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Space Pony
#126 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 2:43 AM
Quote: Originally posted by CatOfEvilGenius
I'm just stubborn and I want it to work, darn it!


Aah that explains it VERY familiar feeling :D

~~~~Call me Ellu ~~~

My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
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Lab Assistant
#127 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 7:27 AM
@CatOfEvilGenious Really you have to have your lighting set to medium? That is very odd. I have everything cranked up. Your card can certainly handle it, I wonder why.

Lol I don't blame you for wanting it to work. Especially without pink flashes, that is just annoying. It is strange though the 2 different .exe's act differently. Where did you get the NoCD you are using? Was it from Leefish on the securom removal thread? Ya I guess playing with Origin is better then not playing at all. You could always get your hands on a Windows 8 cd and revert back. That is actually what a friend on the Sims forums is doing. She has pink flashes and crashing too.
Mad Poster
#128 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 3:56 PM
I have all the settings on high as well.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#129 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 7:07 PM Last edited by CatOfEvilGenius : 29th Jan 2018 at 7:58 PM.
I agree my card should absolutely be able to handle high settings. I suspect Game DVR is stuffing up its memory. I also suspect for folks who are not experiencing problems, their Game DVR is maybe working properly and actually being off when it is supposed to be off. Not sure. Today I continue the 'nuke Game DVR from orbit' tests I didn't finish over the weekend. Will report...

------------------------------------

Using sysinternals from Microsoft to see what my computer's doing before I go changing stuff. ( Thanks @RoxEllen1965 ) I have a 64 bit system so using the 64 bit versions of all the tools and trying to remember to run them as admin.

I'm looking for XBox stuff and XBox game monitoring (xbgm) because that's where the code for Game DVR is and that's
what monitors games even when Game Bar and Game DVR are disabled, if I understand correctly. See this article. xbgm or xbox game monitoring is something in the registry but I did wonder if it might also be the name of a process maybe.

Autoruns64 did not show me xbox anything nor xbgm anything in the list of things that start up when the computer boots.
XBox game monitoring is a service that I thought would auto start up but maybe it's under another name.

Next, I checked process explorer 64 to see what all's running. Again, I searched for stuff with xbox or xbgm. No xbgm but a bunch of stuff with xbox in it did turn up. Here's what's running on my machine even though I have Game Bar and Game DVR disabled.



(Always make a system restore point before messing with the registry!)

Next step, edit the registry to stop xbox game monitoring from starting. If that doesn't help, use powershell to remove the xboxapp. Haven't tried this yet.

There's also turning off Game Mode in Win 10 version 1709 by editing the registry since Microsoft removed our ability to turn off Game Mode in settings. Haven't tried this yet.

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Lab Assistant
#130 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 8:12 PM
Geez how much X-box junk is running? That is utter bull, they should have made a opt out option. Not everyone needs or even wants that.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#131 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 8:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Jules1111
Geez how much X-box junk is running? That is utter bull, they should have made a opt out option. Not everyone needs or even wants that.

Exactly. All this is running even though my settings say I don't want to use this. Clicky below to see pic of my settings.



-------------------------------------------

How do I record game clips or take screenshots without Game DVR?
You can use OBS Studio and/or Fraps. Don't need Game DVR nor GeForce Experience ShadowPlay.

OBS Studio - https://obsproject.com/

Fraps - http://www.fraps.com/

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Lab Assistant
#132 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 8:33 PM
@CatOfEvilGenious Ya that is exactly how my settings are. Smh so I guess I have all that junk on mine too. I really hate 10. Wish there was a way of getting rid of it without messing with the registry.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#133 Old 29th Jan 2018 at 10:21 PM Last edited by CatOfEvilGenius : 30th Jan 2018 at 1:18 AM.
Results of various registry change tests documented at the leefish forum. I'm trying to get the UC Origin exe, run from a desktop shortcut, to work. (And maybe get noCD to have no flashies, since it does not currently crash.) I did these tests in the order listed below. Kept changes from each previous test when doing the next one.

* Disable Xbox Game Monitoring in the registry - did not help UC executable from Origin, from desktop, still crashes
* and More Trying to Disable Game DVR in the Registry..., same link as above, scroll down in that post - did not help
* How to Check if Game Bar is sneakily running in the background, according to a Microsoft Engineer
