I was wondering if anyone knows the latest version of Catalyst from ATI that is out there.
 
ATI's website says the most recent driver for Windows XP and a Radeon card is 4.12
 
Other websites and even the SIMS2 release notes mentions a Catalyst 4.5.
 
Who is right... and where would I get the most recent driver if not from the manufacturers website???
 
 

I have another problem than everyone else here, lol. No directX crap this time .
The problem is, everything works fine, except when i try to build walls, plant trees, it doesn't do anything. When I try using chairs & tables etc, it does work. Only the interior works. I use a no cd patch so I don't have to use the cd, but I don't think these things load from the cd right? So how can I fix this? Cuz this is a huge problem, I can buy an existing house and redecorate it, but I can't build my own house...
An ironic joke would be that the problem is also due to the directx problem, lol.

Ok, I have a problem with my Sims 2 and so far, no one can help me!
I bought the game months ago and found out I couldn't play it because I didn't have a video card for it. So I bought a video card, it's an ATI Radeon..It's a great video card! So now my game started to work, only It would freeze after 10 minutes! So I thought I needed more ram, I bought another 256 of ram recently, so now I have 512 of ram! It STILL froze after 15 to 20 minutes!! I tried playing the game without sound to see if it was my sound driver, the game ran for about 25 to 30 minutes, so I thought It was my sound driver. But then, as soon as I saved, it froze again! Most of the time, it's when I save that the game freezes! WHY does it do this? There's NO reason for it to freeze!! I have lots of space, memory and ram, plus a really good video card!! WHY?? Can you help me PLEASE!!?
Thank you!!
 
Chantal
 

Originally posted by Chii:

Quote:Ok, I have a problem with my Sims 2 and so far, no one can help me!I bought the game months ago and found out I couldn't play it because I didn't have a video card for it. So I bought a video card, it's an ATI Radeon..It's a great video card! So now my game started to work, only It would freeze after 10 minutes! So I thought I needed more ram, I bought another 256 of ram recently, so now I have 512 of ram! It STILL froze after 15 to 20 minutes!! I tried playing the game without sound to see if it was my sound driver, the game ran for about 25 to 30 minutes, so I thought It was my sound driver. But then, as soon as I saved, it froze again! Most of the time, it's when I save that the game freezes! WHY does it do this? There's NO reason for it to freeze!! I have lots of space, memory and ram, plus a really good video card!! WHY?? Can you help me PLEASE!!?
Thank you!!
 
Chantal

 
 
A game freezing does not mean that you need more RAM. What it does mean is that something is wrong with your computer. When it "freezes" can you press NUMLOCK and see the green light? If you see the green light then it usually means that your computer didn't freeze, just the game. (If so press, CTRL+ALT+DEL and end the SIMS 2 task) So what we need to determine is if the computer itself freezes or just the game.
 
If it is the computer then I would recommend removing all memory except for one stick and then trying your game. If it hangs on that memory stick then take that one out and try another one.

Originally posted by WtFudgE:

Quote:I have another problem than everyone else here, lol. No directX crap this time .The problem is, everything works fine, except when i try to build walls, plant trees, it doesn't do anything. When I try using chairs & tables etc, it does work. Only the interior works. I use a no cd patch so I don't have to use the cd, but I don't think these things load from the cd right? So how can I fix this? Cuz this is a huge problem, I can buy an existing house and redecorate it, but I can't build my own house...
An ironic joke would be that the problem is also due to the directx problem, lol.
 
that is what happens when you use the pirate version of the game. If you are using a no cd-crack you will also get this problem.
either replace the no-cd crack with the valid EXE file or go out and buy the game.
S
 

Originally posted by eca:

Quote: 
I was wondering if anyone knows the latest version of Catalyst from ATI that is out there.
 
ATI's website says the most recent driver for Windows XP and a Radeon card is 4.12
 
Other websites and even the SIMS2 release notes mentions a Catalyst 4.5.
 
Who is right... and where would I get the most recent driver if not from the manufacturers website???
 

 
The latest driver is the 4.12 . we are into a new year so expect the 5.1 drivers to be out sometime this month.
also what Radeon do you have?? Radeon is a brand name covering many different ATI cards unless you are using the very first RADEON card in which case it is known as just a radeon card.
 
s
 

 
 
I have a Radeon 9200SE.
 
 
If the latest driver is 4.12, why can I search for version 4.5 on the 'Net and get hits?.... Interesting.
 
