FAQ: Help my Sims2/*insert game title here* doesn't work/Laggy! Direct X9 Problems!

FAQ:*insert game title here* doesn't work/Laggy! Direct X9 Problems! (updated)

Hey peeps! This FAQ is created for those who have problems running their games. This not only applies to those with Sims 2 but with any other games, as well as a good template of systematic troubleshooting. First part will deal with the question "I installed it but it won't run!". The second part deals with slow running/unplayable/lagging games.

To make it easier for all of us, start from the top because the first part may help fix whatever is causing the second part (lagging games). Also, you might as well download Everest Home, as it will help you find out information you need in order to diagnose your problem.

For in-depth help on the Sims 2 related problems, please look here: Read THIS before you Post a Sims 2 Help Thread!
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Part 1: Game doesn't run
How to check system requirements before you buy the game.
http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic61153.html
Select your game from the drop down list and run the analysis.
- If you don't pass the test, then a few upgrades or fixing are necessary. It should tell you what needs upgrading or fixing.
- If you do pass the test, then on to the next one!

DirectX can't find compatible graphics adapter
Reason behind this, is that the games needs the DX9's 3D component to work. Some graphics cards/adapters lacks this, and thats why it won't work. In this case, if the driver fix below doesn't fix it, then you will need to get a proper graphics card, update the drivers (if possible) or upgrade your existing one. Post a new thread if you need help choosing a new card, or want more information about this. Check if you have it/can enable it:
- Go to Start>Run>dxdiag
- Go to Display Tab (or Display 1, Display x if you run multiple monitor setups) and find where it says Direct X Features
- Click Enable for each one, if not grayed out. If gray, then your card doesn't support it, so its time to look into why...

Update your Drivers
Most of the time, you've got everything you need but the thing driving it is too old. Update your graphics card/adapter's driver first, as that’s what most people forgets, and where the problem starts with. You might as well check for any updates for the rest of your drivers on your PC as well at this stage, and the DirectX component, if not done so already.

If you don't know what a graphics card is or what drivers you need etc. Use Everest to help you. Then look through the menus to find out what the brand and model are, then find it through the manufacturer's websites or google. You maybe lucky and find a link somewhere on the bottom of the page in Everest that will take you directly to a place to download one.

For those who run Intel graphics adapters, read these two links:
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/gaming/index.htm
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel915g/sb/CS-016497.htm

If you do have the latest drivers but still a no-go, then it could be you just need a stable one for your hardware. This requires a bit of digging of past and present drivers released in most cases.
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Part 2: Laggy games
For those with lagging games, and your PC has enough juice and power to run it, and you have all the most recent/most stable updates available, then here's the next part.
Check your settings
Sometimes you just left your game settings too high for it to handle. I'm referring to in-game settings like Texture details, Anti-alias (AA), shadow etc. If your game is unplayable because its too slow and laggy, change all the settings you can to Low or Medium then build from there, once you achieve a good FPS (Frames Per seconds), or it looks smooth enough for you. If you do want to run it at a better setting, or you think its some piece of hardware holding you back, then some upgrades are in order.

Check your Temperatures and Power
This part covers problems relating to heat and power problems.
Open up the Sensor page from Everest or another reader and post the info given here. But first I must give you a disclaimer that software reads sometimes don't show you the correct readings. BIOS Hardware gives you a more accurate read. Anyhow, they're still good as rough guides.

Temperature and power problems are most common with PCs that restart, shut off or blank out by themselves. If your temps are running too hot (over 50`Celsius, or more than your average temps for your chip) on anything, try doing a few things.

-Clean out the dust and dirt, using a compressed air source, paying special attention to the fan guards/filters, Heatsinks (aluminum blocks with fins) etc and giving them a good clean.
-Open the side of your PC case and point a normal desktop fan inside.
-If it’s mainly your CPU temps or GPU and your PC is custom built, maybe re-applying the thermal grease/pad would help. For this, you must carefully remove the heatsink/fan assembly gently and then apply a new batch of thermal stuff, just enough to cover it evenly. Preferably about 1mm thick and spread using a plastic card or similar. Get some Arctic Silver if you can, although other brands are just as good when applied properly. Don't forget to wash your hands after!
-You may want to consider an aftermarket replacement if cleaning and reapplying thermal stuff doesn't help. There are plenty to choose for your processor and some give better cooling performance while giving you a quieter PC at the same time.
-Read this other FAQ:http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic13759.html

If it’s a PSU or voltage problem, there are a few tell-tell signs. If any of the below applies to you, then you may need a new PSU.