* Disable Game Mode in the registry - did not help
* Remove the xbox app using powershell - did not help, now crashes with no error message, just poof, no more Sims window

*sigh* Not sure what else is left to try at this point. Suggestions?

====================================

The noCD exe has STOPPED WORKING Argh.

Tried it three times. Removed cache files. Removed Thumbnails files.
First two times, it crashed when arriving at the community lot.
Third time, pink flashy soup, then crash when arriving at the community lot.
Fourth time, not even pink soup, entirely black community lot, then crash.

Fifth attempt to make noCD work again. Removed entire Sims 2 folder from Documents.
Game crashed while attempting to add Bluewater shopping district to neighborhood.

*headdesk headdesk headdeask*

Maybe I need to reinstall xbox app? And undo the registry changes?

Tentative conclusion: Not sure it was Game DVR that was breaking Sims 2.
Definitely something in 1709 broke it, but maybe not Game DVR?

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#134 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 1:25 AM Last edited by CatOfEvilGenius : 30th Jan 2018 at 2:10 AM.
Now attempting to undo all the changes I made, reinstall xboxapp, undo the registry changes...

I used Microsoft's powershell instructions for reinstalling xboxapp. It did a bunch of stuff, also gave a ton of errors.
Is this normal? Is xboxapp reinstalled back the way it was? Who knows. :/ Will going back to a restore point restore xboxapp? I have no idea.



now to undo the registry changes manually... then reboot... then try noCD again *fingers crossed*

I'm looking at process explorer and the xbox DLL that was listed when I searched for xbox is not showing up.
I think it should if I undid all my changes. It was there before the changes, now it is not there anymore. This worries me.

-------------------------------------------------------

System Restore FAILS!

Trying to do a system restore. A system restore scan for affected files says Origin will be affected! I don't recall changing any Origin stuff at all! I uninstalled xboxapp. Could this have somehow corrupted Origin? And why is the scan saying nothing about restoring xbox app? Did my attempt to reinstall it work, despite the ton of errors powershell spewed at me???

The system restore failed. Said it couldn't access some file, said maybe this is due to an antivirus program running (only one is damn Windows Defender, nothing else), and said it had an unspecified error. Well crap. Changing three registry setting, uninstalling xboxapp, putting it back according to Microsoft's own directions, and restoring the registry manually apparently made it impossible for me to do a system restore. Crap crap crap.

I'm going to try to do a system restore in safe mode next... Crap.




Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#135 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:01 AM
Seems you can’t do a system restore in safe mode.

Why the hell did system restore say it was going to change Origin when I didn’t do a damn thing to Origin? Did Origin update itself today without me noticing?

How can I be sure xboxapp got put back the way it was? Maybe ask on the Microsoft page where I found instructions for uninstalling and reinstalling it.

Next steps

* ask Microsoft about xboxapp
* check what the hell is up with Origin
–- which version am I currently running?
–- uninstall and reinstall Origin
* [b]maybe find out how to reinstall Windows, can it be done without losing my apps and data?[\b]
* try to get noCD exe working again

[b]Maybe I just forgot to put in the sgr files last time I nuked the Sims doc folder? Wait, do they go in Docs or Programs? Too tired to remember. My batch script knows. [\b]

On phone. Mess with computer later. Need sleep

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Mad Poster
#136 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:08 AM
Let me see what I can answer:

1. Repair/New game folder is, as far as I know, the only way to get back to the vanilla state. A repair on its own will fix the registry keys as well, but not change things in game (eg. your cc remains intact, if you use empty hoods, they remain intact).

2. The UC is not a one time download. There is some limit, I believe, I remember one player referring to it, but it should be rather high, since I uninstalled and downloaded it a number of times in the beginning before I learned more. There is a limit on the number of computers, though - 5.

3. Corruption - I am not sure if crashing is due to corruption, although it might be. My hood never crashed, just vanished (all the other hoods were still there, working fine).
Space Pony
#137 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:20 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Justpetro
Let me see what I can answer:

1. Repair/New game folder is, as far as I know, the only way to get back to the vanilla state. A repair on its own will fix the registry keys as well, but not change things in game (eg. your cc remains intact, if you use empty hoods, they remain intact).

.



Now I am curious, as I have not repaired lately, the only time i did do it was way back when repair was pretty same as reinstall. You say " if you use empty hoods, they remain intact" ? so it means the repair does not change the hood templates at programfiles (only way to have totally empty hoods) ? If so, the repair is not so good anymore.

