My Sims 2 Game Won't Load
The Sims 2 from the game company Electronic Arts maintains popularity from its initial release in 2004. A number of expansion packs followed, including Pets, Season and Nightlife. This game allows players to control Sims, including creating a Sim from scratch and choosing a Sim’s career path. However, in order to get to this, the game has to start up. There are numerous reasons that might prevent your game from starting, including system incompatibilities and outdated custom content.
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Instructions
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Troubleshooting Steps
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1
Insert the game disc in your computer’s optical drive. If your drive does not recognize the disc, be sure your disc is free from scratches and debris. Test whether your optical drive is working properly by inserting another disc. If the disc works, your optical drive may need a driver update, which can be found from your computer manufacturer's website.
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2
Check your system to ensure that it meets the system requirements to run the game. If the game has never run, your computer may not meet the minimum requirements. Computers must have at least 256MB RAM and at least 3.5GB of available hard drive space. Video cards must have either an 800MHz processor if the card is T&L capable or 2.0GHz processor if the video card is non-T&L capable. Update your video card drivers from either your computer manufacturer’s site or the card manufacturer, then try the game again.
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3
Back up your game if you have any Sims or neighborhoods you want to keep. Open the EA Games folder in your Documents folder. Right-click the Sims 2 folder here. Select “Copy” from the drop-down menu. Paste the folder onto your desktop.
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4
Remove any custom content from your game. Open your Sims 2 folder within My Documents\EA Games. Right-click the folder labeled Downloads. Select “Cut” from the drop-down menu. Paste the folder onto your desktop. Try running the game after removing the custom content.
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5
Delete game cache files. Open My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2. Look for the following files: groups.cache, cigen.package, accessory.cache and Content Registry. Select these files, right-click them and select Delete. Not all games will have all of the cache files mentioned, which is normal and means you only need to delete the ones that are present.
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6
Install the latest game updates. Check the Sims 2 update page in the Resources section for official game updates from EA Games for your version of the game. For instance, if you have the Sims 2: Pets installed, you will need to have the latest Pets update. Download and install the update, then check to see if your game will run.
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7
Uninstall the game from your computer. Open your Control Panel from the start menu, then select Add or Remove Programs. Select The Sims 2 and any expansion packs installed, then uninstall them. Restart your computer and reinstall the games.
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Tips & Warnings
If the game still will not work after following these steps, contact EA Games customer support.
References
Resources
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