If you want some laughs, i've got them for you. After ALL that i've been through, the game still freezes. I'm about to contact Dell about their WONDERFUL gesture of tweaking the graphics cards. They are going to wish I had never found out about that. I intend for this problem to be fixed, one way or the other!

Ok, so let me see if I can get a proper overview of my situation.

The driver gets stuck in an infinite loop. I can't fix this with a new driver because Dell tweaked the card. The only replacement card is another Nvidia. The 110M. To do that requires replacing the motherboard according to the tech support. I could try the chance of buying more RAM. I have 1.67, but supposedly doing that might help.

I think thats right. Of everything tried, is there anything I haven't done?

Ok, thanks to my very exhausted mind, I realized that it is possible a downlaod could be the source of the issue. Because i'm so tired I realized I was missing something. Before I went on my downloading spree to get back as much as I could, there was a tiny difference. Aside from it not crashing (at least from what little I saw). When I start the game up, as it gets to the last bar-section of loading, the last thing before it finishes and brings up the neighborhoods, it flashes blue for less than a second. I hadn't taken that into account until tonight when I remembered it didn't do that before I re-installed the custom content. I know someone earlier on this thread mentioned that as a possibility. Please let me know if you find the object/s causing it. Considering that my favorite family has custom content and I don't know the name of it outside the game itself, i've got one heck of a mess to go through. I'll wait to hear (anything) from you before I start. Any content you know ISN'T causing it, or any content that IS. If the problem is as simple as this, I will be VERY happy, despite all I have been through. To know I don't have to spend money for a fix would be a joy.

The best thing to do is to try to solve your problems on a clean game. You do not want to complicate things by adding mods or hacks into the equation. Run the game with a clean Sims2 download folder if you want to see if custom content is affecting it.
http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=139718

IcyBlue,

I have been grappling with the same issue for over a month on my new custom built HP dv8000t which I received on 17 July : ~*~ HP dv8000t ~ Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2600 (2.16 GHz) ~ 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600 ~ 200 GB 5400 RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (100 GB x 2) ~ 2.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024MB) ~ 17.0" WXGA+ Ultra BrightView Widescreen (1440x900) ~*~

Being that the system is only a little over two months old, the issue did take place within a completely new install of The Sims 2 + all eps. In an attempt to solve the issue, I even reinstalled Windows at one point, to no avail. I’ve learned a few things along my journey into fixing the issue, hopefully the following info will be of help to you and others:

First of all, regularly released Nvidia drivers do NOT support mobile Nvidia Go cards. This is because certain “tweaks” are made to mobile drivers to allow laptops to perform in ways desktops do not – such as shutting off the screen when you close your laptop’s lid and so on. (See: http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_13953.html )

You need to look for mobile Nvidia drivers – and don’t bother doing so at the Nvidia site because they don’t release mobile versions of their drivers/ those that support laptops.

But don’t despair; there are places online to snag mobile Nvidia drivers! Try the following:

http://www.tweaksrus.com/index.php

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/

TweskRUs also offers tweaked (enhanced) Nvidia drivers for desktop cards as well. Just be sure that you download Mobile Drivers (the XTreme-G Mobile Edition Drivers). Desktop people can download the XTreme G Drivers.

Also, the issue may be “heat” related. These “Go” cards generate a lot of heat when processing The Sims 2. In such a confined space, such as that which exists within a laptop, it doesn’t take long for the temperature to rise when playing the game. Consider buying a “laptop cooling” unit for your laptop. I found a great one over at NewEgg for $20 :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16834999336

Regardless, snagging a “cool pad”/ cooler for your laptop is a good idea if you’re going to game on your laptop. Otherwise, things could overheat/ fry a system component, which is something laptop gamers want to avoid! The same goes for desktop gaming, but in a desktop there’s much more “room” so overheating does take some time longer than within the small confines of a laptop.

And finally, a BIOS update may be in order. I recently updated my BIOS and have found that it helped immensely with this issue! You’ll have to check your laptop manufacturer for this and see if they have any BIOS updates available.