~~~~Call me Ellu ~~~

My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
Mad Poster
#138 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:44 AM
@Kukamuukaanmuka: The repair has indeed changed (I am not exactly sure when) - that is why generating a new game folder plus repairing is needed.

I was testing empty hoods for Jawusa a while back - and played an empty hood as well, Then I missed the townies and bin sims and repairing did not put them back.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#139 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:45 AM Last edited by CatOfEvilGenius : 30th Jan 2018 at 3:56 AM.
I am trying to do a system restore of Windows 10. I made a Windows 10 restore point before changing my registry and uninstalling xboxapp (what Windows uses for Game DVR). Was not trying to do an Origin repair. I may just uninstall and reinstall Origin maybe.

sequence of events, what I did to try to get Origin UC to work on Windows 10 version 1709

1) I make a Windows restore point
2) I change the registry according to directions from Microsoft and Steam
Changed one registry key value and created two others.
3) I uninstall xboxapp in powershell, again, according to Microsoft instructions.

I tried to undo all the changes I made by hand.

reverse 3) I try to reinstall xboxapp according to microsoft instructions. This spews a page of errors. Maybe it worked, maybe not, no idea.
reverse 2) I remove the two registry keys I added and change the third one back to the value it had.

This does not appear to make my computer do what it did before. When I check what processes are running with Microsoft's process explorer 64, I notice some xbox DLL that was getting loaded is now no longer getting loaded. Also, my noCD Sims UC has STOPPED WORKING right, now it keeps crashing. So I try a system restore, thinking, whew, glad I made one, now all will be as it was. Silly, silly naive me.

reverse 1) Windows says the system restore would affect Origin, which I DID NOT change, and nothing about xboxapp, which I did change. Then it fails to do the system restore.

That's where I'm at now. Maybe I forgot to set Sims in game lighting to medium again and that will fix it. [fix noCD running I mean, not fix Windows] I seriously need sleep.

--------------------------

@Kukamuukaanmuka - @Justpetro - Thanks for letting me know I can install UC again if I uninstall it. Something is wonky with Origin (in addition to whatever is up with Windows and maybe xboxapp). Lookee below

10.5.10.24870 - 0 this is the Origin version Origin says it is right now, Help, About

10.5.10.24870 this is what Windows restore said it would remove when attempting to do a restore (which failed)

10.5.8.17910 this is what Windows restore said it would put back but the restore attempt failed

The restore point was from EARLIER TODAY. Origin must have updated versions TODAY while I was doing all my experiments with the registry and xboxapp because this is not complicated enough already. One could get a headache, I swear.

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Lab Assistant
#140 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 4:20 AM
Oh gosh, I wish I could help you here but I have no clue about any of that. I wonder if it will let you do a system restore if you uninstall Origin, since that seems to be a issue? Uninstalling Origin does not uninstall the game. If you uninstall the game you can re-download, I have every time I got a new pc since UC came out. That is so messed up, why make a restore point if it won't revert back. I think contacting Microsoft might be a good idea as well.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#141 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 4:45 AM
So maybe reinstalling xboxapp worked? I tested using Game Bar to record a video clip (of me running Notepad).

* enable Game Bar in Windows Settings, Gaming, Game Bar
* open notepad
* press Windows + G
* use Game Bar video record start/stop
* back in settings, gaming, game dvr, open folder - there's my awesome notepad video

So if xboxapp is needed for game bar video recording, then it did get reinstalled, I guess? Or maybe it's only used when doing background video recording of games? I don't know. But at least game bar seems functional so I didn't break that, maybe. *sigh*

Now to uninstall and reinstall stupid Origin that went and updated itself today, after my system restore point, and apparently made that system restore point unusable because Windows can't access a file (probably Origin's) now. *sigh* Stupid Windows. I should not call things stupid but I am in rather grumpy mood.

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Mad Poster
#142 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 5:03 AM
Yes to xboxapp getting reinstalled when needed - Windows 10 seems to do that (it also adds dropped drivers back when you restart your pc).
Lab Assistant
#143 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 5:15 AM
Quote: Originally posted by CatOfEvilGenius
So maybe reinstalling xboxapp worked? I tested using Game Bar to record a video clip (of me running Notepad).

* enable Game Bar in Windows Settings, Gaming, Game Bar
* open notepad
* press Windows + G
* use Game Bar video record start/stop
* back in settings, gaming, game dvr, open folder - there's my awesome notepad video

So if xboxapp is needed for game bar video recording, then it did get reinstalled, I guess? Or maybe it's only used when doing background video recording of games? I don't know. But at least game bar seems functional so I didn't break that, maybe. *sigh*

Now to uninstall and reinstall stupid Origin that went and updated itself today, after my system restore point, and apparently made that system restore point unusable because Windows can't access a file (probably Origin's) now. *sigh* Stupid Windows. I should not call things stupid but I am in rather grumpy mood.


That had to be the most boring video ever made! Sorry shouldn't be cracking jokes. Origin itself is a buggy mess, so I am not even sure you can totally blame Windows. I say they are in cahoots! At least it is good the X-box stuff is back.. right?? Maybe..
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#144 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 2:38 PM
@Jules1111 - It's boring AND low quality! I set the game bar video record frame rate to 30fps.

New plan. Avoid Origin like the plague. Took me a while to convince myself of this, but it finally sunk in.

