Just saw your update and am glad that you found out for sure and will not lose your lot with the work around.  The only time I got the slowdown bug was when I had called the repairman as well, so once bitten twice shy.  I now tend to stay away from them and have my Sims do all the repairs themselves, although it was funny when the repairman would get electrocuted by my trash compactor and miss that. 

I stick to one NPC at a time.  Nanny's when there are kids (Nanny's tend to clean if you do not offer them fun distractions) and the Maid once the Nanny is no longer needed.

TwoJeffs has a banning hack that will ban specified NPC or townies from the lot.  I do not remember if you have to click on the NPC to ban them or if you can just set it for a general NPC but it's worth a look in his section, especially if it saves you the trouble of bumping the invisible NPCs all of the time.  Also CrammyBoy at MS2 has a portal fix for the cars that may repair the portal.

I've not tried either one of those hacks to fix the problem as I abandoned my lot but since they are related fixes I figured they were worth a mention.

Here's TwoJeffs NPC Zapper the way I read it is that you can ban any NPC without having to select the offending Sim.  You may want to ask him specifically if he thinks it would be applicable in your case.

As long as she stays away from the Pleasure and Romance Sims and doesn't try for Dream Dates she should be fine.  I've never had a the woohoo want come up on on a family type Sim except when they were on a date or were doing some extreme flirting.

I am at work so am limited in my search abilities here.  (Too many windows start looking suspicious.  )  But it sounds like you may have the NPC/Slowdown bug. (a good sign of the bug is NPCs not showing for work and the game slowing to a crawl)  I can't remember if there was ever a true solution fix but I know there were a few work arounds with the Mind Control Mirror and Inge's Teleporter Shrub.  When I get home I'll see what I can dig up.

So give me a few hours and see if I can come up with anything.  (I also can find the link for custom paintings and will attach that as well.)

In regards to Uni and NL, my 10 year old son plays them.  We have two pcs in the same office and I just really monitor what he does and some things are off limits like WooHoo.  He understands what it is but if he wants a child in the family then he is forced to leave while I do the dirty deed.

You could always make a custom neighborhood for your son/daughter and not attach a University or a Downtown to it.  That way you can still get the enjoyment without having to worry about the 13 part of the PG rating.

Heck maybe you could request a hack from JM or TwoJeffs that doesn't allow adult woohoo just like teens aren't allowed in the game.  Maybe a special no woohoo double bed so it doesn't effect the whole game.  Just thinking out loud.

Edit:  Here's a thread about the slowdog bug by Tagrunner2 at the Sims 2 BBS

Another one by Night8server

And here's the tutorial for making custom paintings from snootysims.com

Thanks I'll try that for him.  (He's 10, so I don't allow him the luxury of downloads and only a few cheats)  I'll have to rely on good old misdirection so he doesn't see whtat I'm doing  The bugger picks up too quick sometimes, and I'm worried he'll destroy the beau's pc downloading installing things he has no business messing with. 

On my son's game he has two University students that are living in their own rental.  The female's plumbbob disappeared and was replaced with a skill bar.  The skill bar just will not disasppear.  So I told him that when she moved out at graduation that it would go away. 

Well, she has now graduated but cannot move back to town and is stuck in Uni. 

Any suggestions? 

Edit:  I know there is the moveoutfix by JM, but I was more looking for a fix to the skill bar. 

Sorry, I didn't check back. 

Since it's only the one lot then it most likely that it's the lot itself that has become corrupt. It seems to happen with my Legacy families all the time as well, the longer you play them the buggier they get.  Before you give up completely I have a few move out suggestions. 

If you have Nightlife you can use the inventories of the families to take the most important items that you can't replace like career/aspiration rewards and the tombstones.  (Honestly I do not know if the ghost will travel but it's worth a shot.)  Maybe take their beds with you so they won't freak when you move into someplace new.  (Also take any large items (paintings) that have appreciated so you will not lose the simoleon value and take large $$$ items that have decreased in value like the cars, hottubs etc, as well as things that you can't replace like pictures that were taken with the camera reward object) Heck take as much as your inventory can take. 