Aside from the occasional “freeze up”, the game runs beautifully under the Nvidia Go card for me (just as well if not better than with my GeForce 6800 card on my desktop). Since the BIOS update however, the issue is almost completely nonexistent – I’ve only had the issue come up once after many hours of “glitch- free” play since updating the system’s BIOS.

Hope this Helps!

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

After trying a download-free game, I will try a BIOS update, if there is one. Once I know the results of that, I will let you all know if it worked or not.

And just as side note, when I am playing Sims2 I am usually in my room and constantly have a fan running and aimed in the direction of the laptop, so I think that might keep it cool.

Edit: I went ahead with the BIOS update. According to what it said, Mine was A01, while the version there is A03. So before I worry with the downloads, i'm testing that possibility. Also, in the update, it mentioned the graphics card as part of what was fixed.

I had posted earlier about the possible downloads problem and am still working on checking them. I have not yet found an offending download and my game is working without a hitch with what has been reloaded. I also have an HP dv8000 series laptop much the same as miska's.

Icyblue I haven't noticed the blue flash you mentioned on load up but will keep my eyes open. What I have noticed is that when I am loading a family there is always a pause at the 4th bar across the top on that load. However, when I have the freeze with the blue nvida error that pause on the 4th bar is extremely long. Will let you know what if anything I find.

Please keep me posted IcyBlue, and thank you GypsyO!

Perhaps together we can figure this issue out. I have even carried on a rather lengthy dialog with EA via their support area regarding this matter. These suggestions given to me by EA can be tried as well:


You will need to lower a Hardware Sound Acceleration setting on your computer to "basic". To do this, follow these steps:

• Click the Start button in the bottom left hand corner of your Desktop.
• Click on "Run".
• Erase any text already in the run prompt.
• Type in: dxdiag
• Click the OK button.
• Select the sound tab at the top of the tool.
• Set the Hardware Sound Acceleration Slider to "Basic".
• Click "Exit" in the bottom right hand corner.

If this will not resolve the issue, we suggest to manually uninstall the game. An improper installation or corruption of the game data can not only prevent the game from loading, but can cause the game to crash at seemingly random but very specific points in the game. When such an occurrence happens, it’s best to manually remove all of the components to make sure that next installation does not run into the same issues. To do a manual uninstall for The Sims 2 and expansions follow these steps (instructions referencing an expansion you do not own should be ignored):

To manually uninstall this game you will need to edit your system registry and remove the folders in a two part process. This will remove all traces of the game from your system.

To remove all of the game folders:

Open your My Documents folder.
Open the EA Games folder.
Right-click on The Sims 2 folder and choose Delete.
A Confirm Folder Delete window will appear, choose Yes.
When the folder is finished deleting, close the window.
Open My Computer.
Open your hard drive (by default this is C.
Open the Program Files folder.
Open the EA Games folder.
Right-click on The Sims 2 folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 University folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Nightlife folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Open for Business folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff folder and choose Delete.
A Confirm Folder Delete window will appear, choose Yes.
When the folder is finished deleting, close the window.
Right-click on your Recycle Bin and choose Empty Recycle Bin.

Now you can remove the registry keys for the game.

Click on Start and then click on Run...
In the text line type regedit, then click OK.
Click on File and then Export...
Choose a location and name for the file (this will be your backup registry file).
Click Save.

The next steps will all be performed in the left pane of the Registry Editor window.

Click on the + next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Click on the + next to SOFTWARE
Click on the + next to EA GAMES
Right-click on The Sims 2 folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 University folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Nightlife folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Open for Business folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff folder and choose Delete.
A Confirm Key Delete window will appear, choose Yes.
Click on the + next to Electronic Arts
Click on the + next to EA GAMES
Right-click on The Sims 2 folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 University and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Nightlife and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Open for Business folder and choose Delete.
Right-click on The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff folder and choose Delete.
A Confirm Key Delete window will appear, choose Yes.
Click on the + next to Microsoft.
Click on the + next to Windows.
Click on the + next to Current Version.
Click on the + next to Uninstall.

