When I first started the Sims 3 (the day it came out) I got a message telling me my video card didn't support Pixel Shader 2.0, and I needed to update my video card. After many trial and errors I found the right video card, installed it, and figured NOW the game would work. Nada.
"Unable to start game.
Device 0 cannot run this title.
No supported video graphics card detected. Please check your system hardware."
... :shock: What?
Ive been fooling around with my monitor, resolution, graphics card settings, it still wont work. As frustrating as this is, I still want to play the game. I'm not going to just give up and say its not worth it like all the other losers out there. So, can someone help me please?
P.S. I read another thread that someone posted the same problem. They changed their monitor resolution. I already tried that. No luck.
Pleeeeaaaassseeeee some one help!
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but after a few days, my thread disappeared.
No one could help me anyway.
By the way, don't bother contacting EA support. I've tried.
They've told me to update my drivers, which i've done 6 times.
I've installed the game about 4 times now (Both disc and
digital download). They also think i'm not an administrator as I can't create
an analysis file for them, but I am an admin.
Just waiting for another reply from them now.
Also, to add insult to injury, they've sent an e-mail about a customer satisfaction survey
Anyway, to my knowledge now, You are the 3rd person on these forums to post this problem. Surely no one can blame your computer now.
Sorry I havn't been much help. I'll let you know if EAs next suggestion works
Great thanks!
I think it might be that the graphics card is built into the computer. Even with disabling it, the game would still not work? And the instructions for the video card told me to "replace" the old with new. I took out what looked to be the old video card, but maybe it wasnt.... hmm. If it was then why would the computer still have it under the hardware?
I uninstalled it after I installed my new one, and then (while trying to fix the NEW problem) I clicked "check for drivers" and then it came up again. So, 1. It must be built into my computer, 2. I had to go and disable it again, re-able my new one, restart my computer. And the game still doesn't work. Sheesh...
Make sure in your display settings you're using the correct video card. (select it from the drop down menu)
Also under control panel go to display adapters and right click the old card and disable and uninstall it.
Also, make sure you restart the computer when it prompts. Not doing so won't use new settings.
I have unpgraded from an onboard graphics card in the past and it was an absolute b@#%& to get rid of and get the new one functioning correctly. These computers are not designed to be upgraded and they make it difficult to do so, likely hoping you'll go buy a more expensive one of their products instead.
Those are just basic steps and you've likely done them, but it's the best I can offer without hands on. My next recommendation is if you don't know a computer techie yourself who can look at it, take it to a local computer shop and dish out a few bucks to have things looked at and professionally installed. That way you'll know for sure what's going on and you won't break the computer aimlessly poking around in it.
Yes, I already did that. Thanks for trying to help, but as said before I followed all the instructions so theres not really a point in repeating them a 4th time.
I updated the driver for the graphics card. Still wont work. Checking if I need to update windows (again).
in the bios setup.
also check if ur actualy using the new video card
and not the integrated one still.
Oh, and I cant plug my monitor into the graphics card, because then nothing comes up on the screen. Is there something I did wrong when installing it? Do I need to buy an extra power supply?
I remember a poster that had the same issue I had, she got a new graphics card and got it installed and the guy over the counter told her she needed a power supply. I think that would be my problem, do you?
Once again... I did that already. I even went as far as to uninstall it (rtclick>Uninstall) and then when I searched for drivers it popped up again, causing me to have to re-able the new one and disable the old one, again. It is disabled now, and my new card is "working properly".
it seems like the video card isnt even turning on.
do u hear its fans spin when u turn on the computer?
but idk it does seem like the cards not even being used
since u plug in the monitor to it and u cant see anything
i would try to disable the onboard graphics chipset first.
then see if it recognizes the new video card.
also try updating ur video card drivers if u havent yet.
but if that doesnt work
then it might be ur power supply not being able to power up the video card.
how many watts is ur power supply?
"I only dont have the "power source" that was supposed to plug into it (with the monitor). "
not sure what you mean but if you have to have a different Power Supply Unit to what you have now then that is a good reason why the card isnt working.