If you do not have NL and "lose" your rewards you can use the boolprop testingcheatsenabled true debugger and shift click on the newspaper and get back your career rewards at least.  Just turn it off when you are done by typing the command substituting true with false so you won't have errors popping up all the time on you.

If you really don't want to lose the house you can re-draw it on graph paper and then have that paper as a reference when you rebuild.

Also if you haven't downloaded the patch you may want to go ahead and do that as I think it corrcted the NPC slowdown bug which is what you lot may be suffering from as well.

You probably already know all of those things but thought in case you didn't I'd throw the info your way.

Good luck! I hope it feels a little better knowing that you aren't the only one that it has happened to.

Have you tried turning off your background tasks and telling your hubby to back off prior to running your game?  The Sims uses a lot of resources and if your computer is trying to split them with another program much less a media one the game is going to lag.

I would think you could make a 'h" shape if that makes sense.  Circular with the drive overlapping on one of the sides.  I have seen many a house that I'd like to live in have that look and had been thinking about trying it on a new lot but haven't tried it yet in the game.  The lot would have to be a larger one to accomodate it but I think it would make a nice visual effect.

Thanks, I know I was looking forward to the ivory vamp.  Didn't he make the contacts for her as well?

I've used his fix before when my carpools disappeared on another lot.  This glitch isn't vehicle related.  Cars, school buses, deliveries all come and go as it's intended and stop at the proper portals.  It's just the mailman only. 

I will go back and read Crammyboy's description since last time I downloaded it I was using it for a different application.

Thank you for the link.

On my Legacy house I used moveobjects on to place tiles beyond the front sidewalk and beneath the mailbox.  I honestly can't remember if the problem started before or after the new decor but my mailman comes every few days and gets stuck in a continous loop of putting the mail in the mailbox. 

I deleted the tile beneath the mailbox and a few tiles surrounding but the glitch still happens everytime he comes to the lot.  I've tried using the testingcheats to debug him and with no results from that either I now just accept the fact that I will delete him after he gives me the bills the first time.

I just didn't know if it was due to my attractive but maybe poor design or a bugged NPC.

From what I've read the position of the mailbox to the door is the determining factor.  The front door is designated as the closest to the mailbox.  So if you have your front door on a foundation or basically farther from the mailbox than the other door the Sims will go there first.

I haven't used it but I believe there is a front door hack here by JM or maybe at Simlogical made by Inge.  I'm sorry that I don't know which one is the creator but I know I've seen one.

Yes I think that is funny as well.  I never cared for benes they give me the worse heartburn.  But I know I used to could get up to 20 + questions a day that I helped with and rarely got a bene, but I did get the satisfaction of knowing that I solved someone's problem. 

My favorite reward was if they came back or signed my GB to tell me it worked.  Those are even more rare but made it worth the trouble.

A peeve of mine were the posters offering a bene for an answer.  Kind of made it seem like a dog trick.  If I answered I told them to keep it and pass it to someone else.

On a side note Hook.  Although registered I didn't become active on the Sims 2 site until last spring and missed the original crew that was there.  When I started seeing your name more and more and how helpful you were I made an inquiry because I saw that you were rarely around.  Another Simmer told me that you had moved on to forums of a different caliber and that's how I stumbled across MATY.  Not because you were here specifically but because I was looking for better quality forums.  So though you probably have no idea who I am I thought I would let you know you are partially responsible for getting me to flock here. 

I've learned that if you take the time to post factual helpful answers then you'll end up with tire tread marks across your back from the simmers posting whatever answer fancies them at the time just to get the post out first and get the bene.

Since I learned of the all persuasive power of the bene system I've tried to incorporate it into my dealings with my 10 year old.  For some reason they have no effect in real life.   

I heart the Multi Painting and the Mind Control Mirror.  The only lots I do not allow myself the luxury is the Legacy ones.  (Except for the mirror, the mirror is everywhere)

Aged them gracefully then.   Also wouldn't making a hack to "cut" your population be the same as killing anyhow?  I know sometimes it's hard to let go, the guilt can be overwhelming but once you start it's hard to stop.  Killing Sims desensitizes you over time and you just learn to accept it or deal with an overpopulated neighborhood that begins to implode.