If you have The Sims 2 CD-edition, right-click on the Key named {8AB8D458-939E-403F-0097-9BA1C1F013D5} and choose Delete; if you have the DVD edition, right-click on the Key named {40C03514-89C3-41BA-0090-3B440256DB87} and choose Delete.

If you have University: Right-click on the Key named {8FD3F4BA-A4A6-4380-00A6-CC6853AB2DC2} and choose Delete.

If you have Nightlife: Right-click on the the Key named {F7529650-B9DB-481B-0089-A2AC3C2821C1} and choose Delete.
If you have Open for Business: Right-click on the the Key named {7B3577F5-1D82-4C9B-008B-69D026FD8BCA} and choose Delete.

If you have Family Fun Stuff: Right-click on the key named named {6BDD9CE6-D0A6-478A-BAD3-BA6945E89EB0} and choose Delete.

A Confirm Key Delete window will appear, choose Yes.

The Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business and Family Fun Stuff have now been completely removed from your system. You can now reinstall all games.



I have not tried the complete uninstall as I didn’t deem it necessary at this point, but the information is good to have all the same.

I have however lowered the sound card’s acceleration by going into:

Start Button

Settings

Control Panel

Sound and Audio Devices Properties

Voice Tab

Under Voice Playback click the Advance Button

Then the Performance tab in the Advanced Audio Properties box

I then slid the Hardware Acceleration slider to the second to last option to the left.

I’m not sure if this has helped the matter in any appreciative way, but figured it couldn’t hurt. Also, I have not noticed any degradation of sound because of the lower hardware settings.

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

Miska thank you very much for all the information. Have just finished updating my bios and resetting my audio as you did. I will continue to add downloads back into my game to see if and when the problem reappears. I will keep both you and Icyblue informed of anything I find.

You’re Welcome GypsyO! :)

I also chatted with an HP tech this past Friday, and she suggested updating the Intel Chipset in the even that the BIOS update didn’t do the trick.

So, I went to the software and drivers page at HP:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&lang=en&os=228

And did this Chipset update:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...item=ob-42511-1

and bookmarked this Chipset update:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...item=ob-39732-1

in case the initial chipset update wasn’t enough. I haven’t had time to test this yet, but I’m hoping this will “do the job”.

Also, I was able to play for a few hours without any troubles at all after I began playing in a completely “new” neighborhood (not one of the Maxis default hoods). Not sure if this has anything to do with helping the issue, but it was encouraging to finally not have the system “freeze”. So, just for the “experimental” purposes, try making a completely new neighborhood (yes, it’s a pain to make new sims for this, I know! Lol) – but see if you notice a difference and let me know.

I haven’t yet tried removing hacks from my game – I don’t play with many hacks installed, only the following:

antibabylecture.package
antifoodnap.package
antiwatchout.package
CAS-Face-Replacements.package
CBOY_EatMoreTalkLess.package
coffeecuphack.package
dontwaveatme.package
doorbell-quieter.package
LotFullofSims0x0177.package
nowhatsthis.package
Numenor_Turn-Off-TV_Fix.package
smartercashier.package

I’m not sure if one of these could be causing the problem, but will look into them if I am unable to get the game running normally “with” them. ;)

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

miska, Thank you for all the additional information.

icy and gypsy, please continue to post updates on your progress.

Well, my laptop just recovered from another crash after the BIOS update. It seemed to be doing so well. I actually managed to get through 5 sim days before it froze. Then I went in and made the arrangements for a wedding and it crashed as soon as I went back to live mode. I will now test lowering the Audio, and if that doesn't work I will remove the downloads. As for the chipset updates, i'm not entirely sure if I can use the ones you found, as my laptop is a Dell and not HP. I do hope we can figure this out. Its saddening to not be able to play now that I finally have a machine that meets all the requirements and, according to requirements, should work very well.

No problem julianarosalia!

