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Blue screen of death
ZeeGee
Posts: 5,374 Member
in The Sims 2
Hello, I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm loving Sims 2. My toddler just aged up and when his mom and dad came home from work that day he ran out and hugged them! So cute.
Here is my issue. At times the game will become 'unresponsive'. I can continue to play but when I hit the windows key to get out of full screen mode (usually to google some question about Sims 2), it won't respond. So I save, then quit. The quit happens instantly and then shortly after I get BSOD. When the computer restarts I get the options to start in normal or safe mode, etc., but it is unresponsive and won't accept any commands so I have to do a hard shutdown and restart.
Last night this happened again so I immediately restarted to hopefully avoid the blue screen, but it came up anyway. I have done a lot of googling but none of the answers as to why this happens or how to fix it apply to my system. I have changed my settings to not do an automatic restart on error so hopefully I won't have to do the hard shutdown again. I can play Sims 3 for hours on end so I know it's not overheating my graphics card. I don't have the antivirus software that can cause this. I'm kind of lost and don't want to give up playing.
Can anyone help or is there another place for tech support for sims 2?
Here is my issue. At times the game will become 'unresponsive'. I can continue to play but when I hit the windows key to get out of full screen mode (usually to google some question about Sims 2), it won't respond. So I save, then quit. The quit happens instantly and then shortly after I get BSOD. When the computer restarts I get the options to start in normal or safe mode, etc., but it is unresponsive and won't accept any commands so I have to do a hard shutdown and restart.
Last night this happened again so I immediately restarted to hopefully avoid the blue screen, but it came up anyway. I have done a lot of googling but none of the answers as to why this happens or how to fix it apply to my system. I have changed my settings to not do an automatic restart on error so hopefully I won't have to do the hard shutdown again. I can play Sims 3 for hours on end so I know it's not overheating my graphics card. I don't have the antivirus software that can cause this. I'm kind of lost and don't want to give up playing.
Can anyone help or is there another place for tech support for sims 2?
https://youtu.be/X2eiCUQDNvQ0
Comments
It'd be helpful to know what operating system you have and how long you have being playing the sims 2 on this computer and if this is the first time you've had the problem.
@Bluefairy286 I have Windows 10 on a relatively new gaming computer with a Nvidia graphics card. I just got Sims 2 UC a couple of weeks ago. This has happened 3-4 times. I've changed the settings so that it won't automatic restart at the blue screen so I will have time to get the message before it restarts. The reliability history says this for the one that happened yesterday but I don't know if it means anything:
The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000009f (0x0000000000000003, 0xffffcc0cc1fcd840, 0xfffff8039ece88e0, 0xffffcc0cc7fc8b10). A dump was saved in: C:\WINDOWS\MEMORY.DMP. Report Id: bc2de0eb-d48d-4064-8f6c-a873a3565511.
However, if you want to Google something or anything without quitting the game all the time. Can I suggest running the game in windowed mode?
I didn't want to believe it either, but about five years ago I bought a laptop from a computer company that had been refurbished. Almost from the word go, it would do what your computer is doing, and NOTHING I did mattered. I did so many factory resets on the thing, but it just wouldn't work. And it wasn't repairable, so even though it was technically new, I lost my money on it, and had to buy another (this time for sure new) laptop. I haven't had issues with it since.
Try updating your graphics card driver and the wireless card driver. Let me know if you need any help updating the latter.
Unlike Sims3 and Sims4 which actively encourages a player to be on-line whilst playing, The Sims and Sims2 is intended to be played off-line with no other background programmes running especially anti-virus - that is what is recommended with the EA booklets that comes with the games.
Background programs running, including antivirus, do not cause a computer to blue screen when playing Sims 2. Sometimes drivers get corrupted or a bad driver gets released or a program gets a bug which causes something to draw too much power. Everyone would blue screen with Sims 2 if it was a bug, or there would be plenty of others in the same boat if it was only if on certain specs.
Checking for updates is an easy way to fix driver issues, which is what her blue screen was from.
I never turned my antivirus off and had no issues not caused by subpar computer parts.
With all due respect I do have knowledge of the Blue Screen of Death.
In the main, it is due to the specs of the computer not being satisfactory to play the programme/software.
By all means, do computer maintenance to ensure your computer is running in tip top condition; however that being written and already prescribed to ZeeGee, my advice was a reminder of the recommendation by EA - you know the guys who actually wrote the programme!
There will always be people who are the exception to the rule but I am sincere in hoping you do not have issues yourself.
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BSOD's have nothing to do with be at spec or not to play a game. BSOD's is when the software for the computer's hardware or the computer's hardware itself starts glitching or having problems. Games can trigger those glitches, but it's not because of a computer not meeting the specs. The game won't run or won't run properly. And either way, that wouldn't be the case for Sims 2 and a computer running Windows 10. Even the integrated graphics cards on an entry level Windows 10 would be able to play Sims 2, just maybe not on high graphics or without noticeable lag.
The BSOD that the OP had was related to the power state. Which means one of her drivers was putting the corresponding component into sleep mode and then when it didn't respond fast enough the computer went: ERROR! and presented a BSOD.
It is not related at all to having background programs running. At all.
Now if she had been complaining about lag, I'd first suggest lowering graphics levels in game, then I'd suggest closing down other programs. Starting first with internet browsers, Word, Excel, etc. Then, I'd recommend upgrading the computer. And only as a last resort or as "until you've upgraded" recommend killing the internet and killing antivirus.
You'd have to be pretty close to the minimum specs for an antivirus program that is not actively doing a scheduled/on demand Full Scan and just doing the passive scan that they do when not doing a Full Scan to cause the game to lag so severely that just turning off the antivirus will remove most of the lag.
I did cancel a large number of scans that were scheduled full scans when they were happening while I was playing Sims 2 on my old computer. I wasn't enough above specs to be able to have both going at the same time. But even then I never BSOD due to that. And a large number of players I would imagine did not disable their antivirus programs while playing Sims 2 back when it was being released.
I invested in a new laptop and had the 'older' one repaired and discovered it was a faulty memory caused by draining too much of the memory playing Sims2. New and more RAM was installed but after that I only play The Sims on it. - so far new issues - touch wood!
My dear @Seera1024
You do know that I am a Sim player and a woman that resides in the free world - right?
As a member of the forum, I added a comment that appears to have burst your inflated ego for some unknown reason and now this elongated reply?
Why do you think your advice is better than anyone else?
I could try to understand if in some way I had been derogatory of your advice but that is not the case.
Compliments of the season!
When I see advice that is incorrect, I post a correction so that the player doesn't waste their time. Your advice wasn't relevant to the issue that the player was having, so I posted to say so.
Ho! Ho! @Seera1024
I beg to differ; nor find your perceived cleverness to extend to be astute enough to realise your actions are undermining the player's decision making - perhaps you are aware of something I am not?
I'm aware that blue screens are not caused by people not turning their antivirus programs off or the other background programs. So suggestions that say that are wrong and saying so does not undermine the player's decision making. Because it won't stop the issue.