Implode, now that's more of what I think is up JM's alley. 

I used the Multi Painting and kept everyones energy drained and all other needs up.  I think it's 12 Sim hours and they are cured.

Also isn't there a tool you can spawn with the boolprop debugger that makes a Sim immune as well?  I would think using that or any other immunity hack and then going lot to lot would be your only way of doing it. 

I have a true addiction when it comes to the contemporary furniture and have just recently pruned and organized my downloads. I'm really fighting the urge to add more to the folder.  Lately I've stayed away from the furniture since I was in starter home only build mode, and now since taking on the Legacy cross again I have been making my own $0 floors and wallpapers or downloading outfits only.

I really would like a decent site for better mens fashions, workout clothes and elder fashions.  I haven't been drawn to anything I've found yet.  Maxi men clothes are either too sloppy looking or as in the tucked in polo shirts remind me of the high belt/pants looks that my 8th grade science teacher wore in the mid 80s. 

And the elders, well their bodies is what makes them so unappealing.  The osteoporosis and breast to the waist is just insulting to any elders out there.

I always use boolprop snapobjectstogrid false to get my objects centered.  It's a great cheat especially when wanting to place objects close together for decor purposes like floor plants for example.

I know you can use the cheat for a coffee table if you want to place an item on it centered, I do not know if the flowers would effect their eating at a dining table though.

Sorry I do need to clarify my bad choice of an adjective.  The expensive gifts were only from dream dates. 


That's only cheating if you are a feminist with lower standards.     I wish I would have demanded statues, fountains, pianos and hot tubs when I was in the "pool".  My only regret in life is that I never met a handsome sugar daddy!   

Nope the hot tubs and other items are "gifts" for the great date.  Your family does not get charged for them and actually you can sell the items for more simoleons.  I usually get the roses the first night and a more expensive item the next.  Then it's back to calling them for another great date and more goodies.  It's always cool to have atleast one pleasure sim in a poor family.  

Something you didn't ask but is relevant, for future reference whenever you get a want/fear that you aren't sure what it means or how to accomplish it justleft click the want and a description window pops up explaining how to achieve the want or fear.

Hi Ancient.  I don't know the complete answer but maybe this will start you on a better path.  I did a search of that dll file on my computer and there are copies in the following folders:

C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2\TSBin
C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2 Nightlife\TSBin
C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2 University\TSBin

 
Also I have a separate user account and the game never gave me any problems installing.  I've honestly have seen so many people have problems on reinstall that I usually recommend that they delete the Sims 2 folder from the EA Games file in the My Documents folder and let the game regenerate it's files before trying a reinstall.

If you have a separate CD or DVD drive try putting the disk in that and installing, or putting one disk in the top drive and the other in the second and that way there is no lag in the install because of switching disks.

I really don't know if any of things will help, I just know that they are things that have helped my self or others in the past.

Good luck!

Up until NL I was always able to build a house either with a Sim already living in it for testing and then going to another lot and having the Sim on that lot invite the Sim to move in.  After the Sim moved in you could go back to the other lot and it would be as s/he left it with furniture etc and you could clean it up for upload.  Another thing that worked was to build the lot with the Sim and then killing the Sim. 

Ever since NL if I move the Sim out all the furnishings go with him.  (That I can accept as it was most likely by design and I was taking advantage of a previous bug.)  The one thing I can't accept is that whenever I kill a Sim so I can keep the house furnished, the reaper will come, take the Sim and then once the lot is empty of characters the save, exit and neighborhood buttons are grayed out.

I know that is not by design.  My specs are not blue ribbon but a lot better than average, and more than enough to run the game so I don't feel it's an computer issue.  My only hacks are the Multi Painting and Mind Control Mirror and I've seem numerous posts that those two were NL compatible.

I didn't know if anyone else was having the same issue.  The only thing I've done differently is the Sim that I moved and/or tried to kill for their furnishings was created with the Tombstone of L&D. 

Any comments or ideas are appreciated.

I have the same problem in my house all the time.  Every now and then no matter how badly I want to I just can't clean up my house...