Uninstalled Sims 2 UC in Origin.
Reinstalled Sims 2 UC in Origin.
Put in noCD exe w/ 4gb patch.
Put in my graphics rules and video cards sgr file.
Going to only use the noCD exe from now on.
Will report on whether it starts working again...

I do wonder if switching between noCD exe and Origin exe on the same neighborhood may have been bad for the data somehow?

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#145 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 2:40 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Justpetro
Yes to xboxapp getting reinstalled when needed - Windows 10 seems to do that (it also adds dropped drivers back when you restart your pc).

I have Windows 10 driver updates turned off. Can't properly do a clean driver reinstall with that on because Win 10 1709 messes up graphics driver installs somehow.
Maybe I'll do a clean graphics driver reinstall again if the latest round of tests doesn't work. Is it possible for games or Origin or Windows to mess up a graphics driver after it's been installed???

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Lab Assistant
#146 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:25 PM
@CatOfEvilGenious Now you know why so many people avoid Origin. It is a giant buggy glitchy mess, just like a EA game. I don't think switching the .exe would make a difference, most people don't do that until they have already started a game anyway. I don't think the number of times would matter. I don't know about the drivers. I assume because you shut down Windows installing it wouldn't mess with anything already installed. That of course assumes things are how they should be, and we all know that isn't always the case.

Windows should put out detailed patching notes. That way you could see exactly what was changed, might make it easier to nail down the culprit. I still can't figure out how it effects some people badly and others are not effected at all. Maybe there was a glitch when some peoples updates installed? That glitch could have saved some people as well as it could be causing the error. Maybe it has to do with how long you have been running 10? I wish I could figure out what about 10's latest patch that changed things so much a game that ran before won't run now.

I think people playing 3 and 4 are also having more crashing issues, though from what I have seen they seem to be fixable somehow.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#147 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Jules1111
I think people playing 3 and 4 are also having more crashing issues, though from what I have seen they seem to be fixable somehow.
I haven't read the Sims 3 and 4 threads. Do you recall what they're doing to fix issues with 3 and 4? Might it be applicable to 2?

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Lab Assistant
#148 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 3:45 PM
Quote: Originally posted by CatOfEvilGenius
I haven't read the Sims 3 and 4 threads. Do you recall what they're doing to fix issues with 3 and 4? Might it be applicable to 2?


No it is mostly just generic fixes. Reinstalling Origin (those games need it to play if you let them update 3) clearing caches, CC issues, updating or reinstalling drivers. At least that I have seen. I have been poking around in the tech sections there to see if anyone else was having issues. It seems more people have been having issues now then before, I think most of them involved Origin. I will keep poking though, maybe there is one or two somewhere that has not been solved yet. Unfortunately nothing we have not already tried.
Not actually evil.
Original Poster
#149 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 4:12 PM
noCD exe working again

The noCD exe is working for me again, if you don't mind occasional flashing pink soup. :/ It's always had pink soup.
Can get rid of pink soup by changing the in game texture quality setting from high to medium, then back again.
This forces the game to reload textures.

Kiri/celebkiredhel recommends medium light setting in graphics options. I use medium graphics effects too.
She recommends turning off reflections unless you're looking in a mirror.
I lower the burden on texture memory by setting lot view distance and lot fade distance lower.
I sometimes turn off neighbor lot objects. Can get really drastic and turn off neighbor lots, don't render them at all.

If things start flashing pink again, lower neighbor lot settings even more or turn neighbors off,
and toggle texture quality high/medium/high to reload textures. Repeat as needed.

Please spay or neuter your pets. --- Cat Music Video! --- my meshes
Lab Assistant
#150 Old 30th Jan 2018 at 5:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by CatOfEvilGenius
noCD exe working again

The noCD exe is working for me again, if you don't mind occasional flashing pink soup. :/ It's always had pink soup.
Can get rid of pink soup by changing the in game texture quality setting from high to medium, then back again.
This forces the game to reload textures.

Kiri/celebkiredhel recommends medium light setting in graphics options. I use medium graphics effects too.
She recommends turning off reflections unless you're looking in a mirror.
I lower the burden on texture memory by setting lot view distance and lot fade distance lower.
I sometimes turn off neighbor lot objects. Can get really drastic and turn off neighbor lots, don't render them at all.

If things start flashing pink again, lower neighbor lot settings even more or turn neighbors off,
and toggle texture quality high/medium/high to reload textures. Repeat as needed.


Great you got it working again. Of course that is a pain in the rear to keep having to do. It may be the best you can get right now though. I found this about 10 causing graphic issues and crashes.. on Guild Wars 2. Maybe something in here might help? Excluding the parts of pulling certain mods of course! https://windowsreport.com/guild-wars-2-windows-10/
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