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r/sims2help Troubleshooting Guide

# r/sims2help

r/sims2help
technical-support

# Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting tips for all kinds of technical problems are available here from graphical issues to launch issues to the infamous DX9 Error! If you're just looking for information on setting up the game on a modern computer, see the technical setup section instead.

## Shiny Sims / Bright CAS / Dark CAS / Bright Items in CAS / Shadow Sims / Silhouettes in CAS

LazyDuchess has released a fix for all of these issues, which you can find in this post - this fix works for the "silhouette" issue as well, where sim's appear basically as silhouette rather than overly bright. LazyDuchess has also explained why exactly these issues happen in this post.

## Smooth Edges (Stops flickering)

Turning on smooth edges will stop graphics flickering in game. You will need to run the Graphics Rules Maker to be able to use the Smooth Edges option in the game's settings. You can also use the new "disable dirty rectangle optimisations" option in the GRM 2.3.0 which should fix flickering without enabling smooth edges.

## Shadow (Black boxes under sims) Fix

You might run into the issue of black boxes beneath your Sims, like this, which is actually supposed to be their shadows. You can download a mod by Nopke here to fix it. Some people recommend turning down or off shadows as a fix, but it doesn't work for everyone and Nopke's mod allows you to still have shadows that display correctly. Turning down or off shadows can help with performance, however, so you may wish to do that anyway if you find the game is laggy.

## DirectX 9 Error

This error can happen for a couple of reasons, none of which are related to installing DirectX 9, and looks like this. The most common reason for this error is not having a < 100Hz refresh rate, using DXVK, or a typo in the Graphics Rules or Video Cards sgr files. Any error in these files, even just a small typo like a punctuation mark, or the absence of these files, will result in this error.

Using the DXVK fix may also cause this error, so you should not use it (or check to box to install it as part of Osab's Starter Pack) unless you know your computer requires it. If you need to remove DXVK, just go to your TSBin and delete the d3d9.dll file.

Another reason for the DirectX 9 error is related to your computer's refresh rate. If you don't have a 60Hz (or just <100Hz) option on your computer, you will get the DX9 error. Two solutions for this are listed below.

Having a screen which does not natively support 60Hz, which is becoming more common nowadays with some screens only having 120Hz or 144Hz options, will result in the game refusing the load in full screen mode and giving the DX9 error from the moment you install it. You can use the Custom Resolution Utility to create a 60Hz option for your computer.

Windowed mode is another fix for the DirectX 9 error - see how to put the game in windowed mode here - and the RPC Launcher will do the same provided you don't select the full screen option. The downside of Windowed mode and Bordered full screen (which the RPC provides) is that you can't use edge scrolling.

The RPC Launcher may also fix the DirectX9 error on its own (whether you use windowed, borderless or fullscreen mode), and offers many other useful features such as a fix for Firstborn syndrome so it is highly recommended you use it.

## Custom Resolution Utility (Fix for Unable to Edit Resolution + DirectX 9 Error - Adding a <100Hz refresh rate)

If you have a screen which does not have a 60Hz refresh rate option by default, you may experience the DirectX 9 error when trying to launch the game in full screen or you may not be able to edit the game's resolution.

To check if you have a 60Hz refresh rate:

1. Press the Windows key
2. Type "View advanced display info" and click the system settings option which shows up
3. Scroll down to the Refresh Rate section which looks like this and click on the dropdown - if a 60Hz option is not available, this is causing the DirectX 9 error and preventing the game from launching.

You can add a 60Hz refresh rate using the Custom Resolution Utility as follows:

1. Download the CRU which is near the top of the post in the link above.
2. Right click on the zip that downloads and choose extract here
3. Open the extracted folder and double click CRU.exe to run it
4. You will see a window like this - click on the Add... button under the Detailed Resolutions box in the top right
5. You will see a window like this - ensure that the refresh rate is 60Hz and you can leave the other information as it is by default.
6. Press OK, then press OK again on the original window.
7. Now that the program is closed, run restart64.exe from the extracted CRU folder - you may also need to restart your computer.
8. Go back to the advanced display info using the steps listed previously and confirm that 60Hz now exists as an option in the dropdown menu for refresh rate. You don't need to actually run your monitor at the 60Hz refresh rate, simply having it as an option in your Advanced Display Settings/Refresh rate on your computer should allow the game to work with it - though this seems to vary by computer, and you may need to change to the 60Hz setting before running the game each time.

Note that driver updates may result in the 60Hz option being removed and you will have to add it again. Simply repeat the process above if this happens

There is more info on this issue on Leefish in this and this thread.

## Crashing

Some users experience crashing when loading any neighbourhood (without any CC/mods) or frequently while playing. The 4GB patch and Graphics Rules Maker are two things you can use to help with crashing. If you have already applied these fixes and the game is recognising your hardware, you can try other fixes such as:

- Add exceptions for the game's files to your antivirus. Make sure to add your installation location (e.g. C:/Program Files/The Sims 2 UC or wherever you installed it - see Where are my installation files above), your save location (Documents/EA Games) and the game application itself, if that's an option on your antivirus. If you're not sure how to make an exception for the game, just Google "your antivirus name + add exception". Some antivirus software will have an additional setting "Data Protection" (e.g. Norton 360) - make sure to add the game as an exception here too as not doing so may stop the game from saving any progress you make.
- RPC launcher
- Delete your cache files
- Empty Standby List
- DXVK Fix
- Crashing on the Main Street Mobile Homes lot specifically? See here - it's a known bug!

