Okay, I know I was supposed to look for help under the Game Help section (I did btw!) but it's come up with nothing to help me...so I need real people to read my problem. I have found info about black computers and tv screens but I don't have that problem. It's my mirrors! And sometimes they turn blue but they aren't reflective anymore. I didn't use to have this problem so I dunno what happened. I think it changed when I added one of the expansion packs. But black mirrors look especially tacky when I add large mirrors to a room. Somebody please help me. This is very frustrating!

no idea.. I do have a guess though. Try turning off reflections under graphic options and see if that helps.

In order to better solve your problem, please go through the following as listed below:

• General - Post System Specs
  We need more information before we can help with your issue. Please post your system specs - instructions on finding them are here: Game Help:System Specs^wiki.
  
  If it is not specifically asked, please provide the Quick summary only.
  

I've moved your thread to the Help section - since discussion is not for help questions.

On occasion you might be asked to do a long FAQ - please make sure you do all the steps and don't just skip over them. You'll often find that these long FAQs have all the details you need. If nothing in the above FAQs fixes your problem you may post again detailing exactly which you have done and which steps failed.

I didn't know if I was supposed to respond here but oh well.



==System==

* Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600)
* System Manufacturer: INTELR
* System Model: AWRDACPI
* Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz
* Memory: 1024MB RAM
* Page File: 636MB used, 1825MB available
* DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

==Display==

* Name: NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200
* Manufacturer: NVIDIA
* Chip Type: GeForce4 Ti 4200
* Approx. Total Memory: 64.0 MB

* Main Driver: nv4_disp.dll
* Version: 6.13.0010.2832 (English)
* Driver Date: 3/8/2002


==Sound==

* Description: Sound Blaster Audigy
* Driver Name: P17.sys
* Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0512 (English
* Date: 7/7/2005


==Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives==

* Drive: C:
* Free Space: 4.0 GB
* Total Space: 114.5 GB
* File System: NTFS
* Model: WDC WD1200BB-00CAA1

Wowee - that graphics card is practically an antique. I've only ever seen one older card that I remember. Your processor is also pretty weak, though it could be worse. To be honest, with a computer that underpowered, I'm not at all surprised that you're experiencing graphics issues - in fact, you're incredibly lucky that it'll run Pets at all. That computer is just not strong enough for Sims 2.

You have two options here - you can uninstall Pets, which will probably improve your game performance drastically, but will mean you lose all your neighbourhoods, sims etc and have to start from scratch; or you can buy a new computer. I would normally suggest upgrading, but if you're using a GeForce 4 series then your motherboard would need to be replaced in order for you to upgrade to anything even remotely up-to-date, and it'd cost you more to upgrade than to buy a new computer outright.

Wow, that's surprising. This computer isn't even that old but I guess it's older than I thought. And Sims 2 works perfectly on it. I mean, it's a tad slow but the only problems I've EVER had with Sims 2 on this computer is the mirror thing. =/ And like I said, before I added Bon Voyage the mirrors worked fine.

Soo...I guess I'm SOL?

Each new EP you install will demand more and more of your computer, so it's natural that installing a new one broke something that worked fine before. To play under the recommended specs, you need to either reduce the number of EPs (specially the later ones) or... live with graphic glitches/lag. (though depending on how much you play, this could put your card in such strain that you'd risk damaging the motherboard)

That said, it's not really about how old your computer is, it's just that computers for gaming need much more power to their punch than computers used just for internet/office suite, etc. Your computer is not bad, it just doesn't pack enough punch for a game as bloated and heavy as TS2. But even PCs you can go out and buy right now may not be powerful enough to game. If you decide (and can afford) to change it, make sure you check the Help sections first (they'll tell you a lot about which specs to choose in the new one), so you don't unknowingly trade six for half a dozen.