Icy,

I HIGHLY recommend that you (and probably all other computer users on the planet) get your hands on a copy of the Everest Home Edition software. This handy software tool will be able to tell you everything you’d ever need to know about your system specifications, not only that, but the bonus is that it’s FREE! :D

This “home edition” is the final release of this “freeware” version from the Lavalys company, so download it somewhere ‘safe’ so you never lose it – after you use it you’ll understand why I say this.

You can download a copy of Everest Home Edition, here:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

You can snag drivers for your Intel Chipset directly from Intel:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scr...x?ProductID=816

You’ll need to know exactly what your chipsets are, so this is why you need to snag a copy of Everest before heading to Intel.

Be sure to read all the “read me” info for your Chipset and for the drivers before install (I’m sure you would, but had to throw that in just to be thorough

Also, another handy little place I ran across for Bios drivers (updates) is here:

http://www.bios-drivers.com/

If you want to try to look “outside” of your system manufacturer (Dell) for drivers, another handy little place I ran across for locating drivers for any system’s hardware (laptop and desktop):

http://www.driverguide.com/

Aside from other things I’ve suggested, have you tried turning “down” the game’s settings? Graphical settings are where I would start. Try turning off Shadows (or turning them lower if they are on the High setting) and Reflections as well. I turned OFF the Special Events Camera (where you would typically see the cut scenes/ movies) and the PIP (picture in a picture – where you’d see the little box when visitors are at the door, the maid arrives, etc.).

You could (if you wanted), initially turn down all the game’s settings to the lowest settings, then if those settings work better for you, then increase settings little by little and test as you go.

Also, you could try a house with just one Sim (create a “testing” family with just one Sim) and see how the game runs. I’m wondering if this is a matter of how many Sims are on a lot at one time. If that doesn’t work (with the lowered game settings), remove all hacks (if any) then try again and see if that helps.

Have you received any “error messages” from the game itself or Windows? For me and my “issue” I have not received any errors from any source. I’ve even checked the Windows Event Log to see if there were logged Application errors reported, and there never are.

Don’t worry Icy, we’ll make these machines “bend to our will”, or they will suffer the consequences! Lol

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

Well, I have what can be considered good and bad news. The good news is I got about 2 hours(estimated) of playing time in! No BSOD. However, it did eventually crash. Turning down the sound acceleration thing, which did not seem to change sound quality, seems to have stopped my BSOD problems for the moment. However, I got some error message about D3d_ERR unavailable or something like that. It closed itself before I could see the whole thing. Half of it was covered for some reason. I will try those suggestions you have listed above to see if they fix this new problem. At least for now it seems the more dangerous problem has stopped.

Edit: I forgot to mention something, and it may mean nothing or all the difference in the world. Before playing, I turned my screen resolution down to the resolution the game uses. I usually have one much higher as I prefer it to everything being so big. This could have effected it, or maybe not. I really am not sure.

Also, you mentioned the amount of sims on a lot. I got the 2 sims married, and threw a party. There were the 2 sims, 4 guests, and the maid. It played wonderfully and never had a problem. So I don't think its that.

Also, I turned off the little PIP that shows those events. I still have the special event camera on, as it has never been involved with any freezing issues.

After I clicked post I remembered all of that. As for 'bending them to our will', I just want to make that happen before the pets arrive lol



I'm looking at the readme info, as well as my system info, and i'm not entirely sure which update to get. All it asked for was my operating system and i'm not really experienced in this area so I am not sure as to what I am doing.

Once again, thank you very much Miska for great info. I'm still happy to report my game is running well so far. Although that doesn't tell us what the problem is.

Have added back several mods in including:
Inteenimater
Merola's Multi Painting
Merola's Mind Control Mirror
SimCutie's Power Expresso
CAS Face Replacements
Pescado's Autoyak
Pescado's FFS Lot Debugger
Pescado's Greater Lifetime Wants
Pescado's Daily Gardener
Pescado's No Eat Crap

I have been using two custom neighborhoods, one called Pleasant Village created by SaraMK and one of my own. I can tell you I have most often experienced the BSOD after about 3 sims days when one of of my pregnant sims "pops" to the final trimester. This may be pure coincidence but it is what has happened most times.

