Re: What?

From: Kent (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 04/05/04 

Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 07:34:08 -0700

I am having an issue of trying to re-install Sims and all
the expansion packs. When I put the CD in the drive, it
will not respond to the autoload. When I open the CD and
click on the install.exe file, again, the computer will
not respond. I had to reload XP after crashing the hard-
drive while screwing around with video drivers to put in a
new video card, which did not work. I am running XP on an
AMD Duron
>-----Original Message-----
>Hi Jessica,
>
>Please provide more specific details about your system
and the error
>if this doesn't help solve that problem for you...
>
>"Jessica" <drkangel333@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:51040A22-0D39-4301-B430-A7B6011615EB@microsoft.com...
>|I am trying to install The Sims. It's really confussing!
It wont open any windows!
>
>Will the Sims work on XP is a frequent question asked in
this newsgroup.
>According to EA Support the game should work under
Windows XP. :-)
>
>Hold onto your hat though, because they have a lot of
suggestions to offer:
>
>1. Make sure that you are logged in as the Administrator
(for Windows XP
>Professional) or Owner (for Windows XP Home). This will
usually be the first
>account that was created once Windows XP was fully
installed. If you are not
>certain, contact the manufacturer of your PC for
assistance in finding your
>Administrator/Owner account.
>
>2. Make sure that you have closed any programs or tasks
running in the
>background. To do this, hold the Ctrl and Alt keys down
at the same time and hit
>the Del key once. This will in turn bring up a window
called "Task Manager". You
>will then see 5 tabs; Applications, Processes,
Performance, networking, and
>Users. Select the Processes tab; this will list all
current programs that are running. Close all programs that
have your login ID
>next to them. Your user ID is listed in
>the second column next to the program name. For example
here is a portion of
>what you should see;
>
>Image Name User Name Session ID
>
>Explorer.exe Owner 01
>
>The Image Name column is the name of the programs
currently running. The User
>Name column is where you will find your User Name. The
best way to check this
>is to locate "Explorer" and see what it says under User
Name.
>
>Also, do not close any applications that say "System"
next to them. Be sure not to
>close a program labelled "Explorer" or "Taskmgr" as well.
You close each one of
>these applications by clicking on each one and hitting
the button "End Process".
>Note some applications may take multiple times before
closing. Don't worry that
>you are permanently changing your system configuration;
these applications will
>return when you restart your system.
>
>3. Try editing the shortcut to The Sims. To create a
shortcut, Right-click on the
>desktop, choose New, Shortcut, browse to The Sims folder.
(Usually C:\program
>files\maxis\the sims\sims.exe) Choose Next and finish the
shortcut. Right-click on
>the new shortcut and choose properties. Go to Shortcut,
and the Target Line
>should be high-lighted. Add the following switches to the
end of the line: -nodx6 -
>skip_verify -w
>
>(Ex: "C:\..\the sims\thesims.exe" -nodx6 -skip_verify -w )
>
>As a last resort use the -nosound switch to disable the
game sound.
>
>4. Try running the game in Windows Compatability mode for
either Windows
>98/Windows ME or Windows 2000. You can do this by right
clicking once on the
>shortcut and selecting properties by left-clicking on it.
Click on the tab that says
>Compatibility and enable "Windows95/98 compatibility
mode" or "Windows 2000
>compatability mode". You can also try running the
installation for the game using
>the Program Compatibility Wizard. You can find the wizard
program by clicking
>on Start - All Programs - Accessories and you will see
the shortcut for Program
>Compatibility Wizard listed there. Make sure that as you
walk thru the menus that
>you select the option "I want to use the program in the
CD-ROM drive." which
>will be the options on the second screen of the wizard.
>
>5. Update the drivers for your sound and video cards. To
update your soundcard
>driver, go to your sound card manufacturers web page and
download the most
>recent Windows XP driver available for your Sound card.
To update the driver for
> your videocard, first determine what type of videocard
you have. This information
>is usually available in the System control panel, in
Device Manager, under the
>display adapters heading. Next, try to obtain a new
driver for that device from the
>manufacturer, either by downloading one from the
manufacturer's website or by
>contacting the manufacturer of the card directly.
Installing newer drivers for both of
>these cards should fix your problem. If you need help
installing these drivers,
>please contact the manufacturer in question, as these
drivers are not our products.
>
>6. Try to lower the sound acceleration for your sound
card. To do this:
>
>a. Go to Start>Find>Files & Folders.
>b. In the "Named" box, type the following: dxdiag.exe
>c. Then make sure the "Look In" box is pointed to your
(C:\) drive.
>d. Click "Find Now".
>e. After the file has been found, double click on it to
run the application.
>f. Click on the tab labeled "Sound".
>g. Lower the Hardware acceleration down to "basic"
>h. Click "Exit" and try to run the game.
>
>7. Try to lower your video hardware acceleration. I would
like you to right click
>on your desktop and select Properties. Click on Settings
and then on the button
>that says Advanced. Once there, click on the tab that
says Troubleshooting.
>Adjust the setting to one notch to the right of NONE.
Also, be sure to check and
>make sure that the option Write Combining has been
unchecked. Then try the
>game again.
>
>8. Also, if you have any virus protection programs like
Norton or McAfee,
>temporarily disable them by right clicking on the icon in
your system tray in the
>lower right corner of the desktop and selecting "Disable"
or "Exit". Also be sure to
>end all background programs before attempting
installation. Do this by hitting
>Ctrl+Alt+Delete simultaneously and end tasking all
applications except for
>Explorer and systray.
>
>If the game still won't start up, try rebooting your
computer, then before you do
>anything, make sure to end all background tasks then try
starting up the game.
>
>
>Also, make sure that the default cdrom drive in windows
for playing audio cd's is
>the cdrom drive that you installed the game from.
>a) Go to "CONTROL PANEL" (click Start -> Settings ->
Control Panel)
>b) Double-Click "MULTIMEDIA"
>c) Click "CD MUSIC" Tab
>d) Where is says: "Default CD-ROM drive for playing CD
music", choose the
>letter of the drive that the game was installed from.
>
>Source:
>http://eatech.custhelp.com/cgi-
bin/eatech.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?
p_sid=F*O89Q1h&p_lva=13065&p_faqid=8350&p_created=103204776
7&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTM0OSZwX3Nl
YXJjaF90ZXh0PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPTMmcF9wcm9kX2x2bDE9MzY5JnB
fcHJvZF9sdmwyPX5h
>bnl_JnBfY2F0X2x2bDE9fmFueX4mcF9jYXRfbHZsMj1_YW55fiZwX3NjZl
9mYXFzKmMkcGxhdGZvcm09MTgyJnBfc29ydF9ieT1kZmx0JnBfcGFnZT0x&
p_li=
>
>--
>Cheers, Windows XP MVP
Shell / User
>Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
>
>
>Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?
scid=FH;[LN];gms
>Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite:
http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
>MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?
scid=sz;en-us;top
>My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I
confer any rights.
>_________________________________________________________
>
>
>.
>

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