I've looked around this section of the forums (and through experience) I have seen many people asking about why the Sims 2 doesn't play or why they get a certain error message. Before you post a thread on this you NEED to have certain information along with your problem. The main problem people have with The Sims 2 is that they have an incompatible video card or they don't have the correct DirectX installed. I will review these and what they are.

1. Tell Us Your System Specifications -

We can't help you if we don't know what your specs are for your computer. For God's sake, how do we know you're running the correct hardware, we can't read your mind or look at your computer! To find out what you're running, go to Start -> Run -> dxdiag . If you have never run this before a message might pop up about drivers, and just hit ok. On the first screen, you should be on the "System" tab. Include all of the information circled below;



Make sure where it says, "DirectX" that the version is "9.0c". If it is not you need to update it from whatever version you have, http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en. Right all of this in a list and show it to us in the following order;

Computer Make/Model
Processor/Speed
Memory Amount
DirectX

Not it's time to switch over to the "Display" tab to see what your video card is. If where the area where the model number is shown as well as the memory amount, open up a thread in the audio/video section of Techspot for further help, this is most likely why you can't play. Now give us all of the information that is circled in the picture;



Now list all of the information in the order shown below;

Video Card Name
Video Card amount of Memory

Make sure that all of the features are enabled while you are there as well. This is all of the information needed in the thread that you will open. Please note that if you updated your DirectX version, re-try The Sims 2 and see if it now works.

2. Make Sure You Pass The System Requirements

Here are the sytem requirements for The Sims 2; please make sure you pass everything, and if you don't, that's most likely your problem. Here are the system requirements copied straight from EA's Website;

If you have a T&L capable video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM then you need at least:
800 MHz processor or better
256 MB RAM if Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 98 or Windows 2000
At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

T&L stands for Transform and Lighting and basically means that the video card is capable of certain light environments. A compatible T&L capable video card is a (copied from another website forum from Google search);

GeForce 256
GeForce2 MX
GeForce2 Ti/GTS/Pro/Ultra/Whatever
GeForce3/GeForce3 Ti
GeForce4 MX
GeForce4 Ti
GeForce FX
GeForce 6200/6600/6800 series
GeForce 7300/7600/7800/7900 series

ATI Radeon 7500
ATI Radeon 8500
ATI Radeon 9000/9200/9250/9500/9600/9700/9800 series
ATI Radeon X300/X600/X700/X800 series
ATI Radeon X1300 and above

Intel 915 chipset or better
S3 Savage4
S3 DeltaChrome, GammaChrome, Chrome series

If you don't have a capable T&L video card then you need to have the following as requirements (taken directly from EA);

If you have a non-T&L capable video card (an Intel Extreme Graphics or a Radeon 7000/VE Series) then you need at least:
2.0 GHz processor or better
256 MB RAM if Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, or Windows 2000
At least 3.5 GB of hard drive space

3. Tell Us the Error Message (if you receive one) -

Copy it down word for word if you have to. This is very important and needs to be included in your thread.

4. Error Messages (Review) -

Here posted is one of the most popular error messages and it's meaning;

"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."

This message means one of two things, 1. You don't have DirectX 9.0c on your system, or 2. You don't have a compatible video card. Older video cards that might seem to make the requirements list might not because they are not DirectX 9.0c compatible. The Sims 2 REQUIRES that the video card is, so before you buy any game (that requires DirectX 9.0c), make sure that it is.

Thank you for reading my guide on The Sims 2 ! I hope that it helps you with your problem and please use this for reference when creating a thread. We can't help if you don't give us the correct information !