Don't know if that any of this helps but I'm going to add back more & give it another go.

Hello, Hello. . Icy and GypsyO!

Okay, I “think” I’ve found the “magical driver” that just may be “the” solution to this freezing nonsense, but don’t quote me on that unless I’m correct! lol

In case it’s not already understood, the “latest” drivers aren’t always the “best” per say; it all depends on what you want to do with your machine, what problems were fixed with a new driver release and what “new” problems are introduced with a new driver. It all boils down to a matter of having to “shop around” and finding what works best with your system/ hardware and of course, what works the best for the task at hand.

That being said, I went on (yet another) “driver hunt”, deciding to try another driver (why not?). I had been using Nvidia mobile 91.74 drivers. These weren’t too bad, not the best, but not bad. I could tell there were slight issues with these drivers (nothing major that would make you say “Whoa! These drivers suck” or anything like that, just small bits of latency during various aspect of the game (when sims change into other outfits, or before entering the shower . . little things like that). I also noticed with the 91.74 drivers, the neighborhood view/ camera didn’t “flow” as smoothly as it should; again this to me was a minor issue, nothing major).

So, last night on my hunt I came across the 84.98 drivers and I’m really LOVING these drivers so far. I was able to play last night perfectly, without issues/ problems. I almost forgot I was playing on my laptop, and only was reminded of the fact because I am now in the habit of “saving” every few minutes “just in case”.

I would really like you both to try the 84.98 drivers and tell me if these help your issue. For mobile drivers, the only “added” step is replacing the .inf file with a modified .inf file so as the drivers will install properly. These are drivers originally from Nvidia, but modified slightly (within the .inf file) so they will install on laptops properly.

I snagged these from Laptopvideo2go – specifically this page:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum...showtopic=10702

On this page at the top, you will need to download the drivers and the modded inf file as well. Then once both are downloaded, execute the driver’s executable ( 8498.exe), which will decompress the file into it’s own directory/ folder. Then take the modded inf file, and copy it, then paste it into the directory the 8498.exe decompressed to. Doing this will overwrite the original inf file (you will be prompted, so agree to replace the existing file).

Then after this, proceed to install the drivers through the Device Manager, using the “Have Disk” method and point the install wizard/ prompts to the directory/ folder where the 8498.exe decompressed to (usually/ by default this will be C:\8498 – unless you initially direct it to decompress elsewhere).

If all this sounds like “gibberish” (and there’s no problem if it does), you can find a better explanation of the manual install process (with picture guidance) at the Laptopvideo2Go Quick Start Guide:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum...?showtopic=9243 - this will explain just how and why the drivers are modified and the following will explain (with picture guidance) how to do a manual “have disk” driver install (in case this information is needed):

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum...?showtopic=9243


Once you get these installed, if not prompted, you’ll want to reboot. Once you’re back into Windows, go into the Task Manager (ctrl+alt+delete) and end unneeded background tasks. At the top of the processes list (but below the tabs) you’ll see several column labels: “image name”, “user name”, “cpu” and “mem usage”. Click on the words “User Name” to sort all processes by the user who started the processes (either directly or indirectly through how they setup their installed programs). You should see your Windows User Name and to the left (under Image Name) the name of the program running under your User Name. You should be able to safely right click on each process running under your User Name, then select “End Process” to shut it down. Don’t worry, after you reboot your machine again, all the ‘gobbledygook ‘ will startup again, but for now you want to free up as many resources as possible, so that game can use them if need be.

WARNING: Do NOT shut down “explorer.exe” OR “taskmgr.exe” – these are part of the OS and needed by Windows in order to run. However, if you do get “too happy” during your ending of processes and close/ end something you shouldn’t, you can click on the word File at the top of the Windows Task Manager box, select the New Task (Run . . .) option and type in explorer.exe (or the name of the process you accidentally ended – but shouldn’t have). If this doesn’t “do the trick”, just reboot and all will be back to normal. If by some odd chance you ended explorer.exe or takemgr.exe, and no longer see your taskbar at the bottom of the screen, whatever you do, don’t close the task manager box (otherwise, you’ll have to just hit the power button to shut down – causing the system to have to do a “hard boot” - a boot after a crash – and this isn’t the best option if it can be avoided. Just click “Shut Down” at the top of the Task Manager Box, then select the restart option to reboot.

