Sims 2 failure, ATI Radeon 9800 & DirectX 9.0c

[Roads.zx]

I've read earlier postings but need help. My daughter's Sims 2 won't run. We get the error message:

"Failed to find any DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics adapters in this system! Please make sure you have a direct X9.0c compatible graphics adapter and have installed the latest drivers provided by the manufacturer. The application will now terminate."

The computer details are as follows:

Windows XP HE, ASUS A7N8X-E, Phoenix- AwardBios v6.00PG,
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ ~2.2GHz, 512MB RAM
Page file: 467MB used, 779MB avail
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Radeon 9800 Series, ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x4E49)
Internal DAC (400MHz), 128 MB memory
Display Mode 1152 x 864 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Main Driver: ati2dvag.dll Version 6.14.0010.6755 12/4/2007
WHQL logo'd: Yes, Mini VDD ati2mtag.sys DDI version 9
Enabled, Enabled, Enabled
. No problems found

As best I can tell, We meet all the requirements spelled out in
techspot.com/vb/topic66528.htm " read this before..."

I have removed and reinstalled the video drivers, I have run Ad-Aware 2007, (we have Norton Internet Security 2008 running, btw) and I have uninstalled and reinstalled Sims 2 Deluxe. All without success.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Roads.zx

 

[Blind Dragon]

This is most likely a driver problem, your driver doesn't support AGP. So DirectX cant get information across the drivers to your graphics hardware.

First thing I would do is go to the website for the manufacturer of your motherboard, or the manufacturer of your computer -> look for a section that says 'support and downloads' make sure that your chipset drivers are up to date. These are the ones through device manager that say AGP to CPU controller, etc.

Next,
1. Click on Start, then Control Panel, then go to Add/Remove Programs.
2. At the top of the list you should see several ATI entries. Select the entry entitled ATI Software Uninstall Utility, and click Change/Remove.
3. You will be prompted to restart your system once the uninstall is complete.
4. Once restarted, check the Add/Remove Programs list again for any remaining ATI software or other drivers that you have tried.
5. If any ATI software is still listed, click Change/Remove on those entries to uninstall each one individually.
6. Next, please scroll through the list until you find an entry called DAO
7. Select DAO, then Click Change/Remove to uninstall this program.

1.Go to link and put in your OS and select your card from the list, hit GO. When the latest drivers come up -> Go all the way to the bottom and select previous driver versions
Select version Catalyst 7.7 which was released in July and was the last driver to 100% support AGP. Double-click on the downloaded driver file. Click Run
Use the default directory for extracting the files and press the Install button.
http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers


2. Click Next on the first install screen.
3. Click Yes to the License agreement.
4. Click the Custom button.
5. Select the driver, catalyst control center (if wanted) and uncheck the box for steam
# The installer will start to load the display driver first.
Next you will see the WDM Capture drivers load (for VIVO or All-In-Wonder).
The Catalyst Control Center setup will start shortly after.(if selected)
A dialog box will indicate the install progress.

6.Click Finish to restart your computer.

If you couldn't complete the above steps because "Setup did not find a driver compatible with your current hardware or operating system. Setup will now exit"
You most likely need to update your chipset drivers for your motherboard.You also need to check your AGP Apperture size through BIOS.

Many people will get an error message at this point like No compatible driver found ->Follow below.

7.Device manager-> add hardware => have disk
8.Select the Driver location yourself which should be C:\ATI\Driver Folder\Driver

 

[Roads.zx]

Sims 2 success!

The correct driver (Catalyst 7.7) and your procedures worked great! I never would have guessed that we needed an earlier driver version.

Thank you very much. May you have a great New Year.

Roads.zx

 

[Blind Dragon]

Good deal

 

[EniGmA1981]

Sorry to drag up an old thread but I've had similar problems recently in games and when I did a quick search of my problems this thread was the first google hit...

Lately when loading a game (most recently I've been trying to play Sim City 4, The Sims 2 and Riddick) the game will load and play fine and then just randomly freeze... if it crashes out to windows the ATi CCC window has loaded telling me that my graphics crashed and it managed to save it but most often it'll just freeze and need a reboot... This problem is identical in all the games I've mentioned...

I found Catalyst 7.7 and tried to uninstall 8.10 that I had on there already following your steps but when I uninstalled the ATi Software Uninstall Utility and let the computer reboot, XP just redetects the graphics card and reinstalls the same driver that i've just uninstalled...

My system spec is as follows

AMD Athlon64 3800+ (2.47GHz)
1.5GB DDR RAM
ECS KV2 Lite Motherboard
ATi Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB
SoundBlaster Audigy

Please help, this is really becoming annoying!!

Thanks in advance

Matt

 

[MetalX]

No need to apologize for dragging up an old thread if it's relevant

Is there any way you can close the window that Windows is using to install that new driver? And are you SURE that it is installing ATI drivers and not odd Microsoft drivers? It used to do that with my old 9800PRO.

 

[EniGmA1981]

It doesnt open a window, just pops up with the little tooltip style box in the systray saying it's detected the card... and when I check via device manager the driver is still there... so would that be the microsoft driver?

cos now i've run the catalyst 7.7 package it's saying ati drivers version 8.391.0.0 ...is that the right driver version for that? shouldnt it be 7.7xx.x.x ?or is the catalyst version not the same as the driver version?

excuse my ignorance to these things, drivers have always been a pain in my ar$e! lol

 

[mailpup]

The Catalyst package and the driver version number are not the same number and should not be expected to match. For example, the current Catalyst Suite 8.11 contains the Radeon display driver 8.552. I don't know the numbering scheme for the drivers but the numbering system used for the Catalyst Suite is the first number is for the year (8=2008) and the second number is the month it was released (11= November).

 

[EniGmA1981]

Ok, it's still doing it, now, the sims 2 isn't exactly highly graphical is it... it's been doing the same thing for a little while when i've been playing Most Wanted, but Sims2... I was only building a house lol and boof... screen goes blank, flashes back up so i can save and quit this time though... and all that's up onscreen is the catalyst thingie with the GPU recover window saying it was able to save it... but the resolution has dropped to 1024

why would it be doing this? I'm not sure if i've taken off the old driver properly, thinking maybe i should've just used cat7.7 from the start and not bothered with the new drivers!!

any suggestions?

thanks guys