It's a hacked object - there should be absolutely no need to uninstall a part of your actual game to use it.

Also, make sure you download the one that goes with FT, if that's what you're using. Downloading a version that doesn't work with your EP, uninstalling that EP to make it work, and then reinstalling the incompatible EP isn't going to work.

If I'm assuming correctly, you will need to extract a decorative item from TS2 and then use the geometry from the TSC urn in order to convert it to a decorative item for TS2.

In other words:
Export the Object (geometry) from the urn within SimPE, as well as any textures.

Extract any decorative object from TS2 that is in the same category you want to make the urn into by cloning it.
Assign in a new GUID and import the .obj file and textures from the castaway object.

No. You shouldn't be getting disc errors. You might be using the wrong options, depending on when you bought your discs.

Sims 1, up to Sims 2 (before BV) should be burned with Safedisc options, but if they were purchased after BV, you might need to burn them with SecuROM options. You might need to play with the different Safedisc options to get the right ones. Sims 2 EPs that are after BV, and including BV, should all be burned with SecuROM (not version 7 though).

If all else fails, you can try burning them with general settings, and playing with the settings to get it right. I can't recall exactly what I did, but I know I got them all copied, and I can install and play them all through Alcohol's emulator.

My personal favourite is Alohol 120%.

Not only does it deal with Safedisc and SecuROM, among others, it also comes with emulators so that you never need to touch your discs again.

You're right, well, partially - there are programs that can shut down the PC, be it by fault or on purpose, which is clearly not the case here though.  

I was half asleep and not thinking clearly, my bad.

@OP:
Are you using a laptop or a tower? Sometimes the PC randomly shutting down is as simple as it overheating because it needs to be cleaned or the vents are blocked - needing to be cleaned is more common for laptops, but I wouldn't overlook the possibility for a tower. You may have something blocking your vents, like having your tower in a desk cubby. Try moving it to a cooler and more open spot if that's the case. Overheating can be caused by a number of issues. So, I still recommend trying the simplest solutions first.

The next place I'd look would be drivers if the above doesn't solve the problem, or appear to be a problem, and from there, moving onto hardware troubleshooting to replacements, or to more drastic measures like reformatting or buying a new PC if nothing else will solve the problem.

It could be such a large number of things that it's hard to troubleshoot without knowing more about your system.

ETA: because I'm so slow to post things.
Follow morriganrant's advice too.

Before trying anything drastic, try some simple troubleshooting first.

Does your computer shut down when doing other tasks besides playing Sims?

If No:
Backup up your downloads, custom configs, Neighbourhoods, etc... and then delete the entire Sims 2 folder in your documents to reset the game. Play for a while with the game in its vanilla state - no downloads at all. If all goes well, you will need to troubleshoot further. Something in the game, itself, may be causing some sort of memory issue. Also, try playing with the video settings in the game.

If Yes:
You have something wrong with either your OS, or your PC. Scans don't always catch problems, and a re-format is less drastic than replacing parts, or buying a whole new PC, even though it's more of a last resort than anything else.

Basically, think in simplest terms first. If the problem only exists with your game - that's where you start. If it exists with your entire OS, start there, etc…

Why don't you try searching through sites related to those games?

If it's not related to the Sims, or to SimPE, I highly doubt you're going to get any help since extracting from other games would be related to modding those particular games and not for the game in question.

Are you using the notownie regen found in the Armory Section of this site? If no, you should get it.

Also, someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I recall reading something about AL introducing a problem similar to what you're explaining in regards to the 'socialites' spawning out of control. I don't recall ever seeing a fix for this other than to use apartments sparingly. It was a while ago that I read something about this, so my memory may be slightly off on this issue. Try searching the forums to see what you come up with.

- Move any Sims that are in any of the homes into the bin from the subhood you want to turn into a vacation - this makes packaging easier. Do not place these Sims in any main hoods other than the one you pulled them from. You must keep them in the related Neighbourhood, subhoods, etc…
- Package each lot, and as an option, you can take a screenshot of your neighbourhood to remember where the lots are.
- Create a vacation hood with the name you want it to have. Use any terrain because you'll overwrite it in a few seconds with the one you want.

- Exit the game.

- Use Hood Replace from MTS and replace the hood you just created with the one from your subhood - make sure you have ‘Lots' unchecked.
- Re-install each lot with Clean Installer, using the ‘Lot Only' option - don't worry, everything that's important to you will remain as it was with this option.

- Go back into the game and enter your vacation hood. If you did everything right up to this point. The terrain will be exactly as the subhood you copied it from, decorations and all, and all the lots you re-installed should be in your bin.
- Place your lots where you want them, and you're done.

At this point, you can change the subhood by changing the decorations, lots, moving them around, or you can keep it as it was. I don't know if it's safe to delete though - perhaps someone can clarify.

Edited because I thought of a better way to do it.

Did you uninstall the previous video driver before installing the new one?

If you don't uninstall the previous driver, previous issues may remain.

I thought you'd be interested in knowing that it would appear the nVidia driver I was using was at fault. I was curious after this post and just updated my driver to the most recent one.

Version: 195.62 WHQL
   
Release Date: 2009.11.26

The black screen seems to have disappeared.

I never really paid it much mind because it was happening on all my machines, except for one, and I just decided to accept it since it seemed like something I was stuck with and caused no real issues other than a small annoyance.

Backups are always in order, regardless of the situation.