In any case, you want to have the least number of background processes running before you even start up the game. In my opinion, it is the very best practice to now allow 98% of the ‘gobbledygook’ start up with Windows that initially does. In all truth, only the system (OS) files need to start up, but any other programs outside of the OS do not. You can tell whether or not you have a bunch of ‘gobbledygook’ starting with windows, if you look to the bottom right hand side of your screen and see a bunch of icons to the left of your system clock. In my (very humble) opinion, if you have more than say four icons down there (aside from the clock) that’s just too many. The only thing allowing a program to start on boot does is allow quick access to the program in question, which is unnecessary when all you need to is go into the Start/ Programs area of the start menu (yes, I run in Classic Mode) and just open whatever program you need from there. Bottom line: Don’t waste system resources starting up junk you can start manually when needed, there is no real point in doing so. Okay, that was my “diatribe for the day” – lol.

I am a firm believer that many issues with The Sims 2 stem from poorly maintained systems - not that I’m accusing either one of you of this behavior. I just thought I’d mention this in case it wasn’t considered.

The way I see it, a well maintained system is another good way at pinpointing problems when troubleshooting issues like the one we’ve been dealing with. This way, you can be assured that your hard disk(s), registry and files are in “tip, top shape” and any issue isn’t stemming from a corrupted file somewhere in the ‘mix’.

A very good habit to get into - with regard to your machine - is regularly defragmenting the hard drive or hard drives (if you have more than one). I may go a bit overboard here – as I defrag my drives every night before shut down. Moreover, I can highly recommend a superb defrag program (and one I’ve been using for well over a year and a half) – and it’s called O&O Defrag (now at version 8.5), from O&O Software. I love this program and it does all it says in terms of enhancing system performance and then some. The one single feature that “sold” me on this product was the fact that I can set my system to defrag, and then shut down once defragmentation is complete. If you buy one system utility this year, make this the one! One of the new features in 8.5 is a ‘screensaver’ that when activated will defrag your system, once you’re back at your machine and working (or gaming) again, the screensaver stops defragmenting completely until the machine goes idle once more – good for those who don’t want to bother setting up defrag jobs.

There is a 30 Day (no obligation) FREE trial on this, and it can be found here:

http://www.oo-software.com/en/products/oodefrag/

If you’re looking to clean up your system a bit, I’ve run across recently a handy little (free) tool called CCleaner (i.e. – Crap Cleaner – no kidding) and this can be found here:

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Just be sure in CCleaner, to NOT choose “Hotfix Uninstallers” in the options area, or you will face rather BIG problems if you ever go to uninstall a hotfix from Microsoft (amongst various other varieties of issues that could result in doing so).

Another good way to keep your system “happy” and agreeable is to do regular scans of the Registry (especially if you install/ uninstall programs/ files often). I’ve been using Tune Up Utilities software for several years (through several versions including 2006) – this is a very nice set of utility tools, that I’d recommend to anyone just getting into maintaining their systems. I even forced my husband to get his own copy! You can find this software here: http://www.tune-up.com/ I especially like the processes management section which will better define what software running processes belong to (helps in deciphering what is ‘safe’ to shut down and what isn’t before loading up The Sims 2).

A recent “utility discovery” that I was pleased to find is RegCure (http://regcure.com/ ) – just as I’m fastidious with my hard disks, I am the same with my registry and am always in the market for a good system utility tool. RegCure is a solid little tool and will keep your Registry ‘spic and span’ – you can schedule scans or run them manually, your choice. For my next utility in managing system processes I plan to snag a copy of WinTasks (http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/ ) - which I have been eyeing for some time, but just haven’t gotten around to looking deeper into.

In any case, I hope the information here helps, at the very least, a little.