-Check your drivers - what type of video card to you have? Go to the brands site (Nvidia or ATI) and look for "support" then "drivers/downloads" and update your drivers
-How much power do you have? What is the total wattage of the PSU you're using? You'd be best to settle with nothing less than 500w since even with lower GPU's, TS3 seems to use more power than normal.
-If you installed your card right, then by default any other onboard GPU will be disabled.
-You might have possibly discharged some static through the card when handling it, which is hard to find out if you did. As long as it's reading as being used, then you're fine, but just to be safe, try this: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
Run it. If it displays any details about the card you're using, it's being read and is properly installed.
-You might not have enough ram
-Make sure you have enough power plugged into the card, if the card needs to be supplied power directly. Also, make sure you're using the correct pins for the card (6 or 8 or both depending on the card)
-Are you sure of the type of card you have? PCI/PCIE/AGP?
-Remember, AGP and PCI can connect to PCIE but not PCIE to others; still, you should only install PCIE to a PCIE slot, AGP to AGP and PCI to PCI else it will not work properly.
-How old/cluttered is your hard drive? Try running a defrag of it if you think it to be a bit too cluttered or if its just old and has never been defragged before. Don't bother with the windows Defrag, its not accurate; use this: http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html?Str=download
I hope some of this information is well received and can alleviate you of your technical problems!! Good luck
It is well received. Thank you! I can try to answer most of your questions, but some things I'm not sure about.
-I have NVIDIA GeForce 8400.
-I downloaded new drives and installed them.
-My graphics card slot is a PCI. It is, trust me we went back and forth from the store 3 times trying to get one that would fit.
-Hopefully, I didn't transmit any static electricity. I made sure to ground myself but you can never be so sure...
-The default card (onboard I think you said it was) has been disabled. My new device is "working properly".
-I used windows defrag before I installed the Sims 3 last week. Thanks for the new link.
-Run what?
-I don't know how much power I have... what is GPU?
Thanks for everything, that was a lot easier to follow and let me know if there was anything else I could have been doing wrong except for "installing it incorrectly" :roll:
I think this is most likely the problem. There was a handout in the box that advertised different "BFG Power Supplies". I don't have one of these, so it might do the trick.
Do you know how to make it so that I can use my monitor with it plugged into the graphics card. Right now if I try it there is "no signal input" and the screen is black? I thought getting a power supply for it might fix that. Would it?
Theres two fans, btw. One for the computer, one for the card. I cant tell if they are both running... I could open up my computer though.... o.O
Yes, it does. It has been installed. I updated my drivers from the website, is that the same as loading the drivers? How do I find the default resolution? I cant see my desktop with the monitor plugged into the card, I was hoping the extra "power supply" might fix this. If the monitor works while plugged into the graphics card then will that cause the game to work?
I am hesitant to uninstall and re-install the card in fear of it not working at all...
EDIT:Is there any way to check if the card is working other than seeing if it is enabled in the device manager?
EDIT2: I tried a different monitor, yes. Forgot to mention that. Nothing worked.
Haha! I'm not of age, but that was funny! (If I were a sim my mood would go up a little).
Best buy, but they charge you... and we have a friend thats good with computers but I don't want to bother him right now. I am going to get a power supply and see if that fixes anything. If not then I will bring it in.
As far as your mentioning "not plugging in the power supply", I gather that the new video card had a connection on it that you were not able to find a spot to plug it into. This means your card is not fully powered and it's only power is coming through whatever expansion slot you pushed it into.
The computer will recognize the card but as it's underpowered it isn't going to work properly and likely not be detected by a game that pushes a systems resources to the maximum like The Sims 3.
It sounds like you keep saying that you haven’t plugged the power cable into your new video card. If it has a power connecter on it, you most likely need to plug the power into the card for it to work properly.
The fan may be powered from the slot’s power and not use the power connecter, but the GPU may need it.
First, the problem doesn't lie in his video card. He all ready said that he updated his drivers. A better power supply unit won't change the fact he gets the following window:
I have an NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT (2048MB version)updated with the latest driver from NVIDIA (185.85). I've messed around with ALL the available resolutions as well. And yet I still get the same thing every time. And yes, my PSU is working fine and everything's connected properly.
I don't have any solution for this particular problem myself, but I'm just trying to steer the discussion away from a path that leads to a dead end.