-First, check this site out and input all your info in it: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
Click on Calculate and you should get a number in Watts for your PC, and then add 20% or 50 Watts (whichever is greater) and that’s some headroom. If the above wattage calculation are greater than whets listed on your PSU label (pictured) on the side of your PSU. If you don't know your insides of your PC, use Everest Home to help you.
-If the voltages reads more than 5% up or down from the actual voltage rating (eg: +12V rail is 11.4-12.6V) then your PSU might be under-performing. Check your +12, +5 and +3.3 Voltage rails as they are the most important ones.
-Its important not only that your PSU has enough Watts on it, but enough Amps to provide the muscle to the components. For those with moderate or high end graphics cards, you'll probably need somewhere over 20Amps, 16-18Amps being your minimum on the +12V rail. Other times, if you don't do heavy gaming or gearing, 15Amps should suffice, although sometimes its pushing it. If you plan to leave your PC on 24/7 or most of the time, look for a PSU that has good efficiency and Amps on all the voltage rails and gets good feedback from reviewers. You can find most of this info on your PSU label.
-Beware of cheap/generic/imitation PSUs. These can cause more trouble than you think. Some of them overstate the true ratings and/or don't give a good efficiency. To know what’s good or not, google for the brand of your PSU as well as look for reviews on the net.


If you do need a new PSU, looking at brands such as Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake etc are a step in the right direction. Although since not all PSUs are created equal, looking at reviews and tech specs are more important. There are more people who can answer your questions on PSUs on this board, just post your questions

Miscellaneous troubleshooting
-If you think you have too many things running in the background then turn off all non-essential processes from your task bar or close the programs and try again.
-If you think its a HDD related problem, then go defrag and chkdsk /f your HDD. Other hardware suspected problems please post a new thread for us to help you with.
-If you think you have a malware problem, read onto this, and post a new thread in the security and web forum: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic58138.html
-Sometimes security software suites stop the game running at all, so you might want to temporarily disable them and try your game out again.
-General PC speedup FAQ:http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic53669.html

PIO or DMA?
Go to Device manager [Start>Run>devmgmt.msc] then expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers>Primary IDE Channel>Advanced Settings. See if any is set to PIO mode or if its at DMA. Transfer mode should be left at DMA if available. Do so with the all other channels as well. If any of them is set to PIO, then go back to device manager, right click Uninstall on the device and then Reboot. After it reinstall, it will tell you to reboot again. Do so and check the transfer mode after you finish this cycle.
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Without getting to in-depth, these are the most common problems you'll find having trouble with games. If none of the above solves your problem, then open a new thread in the relevant section of the forum (gaming, hardware, windows etc) rather than sticking it here. For the benefit of people helping, post up your PC specs using the report in Everest (if you don't know your complete specs), what game you're having trouble with and what you've tried.
Any question or clarifications of my FAQ then post away here or otherwise, and someone able will answer.
Happy Gaming!
N3051M.

good info bro

Oh ya, i tried getting an air purifier machine, jam it next to my PC lol. it suck load of dust in when i change the filter

My new PC been running for 6 months now, only minimum dust even with a chiwahwah as a pet.

um, I desire help.

Hello.
I read this post, because, of course, I am having Direct X problems with my game.
I have installed Direct X 10, and my game still gave me the direct x error message.
my video card is NVIDIA 6100
this is not on the list of supported video cards on the sims 2 website.
But i did follow the instructions posted above, and when it tells you to click enable for each one, i found that on my system they are already enabled.
i found some advice below it, and it says if you already have updated drivers, then you need to dig around a bit or something.
but i maybe i need to download something from the website of the manufacturer of my video card. idk?
anyhow, i don't know what i'm supposed to do now to help my computer with running the sims 2.
when i went to run and typed in dxdiag, and i discovered that all the dirertx feartures were already enabled, i tested the directdraw but i experienced an error, i suppose. i guess you were supposed to see alternating black and white rectangles. well i did not. all i saw was a rectangle in the middle and black and white surrounding that rectangle in a pattern around it.
but nothing was moving or switching places.
so, i need help?? pretty please with a cherry on top:blush:
i am feeling so very helpless:blackeye: . it seems there is no way to solve this problem.
i really don't wanna have to pay money for anything. i mean, who wants to? i think this computer is new enough.
there must be something i can do?
please help!!
thanks

i updated my video card but the game still won't run. now, my video card is NVIDIA 6100 175.16
also, i did the Can You RUN It? thing and it confused me.
it appears as though the error message i recieved is decieving.
this test that i took said i have all the minimum requirements.
so why won't the game run?
here's the results:

