Nothing was running in the background, not even a virus checker.  It seems like a problem with an
unsupported video card, but one would think the 9400 GT was reverse-compatible.

  -- Mal

System specs:  Processor:  AMD Athlon X2 250, 2 Gigs DDRAM
                     Audio:    Onboard Legacy audio
                     Video:    GeForce 9400 GT

Running under Windows XP Home SP 3


  After a HDD crash, I had to get a new HDD, so I figured, why not update my computer (which
was very old).  So I upgraded to the above specs, keeping XP so I wouldn't have to fool around
with yet another buggy Microsoft product.  Because my HDD was a total wipe, I have to
re-install all of my software, which is a pain.  (Fortunately, most of my data was backed up)

  I re-installed a legitimate, store-bought copy of vanilla Sims 2 and ran the updater, which tells
me everything is up-to-date.  I added no new data, changed nothing, just launched from the
fresh install.  Regrettably, the game does not launch, although ironically Bodyshop works just
fine.  I unistalled and re-installed, in case I had somehow gotten a corrupt install the first time,
but the same problem occurs.

  What happens:  I click on the shortcut, and the splash screen shows as usual.  Then, as before,
the screen goes black and (apparently) the game tries to launch the EA games logo, but instead
crashes to desktop.  It also, for some reason, turns off my desktop background, which is weird but not a real problem. 

  Any idea what's happening?

  -- Mal