Newly installed Sims 2 won't start

[PrincessPoison]

Hello there!

I've spent 2 days trying to get the Sims 2 to work, and I'm out of ideas and on the brink of desperation. XD
I hope you guys can help me.

I've played the game on this computer before (NL, Uni, OFB, Pets, Seasons, Glamour/Family Stuff), but I had to re-install Windows XP, so I lost my previous Sims installation. Installing the game is not a problem, but when I try to run it, I get the white "Sims 2" screen, my screen turns black for a second, and then... nothing. I installed all expansion/stuff packs (+ some new ones: Free Time, Teen Stuff, Kitchen + Bath, IKEA, Apartment Life, Mansion + Garden), and patches in the correct order before I discovered this error, so I tried un-installing everything and re-installing just the basegame, but I get the same error.

I read and tried these two:
http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Game_Problem
http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Delete_Cache_Files
But they didn't help me.

My System Specs:
Windows XP
Intel Celeron 3.20 GHz
1024 MB RAM

I played the old installation using my on board graphics card and a 15" monitor, but I recently bought a 24" widescreen monitor, so I needed a new graphics card (GeForce 8400, 512 MB video memory) as well.
All my drivers are up to date, and I tried installing the CD update from thesims.com, nothing works.

Is there anything else I can try?

[julianarosalia]

Have you tried running the game with out a My Docs/Sims2 and let a new one be generated?

[PrincessPoison]

Thanks for your reply!
Yes, I tried that. Didn't work, unfortunately.

[Mootilda]

Try running in a window. Try setting the resolution to something lower. Try using a standard aspect ratio. Try turning your sound off. For example, run with these command line options: -w -r800x600 -nosound

If it works, then fiddle with those options to try to determine when the problem starts; this might help narrow down the problem.

If it doesn't work, let us know.

[PrincessPoison]

Thanks, Mootilda! How/where could I change those settings? Or run the command line?

[Mootilda]

Open the shortcut that you use to run the game by right clicking on the shortcut and choosing Properties. Add the command line parameters that I showed you at the very end. Be sure to put a space at the end, before entering the parameters. Let me get you a screenshot to show you how I've done it.

[GeneralOperationsDirector]

Mootilda is right, but one thing that she didn`t mention is that some of those options only work when launching the game directly, and have no effect when launching through the launcher. Please note that the screenshot of her Properties window shows the shortcut pointing to the game executable itself, not to the launcher as the standard install defaults to.

[PrincessPoison]

Yay! It's working in the window!
I removed the nosound part, still working fine, then I started fiddling with the resolution. 1024x768 works, but when I put in a higher resolution (same ratio) it'll run, but at 800x600. Is there a way to fix this, or should I just stop whining and keep playing in a window at 1024x768?:P

[Mootilda]

What's the next resolution that you tried? I run at 1152x864.

So, we've managed to narrow your problem down to the video. That's a good step. You should probably try updating your video drivers, to see whether that resolves your problem.

You might also want to try this:
http://www.simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Cannot_Raise_Resolution

I'm afraid that I've taken you as far as I can with this... perhaps someone else has some suggestions.

[GeneralOperationsDirector]

Can you run it full-screen at all? What happens when you try to run in 800x600 full-screen?