I'll run with 4.12, but so far it still does not fix my texture anomalies.
 
Thanks.
 
 

Originally posted by eca:

Quote: 
I have a Radeon 9200SE.
 
 
If the latest driver is 4.12, why can I search for version 4.5 on the 'Net and get hits?.... Interesting.
 
I'll run with 4.12, but so far it still does not fix my texture anomalies.
 
Thanks.
 

 
 
getting hits on the 4.5 is not unusual. you can probably get hits on most driver versions.
now the texture flickering. First off a couple things. your video card is a stripped down core of the 9200 line. most are 128 bit cards but yours is 64bit. also it supports DX 8.1 and does not support DX9 specific features.
Now it should still run the game,you mentioned the video acceleration slider earlier. have you tried it half way instead of all the way? and if so did you get the error like when it was set all the way down? if not then try the game and see if you still get flickering.
Now sometimes this can be caused by a bad refresh rate (is Vsync enabled?), or it can just be new drivers installed over old drivers or there are old files kicking around and that can muck up a game sometimes.
Now you might want to completely uninstall the drivers (go into add remove programs and see if you have an ati driver cleaner listed and uninstall it , it will take out EVERYTHING ati related) if that cleaner is not there then just unistall the driver the regular way , reboot and when it detects the video card just install the standard VGA driver. Then install the ATI 4.12 drivers and see if that helped.
 
S
I have a Radeon X800 Pro and I will sometimes get flickering in some games etc but most times they are actual driver issues that get resolved in the next update etc.
 

Originally posted by Chii:

Quote:Ok, I have a problem with my Sims 2 and so far, no one can help me!I bought the game months ago and found out I couldn't play it because I didn't have a video card for it. So I bought a video card, it's an ATI Radeon..It's a great video card! So now my game started to work, only It would freeze after 10 minutes! So I thought I needed more ram, I bought another 256 of ram recently, so now I have 512 of ram! It STILL froze after 15 to 20 minutes!! I tried playing the game without sound to see if it was my sound driver, the game ran for about 25 to 30 minutes, so I thought It was my sound driver. But then, as soon as I saved, it froze again! Most of the time, it's when I save that the game freezes! WHY does it do this? There's NO reason for it to freeze!! I have lots of space, memory and ram, plus a really good video card!! WHY?? Can you help me PLEASE!!?
Thank you!!
 
Chantal

 
do other games freeze? it could also be a heat issue.
now I have noticed that sometimes when saving the game seemed to freeze up on me but if I waited a while it would be okay. Next time it happens (when saving) try waiting a bit to see what happens
 

When I load sims, place marker-like objects appear in the place of the tree graphics on the neighboorhood screen.
When this happens, a white 3D card like object appears with text of the object name appearing through out the 5-6 cards marking where this object would be.
 
As well as that, our game crashes when creating a new sim or lot...crashed before a reformat 30-40 minutes into every game...the other problems only started after reformatting my PC
 
Our graphics card is relatively new and above the minimum requirements... Our software that is required to run the game is all updated and right...

 
Welcome!
 
Welcome to Electronic Arts System Information Utility, Easy Info. This tool can be used by yourself and our technical support representatives to help find a solution to any technical issues you may be experiencing with your game. Please make sure that your system meets the minimum requirements and that you have the most updated drivers for both your video and sound devices.
 
If you need further assistance please click here.
 
 
System Overview / Comparison
Your System Game Requirements
 
Operating System (Get Updates) Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (Build 2600) Windows XP/2000/98/ME
 
System Memory 512.5 256.0
 
Processor Speed 1716.9 800 MHz
 
DirectX Version (Get Updates) 9.0c 9.0c
 
Display Device (Get Drivers) NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000
 
Display Memory 64.0 32.0
 
Display Driver 6.14.10.6177
 
Sound Device (Get Drivers) Avance AC97 Audio
 
Sound Driver 5.10.3610
 
 
 
Operating System Information
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (Build 2600)
Internet Explorer Information
Version 6.00.2600.0000
 