However, I don't think you need to panic. What you're experiencing is a common phenomenon among the newer machines and the newer drivers. It doesn't mean your computer's going to explode. It just means it's going to annoy you, and that your head may explode. Nothing serious, seriously.

Did you install a new driver or allow a Windows Update recently? The root of the problem probably points to software drivers and particular models of nVidia - from the sounds of it - and you're probably just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.

I had two similar problems with an AMD quad core and an nVidia Video card.

With Vista, the screen would go white (which bothers me more because I have sensitive eyes). It does the same thing on my daughter's laptop.

When I switched over to windows 7, the screen goes black for the first bit now, which it also does on my husband's computer.

All these systems are fairly new (less than a year old), and all have AMD CPUs (with different numbers of cores) and nVidia video cards of varying models (if that helps to find a common denominator).

My best guess is that it's either hardware or driver (or both) related.

Other than it being annoying to the user though, there isn't much to worry about.

I'm not sure I fully understand what you're saying.

I'm assuming you have the game successfully installed. But it gets fuzzy when you talk about the patch. Are you saying you're having difficulty with a no-cd patch, or the actual patch for the game?

I think you're talking about a no-cd patch. If that's the case, you may run into difficulties if the base game you're running is a bundled package (base game with an EP or an SP).

You also didn't mention whether or not you have any EPs or SPs installed. That information would help.

As far as win7 and The Sims 2 goes, there are no issues.

In that case, I would run a test.

I'd copy my Sims 2 folder to the desktop, and then delete it from the Documents to reset it and see how it runs in its vanilla state (is it "Documents" on a Mac? It's been a while since I used one).

If that corrects the problem, I'd assume something I downloaded, or even the neighbourhood I was playing is the culprit, and I'd start putting my downloads back in batches - after putting the neighbourhood back to see how it runs.

Edited for apostrophe abuse.

Yup. Sounds like you need more computer.

Out of curiosity though: What are the graphic settings for the game set at. On my laptop, if I turn off reflections and Graphical effects, everything runs fine. Otherwise, time crawls excruciatingly slow. I can even leave everything else set to high. Have you tried playing around with the game's settings?

Ooh. The truth behind the rebellion comes out.

It looks retarded.

Yeah. But that one person is seriously regretting it.

About the best I've been able to do in that instance is use the autonomy controller from the Armory to stop my sims from autonomously doing things.

It doesn't stop them from jumping rope and watching the cooking channel - but you can - nor does it stop them from gaining skills should they use a skill-building item. But it helps as long as you use it to avoid letting your sims do things that build skills.

The topic's been covered.

Search.

$100 is an unrealistic expectation for registered games that are outdated; even 5 cents a disk is too much. 5 cents a game would be more realistic. But then again, there's a sucker born every minute, and there's a good number of people on ebay that get more caught up in the bidding wars over what it is that their buying - as well as those who really have no idea.

Ebay's probably your best bet, but make sure you let the buyer know that those games are registered on the off chance that they  actually care about what they're over-paying for.

I use all FFS, and all EPs and SPs with no problems. I'm curious as to whether you actually have AL though. Regardless of what engine M&G uses, I highly suspect that you should not use hacks for an EP that you don't actually have.

I've had to work with some nightmarish cases in the past; they're not fun.

Unfortunately, anything listed in your system is highly influenced by whatever drivers you have installed, as well as the Operating System's ‘best guess'. So, you can't really trust what it's telling you, because it only thinks what you, or the Operating System, has influenced it to think by installing the wrong drivers (assuming that's what the problem is).

Basically, you have four options, and you're not going to like any of them:

1) Buy a new sound card - they're affordable and come with drivers that will save you the hassle of troubleshooting your existing problem.

2) Open the case and find out what you have, physically. Pull the card out (if there is one), jot down the numbers, or hang onto it and put your surfing skills to good use. If the sound is built in, get yourself a flashlight and jot down the motherboard numbers, and the numbers on the chipset(s) that applies to your sound.  You may have to pull some cards and unplug a few cables to get a good view at some chipsets. Keep the case open with either scenario until you've successfully found a driver that works - this is not so fun.

3) Take it to a certified technician to take care of your problem for you.

4) Play with the sound off until you can afford a new computer.

ETA: there are two other options that I forgot about.

If you don't want to go through all the trouble of fixing or ignoring your problem, there is always the USB speaker system, which usually falls short in sound quality, or you can take advantage of the external soundcard option - also known as a pod, or a sound pod, which is often just as good as a regular soundcard.

A pod is a small USB device that acts like a soundcard. They rarely require drivers, and they also rarely come with any awe-inspiring features. They don't support surround sound (no rear speaker, and no digital output), and this often makes them even more affordable than your other options. But they work, sometimes even better, and are sometimes preferred by people in the music industry, or those that rely on speech recognition because of their cleaner sound. Basically, all you do after you've plugged your pod in and the system recognises it, is set it as your default sound device in your Audio Device Manager, plug your speakers into it, and enjoy.

The first and easiest place to start would be to ask yourself if the computer you're using is a namebrand (eg. HP, Gateway, Dell, etc...)?

If you answer yes, the next question would be what model is your computer (should be etched on the tower, or on a label or sticker somewhere on your machine)?

If you can answer those two questions, the next step would be to visit the vendor's webpage, go to support, and get the right driver for your model.

If you answer no to the first question, your troubleshooting will get more difficult, because you will either need to know if your sound card is part of your motherboard, or an actual expansion card, in which case, you may need to open up your machine to get the numbers you require to start your search for the proper driver.