Please keep me posted as to how things go, especially if either of you try the 84.98 drivers. I’m interested in seeing how these work for either or both of you.

And finally a little Disclaimer here: If anyone reads the preceding and decides to act on my advice, please note that you do so at your Own Risk. If your system blows up, emits a foul odor, begins speaking in tongues, eats important documents, leaks personal data onto the ‘net or spews forth foul language to your children/ neighbor/ friend/ grandma/ or other human you may have close ties with, I am NOT to blame!

Whoops Icy, I almost forgot to address your recent concerns/ findings . . . if I were you, I'd try the video card driver I mentioned above, then you may want to look into updating the driver for your sound card and see if this helps your system. You already did the BIOS update, so no need to worry about that as you're already up to date there.

Good Luck and keep us posted!

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

You're Welcome GypsyO, no problem.

Hmmm . . . . no, it doesn't, but it's promising all the same! I still think HP could have added in another fan to the system or at least another vent. I was amazed to find only the single on the bottom. The 7600 "lives" at the upper left hand corner of the system - to the left of the power button. You may want to keep "watch" of this area, and if it gets too warm (warmer than body temperature) aim a fan at that area just to be safe. While playing, you can hear the fan modulate at various points in the game. Before my BIOS update, the fan was running "high" almost constantly throughout play (and always before freezing). Now the fan cycles and shuts off intermittently - as it should. But I still monitor that corner and feel around back behind where the card is and check the temp of the air coming out back there. (perhaps I'm paranoid? lol)



The power expresso sounds like a good one, does that just raise energy levels faster? Don't you love the CAS Face Replacements? I'll have to look into the Pescado ones you've mentioned. I have an older version of the daily gardener I believe, haven't been "shopping" for hacks for awhile, so I think I'm "due". The No Eat Crap sounds like a good one, I hate having to babysit to make sure a Sim doesn't eat rotton food - then again, when I come across a Sim I don't like, I turn a "blind eye" and let them have at it! Lol



You know, this is making me think the issue does stem from the default hoods, though I'm really not sure why this would be. Do you play any of the default hoods, or just custom hoods?

Interesting, come to think of it, I do recall the "freeze" taking place in two different households where women were pregnant, but don't recall missing any of thier "bump growth" moments.

Also, when the "freeze" happens on my system, I don't even get a BSOD, the entire system, minus my mouse, locks up and I can't Tab out of the game or anything. My mouse works though and I can hear all the sounds of the game normally playing along as if all was normal. Very strange. I think I would rather have a BSOD, at least there is information in those errors that can be worked with.


Please keep us posted and thanks for filtering through the hacks, I appreciate the information.

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

Miska
I know my fan has rarely run high, once in awhile but not often. Will have to pay more attention to how it coincides with any problems. Thought at first it may have been an overheating problem but then left my laptop on and running for an entire day in a freshly installed neighbourhood with no added downloads and it never gave me a spec of trouble.

The power expresso will max any single or all needs or allow you to set aspiration to platinum. Don't use it often but if a pregnant sim's needs are too low I may use it rather than risk the miscarriage. Most if not all my hacks are from Pescado's OFB director's cut.

I don't play the Maxis neighbourhoods as such, I have a combined neighbourhood of all 3, where Strangetown & Veronaville are downtowns to Pleasantville. All of my crashes have been in my custom neighbourhood which is actually made of extracted Pleasantville ancestors.

My freezes are most frequently as described by Icyblue, where it freezes then goes to the blue screen with the nvidia error message and then reboots, but I have had freezes where eventually I'm able to Ctrl-Alt-Del out and then just receive a simple application has crashed message.

I am going to try the video drivers you recommended tonight when I get home. I am currently using the drivers on HP site, version 8.4.5.4. Will let you know if I find anything to be different but as I've said at the moment things seem to be working. :D

I tried several drivers on that website, and they all caused a BSOD. The last one forced me to boot up in safe mode to remove it.

As for it possibly coming from default neighborhoods, I never play in the defaults. I like making my own.