CPU
Minimum: Pentium III or Athlon
You Have: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+ PASS
CPU Speed
Minimum: 800 MHz with a T&L capable Video Card (2.0 GHz without Hardware T&L Video Card)
You Have: 2.00 GHz Performance Rated at 3.20 GHz PASS
System RAM
Minimum: 256 MB
You Have: 446 MB PASS
Operating System
Minimum: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP (95 & NT not supported)
You Have: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Build Service Pack 22600) PASS
Video Card
Minimum: 32 MB 3D accelerated video card (NVIDIA GeForce2/ATI Radeon VE/Intel Extreme Graphics or better)
You Have: NVIDIA GeForce 6100 (GeForce 6100) PASS
Video Card Features - Minimum attributes of your Video Card Video RAM: Required - 32 MB , You have - 256 MB
Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes , You have - Yes


Video Card Driver Version (DirectX)
Your driver version number is: 6.14.11.7516 FYI: Your video card driver version is provided for your information, but it is not part of this analysis. But proper video card driver versions are important to the proper operation of your product.
DirectX Version
Minimum: 8.1 (included)
You Have: 9.0c PASS
Sound Card
Minimum: Yes
You Have: Realtek AC97 Audio PASS
Sound Card Driver Version
Your driver version number is: 5.10 FYI: Your sound card driver version is provided for your information, but it is not part of this analysis. But proper sound card driver versions are important to the proper operation of your product.
Free Disk Space
Minimum: 3.5 GB
You Have: 135.3 GB PASS
DVD
Minimum: 8X DVD-ROM (This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some CD/DVD-ROM, CD/DVD-RW and virtual drives.)
You Have: SONY CD-RW CRX320E PASS, but the Speed could NOT be analyzed.


the only thing that was reccommended but i did not have was the RAM space. and that doesn't have anything to do with direct x or video cards.
so do you know what the problem is? because i don't!!!
please help!

Help! Pleas!

hi there,
im having a problem with the sims, it wont start
so i have all the patches, latest updates for directX 9, Java, and my nvidia geforce 62oo, i ran the can i run it, and im supposed to be able to run it, i tested the directX diagnostic schizzl, i rebooted a couple dozen times, i think i tried everything, any ideas?
i smell a challenge,
thanks
nicky

hm

oh yeah right, the error im getting, failed to find any directX 9 blablabla, same shizzl

my sims they need me

Can anyone help me with my problem im new to this site and its very confusing. my problem is i get an error message "Failed to find any directx 9.0c compatible graphics adaptors in this system. Make sure you have direct x 9.0c compatible graphics adaptor and you have installed the latest drivers provided by your manufacturer." and i have direct x 9 as a matter of fact i used to play all the sims2 expansions just weeks ago before i rebooted my computer never had a problem untill rebooting.. my system specs are gateway comp desktop windows xp, intel extreme graphics controller 82845G, 2,49ghz intel pentium 4 cpu, 766 MB RAM, and directx 9. please if anyone can help i would be greatly appreciated. you can email me.

i recently purchased gta: san andreas and installed it onto my pc. i was pleased to hear that there was a downgrader patch to take the game from a 2.0 to a 1.0 allowing me to install mods. i have been having problems getting my gta: san andreas to work. The game won't even get to the loading screen before it cuts off. i know it is something to do with the directx. My pc currently has a directx 10 in it. The problem is when i try to install a directx 9, it says there is no need for it. and i have no idea where to uninstall the directx 10 so i can install a directx 9 so until i can do that, i won't be playing gta: san andreas anytime soon.

please i need any advice i can get. i have no idea where to locate the directx 10 so i can uninstall it to install a directx 9 so i can finally play my san andreas

Please note: This is a Guides and Tutorials thread, it is not meant for support questions.

Please post your new thread asking for support in the Forums
Or read here on How to post a New Thread

mr cashmoneytaz, I have directx10 + gta san andreas and it just worked for me, no error messages at all. so I dont think your directX version is giving trouble. But I have the same problem as you describe with the sims 2... so maybe directx isnt the reason of this problem but installing the proper drivers.