sims2... doing my head in

PlayGirl

i got sims 2 the cjristmas before last and it worked grand for ages then i lost it so i uninstalled the programme to free up space and just found it again there now and installed it again, but every time i try and play it says 'failed to initialize direct 3d. please make sure directx 9.0 has been installed on this system'... but i downloaded directx 9.0c and then uninstalled and re-installed the game but it still wont work?.. and ideas?... thanks in advance 'cause i really want to play

PlayGirl

aidan_walsh

Bumping is bad, m'kay.

Anyway, did you restart the computer after installing DX9? Do you have the most up to date graphics drivers for your system installed?

PlayGirl

LOL sorry just really want to play
yea pretty sure i restarted it, will again now though just to be sure... and whats a graphic driver?..

PlayGirl

just restarted the computer and its still not working

the_syco

PlayGirl wrote:

and whats a graphic driver?..

:eek:

OK, we'll take a step back here... what type of machine do you have? Also, if you click Start, and then click Run and type in dxdiag and tell us what what card is listed under the Display tab, we can tell you which "graphics driver" that you need to download.

PlayGirl

i really dont know what you mean
but when i typed in all that stuff and went to display it says.....

"Main Driver : vga.dll
Version : 5.01.2600.0000 (english)
Date : 23/08/2001
WHQL Logo'd: yes
Mini VDD : vga.sys
VDD : n/a
DDI Version : unknown"


hope thats what your going on bout:)

Ri_Nollaig

PlayGirl wrote:

i really dont know what you mean
but when i typed in all that stuff and went to display it says.....

"Main Driver : vga.dll
Version : 5.01.2600.0000 (english)
Date : 23/08/2001
WHQL Logo'd: yes
Mini VDD : vga.sys
VDD : n/a
DDI Version : unknown"


hope thats what your going on bout:)

under device (to the right of that info) it would have said the make of the graphics card; ati, nvidia or intel most likely.

i havnt played sims2 in ages and never saw that error but its mostly likely either d3d not installed/corrupted or graphic card drivers. But failing that a patch for the sims may also fix it.
so patch the sims here and see if that does the trick.
Sites for getting display drivers:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp nvidia display drivers
http://ati.de/support/driver.html ati drivers page

PlayGirl

Ri_Nollaig wrote:

under device (to the right of that info) it would have said the make of the graphics card; ati, nvidia or intel most likely.

i havnt played sims2 in ages and never saw that error but its mostly likely either d3d not installed/corrupted or graphic card drivers. But failing that a patch for the sims may also fix it.
so patch the sims here and see if that does the trick.
Sites for getting display drivers:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp nvidia display drivers
http://ati.de/support/driver.html ati drivers page

did all that and its STILL not working thanks anyways though:)

still need more suggestions tho?..:o

koneko

Which one that he linked to did you install? He lists ATI and Nvidia, they're two different types, you can't install both.

Is it a particular PC model? For instance is it a Dell or a HP? If you can post up what model it is we can check what graphics card is in the PC, and tell you what file to download.

PlayGirl

whoops think i installed both, or tried to, dont know if both worked
its a dell dinemsion 4300...

Smellyirishman

EDIT:

Actually, do the start->run->dxdiag routine again, and can you tell us what you see in the box I have highlighted in this picture?

DarkJager

Try a System Restore. Go to Start->All Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools-> System Restore. Select a date in bold (preferrably one that The Sims 2 was working on) and click finish.

Ri_Nollaig

PlayGirl wrote:

whoops think i installed both, or tried to, dont know if both worked
its a dell dinemsion 4300...

sh.it, sorry if my post was confusing. Only one type should be installed! but im sure which ever one was wrong would have done nothing or given an installation error.

PlayGirl

Smellyirishman wrote:

EDIT:

Actually, do the start->run->dxdiag routine again, and can you tell us what you see in the box I have highlighted in this picture?

untitled2.JPG

PlayGirl

DarkJager wrote:

Try a System Restore. Go to Start->All Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools-> System Restore. Select a date in bold (preferrably one that The Sims 2 was working on) and click finish.

only two dates are in bold, today and yesterday... the last time i played the game was probably about a year ago as i lost it and only found it again the other day

Smellyirishman

Ah, so I was right the first time.

Go here and download these drivers, then see what happens.

Also, just to be sure. If you go into dxdiag yet again, on the first page, near the bottom, what is your DirectX version?

PlayGirl

Smellyirishman wrote:

Ah, so I was right the first time.

Go here and download these drivers, then see what happens.

yep already did that, 'cause i read your post before you edited...
and yes i restarted my computer after i downloaded them...

Smellyirishman

I assume it didn't work then?
And did you see my latest edit in the above post?

I'm starting to run out of ideas now.

PlayGirl

directx 9.0b (4.09.0000.0904)

Smellyirishman

Try downloading directX 9.0c.

aidan_walsh

DirectX 9.0c should be included on the Sims 2 cd.

PlayGirl

aahhhhhhhhh dammit:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
this is getting really bloody annoying now :mad:
it still says directX 9.0b though???