## Pink Flashing / Pink Soup / Purple Soup

Pink flashing (a.k.a. pink or purple soup, the shade made vary) occurs when the game runs out of texture memory (or perceives that it has run out of it) - it can also occasionally happen as a result of the way CC is made (e.g. see this thread) or because you are trying to use shaders from packs you don't have (e.g. if you try to use LazyDuchess' bright CAS fix with just the base game installed, you will experience pink flashing - later packs such as Seasons modified the shaders so it is not compatible without the pack).

It looks like this or this or this. Basically, anything from sims to objects to lots to hood deco can flash pink and the game may crash not long after you see pink flashing - so save immediately! Pink flashing is not harmful to your hoods and will not affect them long term, but it may affect how long you can play for at a time.

Closing the game and reopening it is one quick fix for pink soup, but this is only helpful if you only see it after playing for a while (e.g. after 4/5 hours of playing). Some users (typically on higher end GPUs) will see pink flashing much quicker - possibly as soon as they open the game.

First, you should make sure that your hardware is being recognised by the game - see the section on the Graphics Rules Maker and ensure your texture memory value is set correctly based on your GPU. Also be sure to check the boxes mentioned as these are useful for preventing pink flashing.

Once you're sure your config is correct, there are some other fixes currently which may alleviate pink flashing. One is LazyDuchess' pink flashing fix - this may stop pink flashing altogether, or it may result in things that would flash pink turning invisible instead (there is a cheat listed to make them visible again). This works very well for some people in stopping pink flashing.

Turning down/off settings such as reflections, shadows, view distance, fade distance and snow, as well as not using/removing from your userstartup.cheat file cheats related to the lot skirt size may also stop pink flashing.

Increasing lot imposter quality with RPC is known to cause pink flashing - aside from turning the setting back down, you also need to regenerate the lot imposters by making a change in the lot and saving to trigger an update.

CC with large texture sizes (generally 2K textures) contribute greatly to pink flashing - try using optimised texture sizes (e.g. some creators have created optimised versions of sky boxes for this reason) or remove the CC altogether and see if it helps. This post talks about this as well as recommending CC with lower poly counts to lower memory usage.

Another potential fix is the DXVK fix which is detailed below.

The empty standby list linked below may help with pink flashing also.

## Empty Standby List (helps with crashing + possibly pink/purple soup)

See this thread - this fix can greatly help with crashing and pink flashing. The actual exe is available here as the original link seems to be down.

## DXVK Fix

DXVK is useful for fixing several issues such a persistent pink/purple flashing which isn't fixed by other means, persistent crashing, or the AMD GPU issue, which results in long boot times, where your computer may freeze up and take minutes to even show the EA logo. You most likely will need the DXVK fix on newer AMD cards (such as the RX 5700 XT) and possibly on high end Nvidia cards (especially the 2XXX series and above) to be able to play at all.

Please do not use the DXVK fix unless you have exhausted all other options and are still having issues as many problems can be fixed by other means (e.g. using the Graphics Rules Maker, applying the 4GB patch as detailed in previous sections). You shouldn't be using it unless you actually need it and your computer can support it (i.e. passes the Vulkan test in the instructions) because DXVK can actually cause issues as well, such as the DX9 error.

To use DXVK with Sims 2 (abridged version of the full guide): 1. Update your graphics drivers (from the Nvidia/AMD app, or if you have an Intel chip, check the Intel website).

1. Click here to download the Vulkan test. Double click to run the exe. You should get a Success message window - if nothing happens/there is no window/you see anything other than success, then you cannot use DXVK as it is not supported.

2. Go to the releases page and scroll down to the first Assets subheading. Click to download the file called something like "dxvk-#.##.tar.gz" - the ## should be version 1.5.3 and up.

3. Use a program like 7-zip to extract the file (you probably need to right click on it and choose Extract twice to open the gz and tar archive respectively). You should see two folders, x32 and x64, inside.

4. Open the x32 folder (the Sims 2 is a 32 bit game and so can only use the 32 bit dll for DXVK, even if you use 64 bit Windows*) and copy d3d9.dll.

5. Go to the location of the exe you use to run the game - if you right click on the shortcut for the game which you double click to play, you can choose "Open file location" to go directly to this location. Paste d3d9.dll here.

6. If you have set the game to use more than 2GB (2048 MB) texture memory, then download dxvk.conf and edit the number inside to match the number you set as the texture memory in the Graphics Rules Maker. Put this file in the same location as d3d9.dll.

