Re: What?

From: Jimmy S. (Private)
Date: 04/05/04

  • Next message: Jimmy S.: "Re: drive" 
    Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 17:29:41 -0400

    Hi Kent,

    That type of error could mean the CD is corrupt... Check the CD
    and the CD Player. Clean both using a Cleaning Kit, and check for
    scratches on the CD. Try installing the game on another computer,
    if the game installs, the culprit is probably your CD ROM drive if it
    doesn't install then it's the CD, in which case you need to replace it.

    Before replacing the CD, try copying it to your hard drive and then
    run the setup / installation program from there. To copy the CD go
    to My Computer, Right-Click the CD, Choose "Copy", then Right-
    Click on your Hard Drive, Choose "Paste".

    Uninstall the game using Add-Remove programs before attempting
    to reinstall it. (Start / Control Panel / Add-Remove Programs).

    Here are three basic troubleshooting steps which I recommend:

    1. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
    programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
    blockers using: http://new.jtsoft2001.com/windows/startup.php

    You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
    http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

    2. Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com Afterwards
    Download & Run Spybot from: http://security.kolla.de to find any
    Trojans, Adware, or Spyware which could clog up your system.

    3. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
    / Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
    the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.

    If nothing including those 3 steps have resolved the problem so far,
    here's more basic troubleshooting steps and information including:
        The Safedisc patch
        How to check CD for imperfections, and
        How to Disable Virtual CD rom drives which is described at:
    http://tinyurl.com/2387c (EA General Support Page) and also:

        How to Troubleshoot Disc-Reading Issues
        Error Messages That May Be Caused by Disc-Reading Issues
        Troubleshoot Error Messages
        Examine the Disc
        Clean the Disc
        Test the Disc in a Different Drive
        Clean the Drive
        Test Disc Read with Copy or Xcopy
        Quit Unnecessary Software
        Switch the Drive Controller to DMA Mode, and
        How to Troubleshoot DVD Error Messages is available in this
    MS Article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=321641 

    -- 
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.
_________________________________________________________
"Kent" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:13cda01c41b1b$0df82650$a001280a@phx.gbl...
|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.
| >_________________________________________________________
| >
| >
| >.
| >
  • Next message: Jimmy S.: "Re: drive"