All sim wants and fears gone, reinstalling *didn't help*

[Macaroodle]

I don't think I did anything different to cause this.... a long time ago, my mom (whom I share the game with) did some makeovers to the Repo Man, Food Judges, etc. and had a sim interact with the Repo Man. But she hasn't touched the "dangerous" NPCs for a long time, and neither have I. We may have even re-installed since then.

Anyway, all of a sudden, a few days ago, none of the sims in any of our neighborhoods had any wants or fears. I backed everything up, then I took out our Downloads folder and SavedSims folders... didn't help. I'm pretty sure I renamed the Sims 2 folder to Sims 2 Backup so it'd regenerate everything, but I can't remember exactly. We've got all the patches except for the one for Family Fun Stuff, which we don't have.

Sooooo I uninstalled the stuff packs and expansion packs, one by one, then the game itself. I got rid of the leftover program data and cleaned the registry with Ccleaner.

Then I reinstalled the game, EPs and SPs. I didn't put back any downloads or neighborhoods, but when I ran the game just now their wants and fears were still gone.

The only thing I can figure out is that I didn't uninstall them and re-install them in the order they were released. Would that make any difference? Should I uninstall CEP, Sims2Pack Clean Installer, and SimPE?

Any help would be appreciated... I have absolutely no clue what to do now. :(

System specs:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 3/30/2012, 23:14:24
Machine name: TRC110714A
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.100218-0019)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq-Presario
System Model: RK549AA-ABA SR2170NX
BIOS: BIOS Date: 04/11/2007 Ver: 08.00.13
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 1790MB RAM
Page File: 1160MB used, 4654MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6000.16386 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
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Card name: ATI RADEON XPRESS 1100 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Xpress Series (0x5A61)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5A61&SUBSYS_2A4F103C&REV_00
Display Memory: 895 MB
Dedicated Memory: 255 MB
Shared Memory: 639 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: atiumdag.dll,atiumdva.dat,atitmmxx.dll
Driver Version: 7.14.0010.0449 (English)
DDI Version: 9Ex
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 11/1/2006 11:16:06, 2493952 bytes

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Sound Devices
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Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0888&SUBSYS_103C2A4F&REV_1000
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5322 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 11/8/2006 15:09:24, 1647976 bytes

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Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
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Drive: C:
Free Space: 14.3 GB
Total Space: 100.0 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Maxtor 6H500F0 ATA Device

Drive: D:
Free Space: 0.9 GB
Total Space: 5.9 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Maxtor 6H500F0 ATA Device

Drive: E:
Free Space: 9.5 GB
Total Space: 10.0 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Maxtor 6H500F0 ATA Device

Thanks in advance.

[Mootilda]

Then I reinstalled the game, EPs and SPs. I didn't put back any downloads or neighborhoods, but when I ran the game just now their wants and fears were still gone.

The only thing I can figure out is that I didn't uninstall them and re-install them in the order they were released. Would that make any difference?The installation order shouldn't make a difference, although EA lists an install order (see end of this post). It's difficult to imagine what would cause the behavior that you're seeing. What happens when you send a sim to a community lot, or any other activity which would normally reset the wants and fears, such as sleeping through the night?

Should I uninstall CEP, Sims2Pack Clean Installer, and SimPE?CEP was probably uninstalled automatically when you uninstalled the game. The Clean Installer and SimPE both use the registry entries for the game, but don't otherwise affect the game at all. So, you shouldn't need to uninstall and reinstall them.

From: https://help.ea.com/article/RN2229
Here is the order that The Sims 2 should be installed in:

* The Sims 2™ (or Sims 2 Deluxe, Sims 2 Double Deluxe or Sims 2 Holiday Edition, whichever you have)
* University (or University Life Collection)
* Nightlife (disregard if you have Sims 2 Deluxe or Double Deluxe)
* Christmas Party Pack (US) OR Holiday Party Pack (UK)
* Open for Business or Best of Business Collection
* Family Fun Stuff or Fun with Pets Collection
* Glamour Life Stuff
* Pets (disregard if you have Fun with Pets Collection)
* Happy Holiday Stuff (Disregard if you have Sims 2 Holiday Edition)
* Seasons
* Celebration Stuff (disregard if you have Double Deluxe)
* H&M Fashion Stuff (disregard if you have Best of Business Collection)
* Bon Voyage
* Teen Style Stuff (disregard if you have University Life Collection)
* FreeTime
* Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (disregard if you have Best of Business Collection)
* IKEA Home Stuff (disregard if you have University Life Collection)
* Apartment Life
* Mansion & Garden Stuff (disregard if you have Fun with Pets Collection)

Also, be sure to patch whenever you are prompted by the game to do so.

[Macaroodle]

We tried playing with the sims whose wants and fears were gone, but they kept jumping out of actions, couldn't make phone calls and other weird stuff.

Soooooo, I uninstalled the game, re-installed the base game, played it, and then continued with each EP and SP, playing inbetween with no CC. Everything worked just fine until Mansion & Garden Stuff, then the wants and fears were gone again. On another thread someone else had a similar problem with Free Time, and the conclusion was that the disc was probably bad. Would that be the case here? It seems strange that the disc would go bad from one play time to another without even being removed from the drive. Could that happen?

We also tried cleaning it really well, uninstalling M&G, playing AL, then reinstalling M&G. Same thing happened.

[Mootilda]

Yes, it's possible that your problems could be a bad disk. It's not a very likely situation, but in your case it sounds like one of the only possible explanations.

[Macaroodle]

Thanks so much for your help! :) It's great to have an answer- we'll have to order a new disc, I guess. Could be worse! Thanks again for your help!

[Macaroodle]

Okaaaayyy... we ordered a new disc and it didn't work either. Any thoughts?

[simsample]

Your graphics card is very weak for the game- take a look here:
Game Help:System Requirements/MTS2 Recommendations
It could be that the non-rendering of the wants is due to this- remember that computer components can wear too, and that if you have other tasks running when using the game this can stress the system and reduce the resources available to the graphics chip.

It could be that you've had a driver update or something which has changed things. Either way, read this too:
Game Help:Your Computer is Like a Car