Please note that if you use the DXVK fix, your config log will say that your graphics card is a Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT regardless of what you actually have and this is intended. If your config log does not list this card, then you aren't using DXVK

*Note that you may see some tutorials incorrectly say to use the 64 bit version (e.g. Ani Bats' YouTube tutorial) - this version will not work with the game as it is a 32 bit game. You can verify this by looking at the graphics device info in your config log in Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 (UC)/Logs/<your-pc-name>-config-log.txt.

The full guide by CrazySim is available here - this has a bunch of other useful info relating to DXVK and can help with troubleshooting issues related to it too.

Some versions of the DXVK fix can cause graphical issues (such as the thumbnails issue shown in this thread and the pixelation in this one or this one). If you experience any graphical issues such as the ones mentioned, please try turning on smooth edges. If that doesn't work, try using a different version of DXVK (you can access all the versions of it on the download page).

If you've followed this guide and you're still having issues, please try this.

## Blank Error Box on Startup / Game won't open

If you're getting a blank error pop-up box titled "The Sims 2" with only an "OK" button or your game just won't open (even if Origin/EA App opens if you have the game through the app) it's related to your cache. You can clear your cache to fix the issue.

## Game Closing Upon Launch

If your game is closing as soon as it opens, you might need to clear your cache files.

## Game won't open / Takes a long time to open (AMD GPU issue) / Resolution Changes and/or Screen Freezes after clicking the shortcut

On AMD GPUs, the resolution of your screen may change and/or your entire screen may freeze/turn blue after clicking the shortcut to run the game. It may seem like the game won't open but it will, you just need to be patient - try leaving your computer for 15 minutes and then come back to it. This wait is normal, and the game itself will run fine once it is open.

There are two possible solutions for this issue if you don't want to experience the long boot time every time you want to play the game. The first is running the Graphics Rules Maker and choosing the "Disable Texture Memory Estimate Adjustment" option (or you can manually add this line to your Graphics Rules file: boolProp disableTexMemEstimateAdjustment true).

The DXVK fix also typically gets rid of this long wait time, however, you should not use DXVK unless your system can support it - ensure that you follow the DXVK guide (linked in the DXVK Section) properly.

## Origin Opens When Launching Game (G4TW version)

With the games4theworld (G4TW) version of the Ultimate Collection, which is linked in the general information section of this wiki, if Origin opens when you try to launch the game after installation you have probably missed a step, most likely replacing the crack. Please try following the instructions included in the download again to install the crack, which will prevent Origin from opening.

## "The Sims 2 is not installed on this system" error

If you get this error, which looks like this then you haven't installed the game correctly. If you got the game from games4theworld, try following the installation instructions again, taking particular care with the steps relating to the Touchup exe and applying the crack. For osab's installer, try running the standalone installer available on the download page. If you got the game elsewhere, try reapplying the crack that was provided with the game.

Aside from installation issues, if you are getting this error after the game has previously worked then the issue is likely your antivirus - it is very important that you add exceptions for the game's files. See the bullet point on antivirus software in the crashing section above.

## White Screen when running with dedicated GPU

If you experience a white screen when running with your dedicated GPU, right clicking on the game's shortcut and clciking properties, then clicking the Compatibility tab and checking the box "disable full screen optimisations" may fix the problem. See this thread for an image of the problem.

## D3DERR invalid call crash on Intel GPUs

Driver updates in late 2024 have resulted in this error occurring in Intel GPUs - Intel ARC GPUs were initially affected but it now seems like all Intel GPUs with the latest drivers are encountering this error. The issue is with displaying shadows and the fix is simply to disable them in game. You cannot disable shadows from the neighbourhood screen so you must load a lot (it must be one without sims, either unoccupied residential or a community lot, as lots with sims, including CAS, will crash due to their shadows) and then open the game's graphics settings and turn off shadows. On the Legacy Edition you may have to do this each time you launch the game as there is a bug where it resets the settings.

Using the DXVK fix is an alternate fix which may resolve this error but disabling shadows is quicker and DXVK sometimes introduces graphical artifacts or other issues so it is advised to disable shadows first to see if that fixes it for your game.

Last revised by Mysterious_Potential 8 months ago
Created May 2, 2020
6 years ago
Public

Anyone can view, post, and comment to this community

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- PAGE SECTIONS

- Troubleshooting
- - Shiny Sims / Bright CAS / Dark CAS / Bright Items in CAS / Shadow Sims / Silhouettes in CAS
  - Smooth Edges (Stops flickering)
  - Shadow (Black boxes under sims) Fix
  - DirectX 9 Error
  - Custom Resolution Utility (Fix for Unable to Edit Resolution + DirectX 9 Error - Adding a <100Hz refresh rate)
  - Crashing
  - Pink Flashing / Pink Soup / Purple Soup
  - Empty Standby List (helps with crashing + possibly pink/purple soup)
  - DXVK Fix
  - Blank Error Box on Startup / Game won't open
  - Game Closing Upon Launch
  - Game won't open / Takes a long time to open (AMD GPU issue) / Resolution Changes and/or Screen Freezes after clicking the shortcut
  - Origin Opens When Launching Game (G4TW version)
  - "The Sims 2 is not installed on this system" error
  - White Screen when running with dedicated GPU
  - D3DERR invalid call crash on Intel GPUs

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