Background Processes 38/38
System
Process smss.exe
 
Process winlogon.exe
 
Process services.exe
 
Process lsass.exe
 
Process svchost.exe
 
Process svchost.exe
 
Process spoolsv.exe
 
Process iSafe.exe
 
Process Runservice.exe
 
Process mdm.exe
 
Process nvsvc32.exe
 
Process svchost.exe
 
Process VetMsg.exe
 
Process vsmon.exe
User
Process explorer.exe
 
Process VetTray.exe
 
Process USISrv.exe
 
Process soundman.exe
 
Process zlclient.exe
 
Process WinServAd.exe
 
Process PPActiveDetection.exe
 
Process WinServSuit.exe
 
Process jusched.exe
 
Process ctfmon.exe
 
Process WkCalRem.exe
 
Process Zmud.exe
 
Process msnmsgr.exe
 
Process ICQLite.exe
 
Process YPager.exe
 
Process IEXPLORE.EXE
 
Process EasyInfo.exe
Other
Process [system Process]
 
Process System
 
Process csrss.exe
 
Process svchost.exe
 
Process svchost.exe
 
Process wdfmgr.exe
 
Process wmiprvse.exe
 
 
System Device Information
Processor 1/1
Intel Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1.70GHz 1716.9
FPU True
MMX True
SSE True
SSE2 True
3D Now False
3D Now Plus False
SSE-MMX False
TSC True
IA64 False
APIC True
ACPI True
MTRR True
CMOV True
Serial False
Thermal True
 
Extended Features
Hyper Threading Support True
MMX Plus False
Logical Processors Per Physical 1
Voltage ID False
Frequency ID False
Temperature Sense Diode False
 
Memory
System Total 512.5
Virtual Total 2047.9
Pagefile Total 1250.0
 
Snapshot
System Available 266.7
Virtual Available 2006.4
Pagefile Available 1028.0
Percent Load 47
 
Mass Storage Devices
Drive A:\
Type Removable
Letter A:\
VolumeName N/A
FileSystem N/A
TotalSpace 0 Bytes
FreeSpace 0 Bytes
Capabilities
Read-Only False
Compressed False
Supports Compression False
Supports Case-preservation False
Supports Case-sensitive filenames False
Supports Encryption False
Supports Named Streams False
Supports Object IDs False
Supports Persistent ACLS False
Supports Quotas False
Supports Reparse Points False
Supports Sparse Files False
Supports Unicode False
 
 
 
Drive C:\
Type Fixed
Letter C:\
FileSystem NTFS
TotalSpace 57.2 GB
FreeSpace 41.1 GB
Capabilities
Read-Only False
Compressed False
Supports Compression True
Supports Case-preservation True
Supports Case-sensitive filenames True
Supports Encryption False
Supports Named Streams True
Supports Object IDs True
Supports Persistent ACLS True
Supports Quotas True
Supports Reparse Points True
Supports Sparse Files True
Supports Unicode True
 
 
 
Drive D:\
Type CD / DVD Drive
Letter D:\
VolumeName N/A
FileSystem N/A
TotalSpace 0 Bytes
FreeSpace 0 Bytes
Capabilities
Read-Only False
Compressed False
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Supports Sparse Files False
Supports Unicode False
 
 
 
Drive E:\
Type CD / DVD Drive
Letter E:\
VolumeName N/A
FileSystem N/A
TotalSpace 0 Bytes
FreeSpace 0 Bytes
Capabilities
Read-Only False
Compressed False
Supports Compression False
Supports Case-preservation False
Supports Case-sensitive filenames False
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Supports Named Streams False
Supports Object IDs False
Supports Persistent ACLS False
Supports Quotas False
Supports Reparse Points False
Supports Sparse Files False
Supports Unicode False
 
 
 
 
Monitor Information 1/1
Monitor Name Plug and Play Monitor
Refresh Rate 60 Hz
 
Network Adapter Information 1/1
Network Adapter Name Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC
IP Address 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask 0.0.0.0
Gateway N/A
Primary WINS Server N/A
DHCP N/A
 
 
Media Device Information
DirectX Information
Version 9.0c
Long Version 4.09.0000.0904
 
Display Device 1/1
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000 Local Memory: 64.0 Driver Version: 6.14.10.6177
 
Device
Description NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000
Manufacturer NVIDIA Corporation
GUID D7B71E3E-42C5-11CF-B063-00206EC2CD35
Driver
Version 6.14.10.6177
Module nv4_disp.dll
Date 7-15-2004
 
Memory
Total 64.0
Available 62.6
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Texture 124.6
 
Sound Device 1/1
Avance AC97 Audio Driver: 5.10.3610
 
Device
Description Avance AC97 Audio
Manufacturer Avance Logic, Inc.
GUID BD6DD71A-3DEB-11D1-B171-00C04FC20001
Driver
Version 5.10.3610
Module ALCXWDM.SYS
Date 9-19-2001
 