Ok, I removed my downloads and made a new neighborhood, completely clean. No downloads, no sims. I played for about 3 hours and never had a problem. The first thing I am going to put back in my hacks and see if one of them caused the problem. I hope that its just like 1 download. I really don't want to have to recreate all the sims I love to play. I've got so many and so many intertwined families and relationships. I don't want to lose that.

Oh, and I just had a random passing thought. Is it at all possible to have too many downloads and have THAT cause the problem? Or maybe too many sims? I don't know, i'm just wondering. I did move some sims from the main neighborhood to a downtown area so I had more room...I suppose this could be involved somehow.

Icyblue, I am still up and running ok with limited downloads. I've wondered the same thing about too many downloads. Don't believe it is too many sims because the neighbourhood my crashes happen in are very lightly populated. I have been running well (no crashes not even a hiccup) for about a week now. I'm slowly adding the downloads back in and hoping I'll find it to be as simple (although still annoying) as a bad piece of custom content. Since I have experienced no further problems (since cleaning out the downloads) I really do believe it is download related. Had a similar problem in Sims 1 too and finally traced it to a bad wallpaper. I have a lot more cc in 2 so it is going to take awhile I'm afraid. At least I'm becoming more convinced that there is nothing wrong with our new laptops, we just need to do some detective work.

yeah...i have loads of cc, so its going to take a very long time to go through. Especially playing a family with no custom content. Having to put my favorite family on hold is saddening. Tho it is interesting that the 2 items i managed to get for glamour life are there, even though my downloads folder has been moved. The TV and picture still show.

Hello, Hello . . . GypsyO and IcyBlue!

Well, the driver that was "magical" for a moment, "pooped out" on me last night and yet again my game froze. >:(

So, I reverted back to the driver on the HP site - 84.54.

Come to think of it, after I received this laptop (on 17 July) and first installed the game, I remember never having a problem with the game. Of course, my first uses of this system were while I was out of town (on a trip to visit my in-laws). During this time, I had no hacks or cc installed and I never had a problem with the game. I don’t know why I hadn’t remembered this before. I recall playing for hours without issue - the problems didn't exist until I returned home and starting re-downloading hacks/ cc.

So now, I guess it "is" a matter of which hack or cc item is causing the issue. I can't imagine it being CC, since the only CC I use are hair, clothing, and those types of things, never anything that outwardly modifies gameplay, which is what I use hacks for. I don’t think it’s a specific piece of CC because my Sims aren’t doing anything specific when the freeze happens. This is really a rather “lame” issue simply because of its “random” nature and the fact that I never receive an error and there are never any errors written in the system’s event log.

I’m wondering if I should just send this in to HP and have them throw in a new card. I would do it myself (and am greatly tempted to do so) but these cards (at least to my knowledge) cannot be purchased outright since laptop cards were never initially intended to be upgraded/ swapped out.

Regards,

~*~ Miska ~*~

Actually, even custom content that doesn't modify gameplay can still cause problems. And items like hair can have high poly counts which can increase the graphical processing load.

Well, i'm going to start with hacks. I'm actually dividing all of my custom content into folders right now, which will make it easier to add back. Instead of selecting multiple files. I'll just keep swapping the folders out until I find the troublesome one. All I know is use of the object isn't involved. There isn't one piece of custom content constantly involved in all the houses I have the issue in.

You know, I just realized something that may or may not matter. Awhile back I moved to teens to college. While I was playing them in college, I don't remember having a problem. The college was all just the buildings that came with the game, none I built or anything. I truly do think the root of all the problems with the BSOD lie in custom content. We all just kept looking in the wrong places for a fix.

Hello . . .

JulianaRosalia, thank you for the information regarding hair files, I never considered the number of polygons being problematic. This is good to know; perhaps I should go through my hair files and work through those. I have been meaning to go through them anyhow because it’s just “time” to do so – there are quite a few I never use/ don’t like.

Icy, please keep us posted as to what happens with the hacks. Perhaps this is a matter of us needing to update our hacks with newer versions, not sure yet.

Regards,

~* ~ Miska ~*~