bad.... but that doesnt mean it's the actual cause of the problem. The fact that you're trying to run it on a laptop just makes things even worse.

Regardless of machine type though, you have to consider things like hardware, drivers, outside programs, all sorts of things could be interfering and causing the game to not run, or causing Windows to produce effects that get in the way.

Until you've figured those things out, you will not get the game to run, most likely.

So even before trying to ASK for help, see what you can learn to check for on your own.

Besides: it's not a bad idea to learn some of this stuff yourself. That way you wont end up getting so frustrated when something like this happens, because you'll be able to figure it out.

I have tried solving the problem myself but I don't really know how to. I've changed the compatibility mode to previous versions but that doesn't make any difference.

It can't be rocket science though (well it is to me but not to people who are more skilled at computers and gaming) because the game works well otherwise, just as soon as I go into create a family mode and start creating a Sim the whole game terminates. Also it terminates after moving already existing Sims into the houses. But it doesn't do it when I go into build mode and build houses. I get joy out of building houses but I do miss being able to put families in them.
(Perhaps the game's turned autistic and doesn't like me using people in the game ).

It literally only started doing this ever since I stupidly let my laptop update to Windows 10. Before that, on Windows 7, the game never terminated.
I have also uninstalled the whole game then reinstalled (took a bloody long time), but it still done the same. I just wish there was a way to get my laptop back into Windows 7 again, even if it's done manually by a skilled technician.

I have an even OLDER game than the Sims 2 that I play on my laptop, but that never terminates.

Sounds like a graphics problem.

This could be a fix:
http://www.leefish.nl/mybb/showthread.php?tid=5446

If not ask here:
http://leefish.nl/mybb/forumdisplay.php?fid=21

Something I've learned: The Sims as a whole can have some very strange issues at times that arent always solved so easily.

Like, last night, I'm playing the Sims 4, right. I have two bizarre things happen. First, an adult sim playing with a toddler, he's supposed to pick her up and twirl her around and that sort of thing, but instead, she stays on the ground and he repeatedly passes his arms backwards through his own face. Which was hilarious, but clearly not supposed to happen. In the same session, I later had sims just outright ignoring commands. I'd tell them to do something, and they'd just.... lock up. Stand there looking blank. Or they'd be in the middle of a task and suddenly do that. And it'd be like 3 in-game hours before they were released from that trance. They kept doing it.

It wasnt a bug in the game; this was a technical problem that required fixing on my end. But a simple reinstall isnt always the fix. Yeah, you'd think it would be, but many games are extra complicated on how they deal with things. You often have files that are entirely seperate from the main game files (and not removed or altered during uninstalls.
Yes, this is as bloody dumb as it sounds, but ALOT of games do this) and of course you have registry entries and stuff like that. In this case, repair tools exist for the game, and running those, not reinstalling, was what fixed it.

There's a fair chance that is the case for you as well. I mean, if you're going into build mode... which is going to be pretty complex, graphically... then I cant imagine it's a matter of your machine not being able to handle it. It sounds like some aspect of loading/generating the sims themselves is causing a crash. Look into some repair programs for the game. But also, even though it doesnt sound like a graphics issue, drop the settings as low as they'll go, and see what happens. If THAT fixes the problem, you can slowly experimenting by turning things back on in increments, until one of them creates a crash, which will show you exactly what caused it. But yeah, there's a good chance something deep has corrupted.


Also: Update your drivers for everything. Which honestly is something you should do every now and then anyway.


Other than that, try the things in the list I gave you, and try the stuff that Soliloquist posted just above mine. Alot of this stuff is actually pretty simple to carry out even if you arent very technical yourself; just carefully read and follow the instructions, and you'll be fine.


Oh, and I know how you feel regarding Windows 10. I too wanted to switch back to 7, pretty badly. I hate 10, but 7 was good. But... Microsoft got nasty about it. They did EVERYTHING they could to obliterate 7 from existence, FORCING everyone to use 10. Only those that already had 7 before they destroyed it will have it now. It's virtually impossible to find in any form anymore. I've tried. Over, and over, and over.... I have some suspicions as to why MS was so adamant about that, but that's a rant for another day.

There was a well known issue that when upgrading to Windows 10, graphics problems
like the ones the op has described would ensue.
This was caused by out of date or incorrect information in the Graphic Rules.sgr file.
The fix is to write a new file with the correct updated rules.
Before the op does anything else she should update this file. The people at SimsNetwork
wrote a tool to do this and a link to it was at the top of the page that I previously posted.
Graphics Rules Maker tool

The op should make sure the game is set to run in compatibility mode then run the tool.
Make sure that the tool has found the game then click on the save files button.
(Don't apply any of the other fixes)

What the tool will do is check the config-log.txt file for the graphics card that the game thinks you have,
it will then write a Graphic Rules.sgr file for that card, that is compatible with Windows 10.

I tried this but now my Sims 2 game doesn't run at all (it's not your fault). I've uninstalled the Graphics Rules Maker but the game still won't run. This is what happens when I try to fix things on my own on my computer. Now what do I do?

Question: Where did you get the copy of the game that you are currently using?

Reason I ask: I heard recently (like, yesterday) that apparently the Sims 2 Ultimate Edition (or whatever that version is called) actually received an update pretty recently to make it properly compatible with Windows 10. However, getting ahold of it is a bit of a process since Sims 1 and 2 arent on the Origin store by default.

I found out about this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_13tAJnYXLI

Various comments below the video detail the process of actually getting the bloody thing and how this all works, beyond what the video says.

I got it from HMV, (a record shop). And I got most the expansion packs from there too, and others were ordered online by my brother (but they aren't copies, they are original). I remember having the Sims 2 (before I got the expansion packs) back in 2006, but back then my computer was too OLD for the game and the game wouldn't work. Now, 12 years later, the computer system is too NEW for the game.