Capabilities
Max 3D Buffers 0
Supports Mono Output True
Supports Stereo Output True
 
 
 
EasyInfo 2 2004 Electronic Arts Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 
 

Quote:do other games freeze? it could also be a heat issue.
now I have noticed that sometimes when saving the game seemed to freeze up on me but if I waited a while it would be okay. Next time it happens (when saving) try waiting a bit to see what happens


Well I also have The sims double deluxe. I used to play it fine without problems, but now that game freezes too! That's all I play...Sims lol..It freezes the whole computer...I've tried everything

Quote:A game freezing does not mean that you need more RAM. What it does mean is that something is wrong with your computer. When it "freezes" can you press NUMLOCK and see the green light? If you see the green light then it usually means that your computer didn't freeze, just the game. (If so press, CTRL+ALT+DEL and end the SIMS 2 task) So what we need to determine is if the computer itself freezes or just the game.

If it is the computer then I would recommend removing all memory except for one stick and then trying your game. If it hangs on that memory stick then take that one out and try another one.

Thanks, I'll try pressing NUMLOCK to see if it's the game or the whole computer..But I think it's the computer!

Ok, I just tried that, It's the whole computer that freezes. After about 10-15 minutes of playing. I can save a few times, but after like 5 or 6 times, I save and it freezes! What can I do?? I spent a lot of money on this game...

ok im not to good at this kinda stuff so here goes...
 
im not to good w/ computers and i recently got sims 2. It says i need a Direct X 9.0 c graphic adapter and i dont know what to do.... im so confused! help me pls!

Originally posted by Chii:

Quote:Ok, I just tried that, It's the whole computer that freezes. After about 10-15 minutes of playing. I can save a few times, but after like 5 or 6 times, I save and it freezes! What can I do?? I spent a lot of money on this game... 
Read the post I posted earlier about your memory. There's also a post at the end of page 2 suggesting that it may be a heat issue.
 
Sims 1 doesn't really push the memory that hard though it is possible, it's about 50/50 either way. Either memory or a heat issue.
 
 
Did your Sims 1 problems start happening after you added more memory? This could be it. Likely conflicting memory timings or bad memory.

I took your advice and everyhting is as it should be. Right after I posted I downloaded ServoPro and found that I didn't have enough RAM I'm supposed to have 256 RAM and that's what my computer says that I have when I look at the properties for my computer but when did ServoPro it said that I only had 254 RAM. Now can I get the 2 MB back or do I have to buy so more memory. I'm pretty sure that I have to buy more memory but I wanna be sure before I spend a whole lot of money on something I might not really need.

No your good. The "lost memory" is usally taken up by your computer bios. Nothing to worry about
 
Depending on the bios it could also be how the bios calculates the amount of memory.

Originally posted by dosfreak:

Quote:Originally posted by Chii:
Quote:Ok, I just tried that, It's the whole computer that freezes. After about 10-15 minutes of playing. I can save a few times, but after like 5 or 6 times, I save and it freezes! What can I do?? I spent a lot of money on this game... 
Read the post I posted earlier about your memory. There's also a post at the end of page 2 suggesting that it may be a heat issue.
 
Sims 1 doesn't really push the memory that hard though it is possible, it's about 50/50 either way. Either memory or a heat issue.
 
 
Did your Sims 1 problems start happening after you added more memory? This could be it. Likely conflicting memory timings or bad memory.
 
I'm really not sure when Sims 1 started freezing, It might be a little before I formated, or after I formated...
Sims 2 works fine though...The graphics are awesome, the speed is good, but it just freezes my whole computer. Actually, now that I think about it, my computer freezes randomly sometimes...It never did that before I formated.
 

Me again, When I looked at the dxdiag again it says that Hardware accelerated Direct3D 9+ is not available because the display driver does not support it. You may be able to get a newer driver from the hardware manufacturer. And I believe that I did get the updated version of my driver but it still says the same thing. My driver is
Intel 82845G/Gl/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller,
Internal,
64 MB memory,
1024x768,
Plug and Play Monitor.
The Main Driver is ialmrnts.dll,
version 6.14.0010.3943,
WHQL Logo'd: n/a,
Mini VDD: ialmnt5.sys,
DDI Version 7.
Now what do I need to get to make this work?

Well your DDI version is 7. If you have DX9 installed and DDI is reporting 7 then it's saying that your video card driver only supports up to Directx 7.
 
Where did you download these drivers? Intel?