Thank you very very much for the detailed instructions as well as the filename list.  I'm sure that I am not alone in appreciating the information.  I have cut and pasted your instructions into a separate folder where I store your face files so I can have it handy.  I'm not as computer or Sim saavy as most so I do really appreciate the time you took to detail the information.  It's not a great feeling being lost and muddling through unclear or confusing or missing instructions.
Re: the sims2pack files - if I hadn't put the extracted files that seemed to end up at the bottom of my downloads folder I would not have any idea how to 'trash' them.  Luckily I did and dropped them into the folder I have set aside specifically for your files.

Best Wishes!


To Maxon -  I probably did not make myself clear enough regarding that.  I did read somewhere back around page 3 or 4 that only the new Sims brought in (through CAS) after the templates are in place will change and then it would have to filter down through generations before the bad DNA were eliminated.  Does that pertain to those created in Body Shop too?  I don't know.  From what I read I am guessing that they'd have to take a sidetrip in the CAS screen in game to have their face altered since Nailati said to trash the Body Shop files.  I usually don't use the CAS except to put together families of Sims I have already made in Body Shop.  Thanks for the clarification though.  One can never have too much information on a subject IMLTHO.

Sundown

Actually Vilia, I did read your post on Page 7 of this thread and went to those two links in your post and downloaded whatever they'd give me.  However, it added files to my already present Nailati folder that I didn't have in there which led me to believe that maybe I was missing some so, I asked.  Sorry for that.

Since someone else had posted that another file (other than the CASThumbnails.package) had to be deleted for the thumbnails to show up but there was no follow-up on that I wanted clarification.  So, I asked.  Sorry for that too.

I already have the Nailati files I've downloaded in a separate subfolder in my TS DL's directory as well as in my /The Sims 2/Downloads sub-folders (that's 2 copies) but even though it's easy to just look in the subfolder and see which ones are hers/his, that does not translate to graphics in the program.  Must not have made myself clear on that one and so, sorry for that too.

I greatly appreciate your suggestion to not use Nailati's templates and for directing me away from them to something else but I think I will use them anyway and just muddle through with trying to figure things out on my own instead of asking for help again.

I was already familiar with gene alteration... I'd read that quite some time ago but I'm sure someone will appreciate the link you offered.


Oh, and if I wanted strict realism, I'd not have bought Sims in the first place but thanks for pointing that out. You've been such a tremendous help.    Have a good weekend.



Sundown

Howdy to all.  I don't post much... but I do read a lot and I have read all of the posts in this thread.  I didn't download the face files because my Sims don't have a lot of children and any that come into the neighborhood are through CAS.  I thought I'd get around to downloading them if I ever decide to let my Sims have kids of their own but I found that highly unlikely because the couple of times that I did the little ones were so bugly that I told the Sims ... no more kids!!

However, recently, one of my long time married couples went behind my back (I had them on free will while I was AFK for a minute).  When I heard that "Rock a bye baby" I just rolled my eyes.  I let them have their baby... but it turned out to be 2.. natural Maxis-made twins.  As it turned out they looked alright... no surgery needed so I thought, ok, I'll give it a shot.  One of my couples who has been with me in various venues for many many years (through Sims 1+) moved to Veronaville.  I decided to let them have a baby.  Wouldn't you know it... another natural Maxis-made set of twins.  Boy and a girl.  When they finally turned into toddlers I was absolutely shocked.  That little girl was SOOOOO bugly I wanted to throw her in the pool!!    After several surgeries she's somewhat decent looking but my thoughts flew to Nailati's faces and here I am. 

I have downloaded several files but I'm not sure if I have them all.  Could someone please post a complete list of the filenames.  I'm not asking for each individual file name... nope.  Way too much work!  Just the names of the RAR'd or ZIP'd files.  I do know that one opens to sims2packs which are self-installed and I read that the other unzipped/unrarred files go into a sub-folder under /Downloads and I also read that you have to delete the CASThumbnails.package from The Sims 2/Thumbnails.  Are there any other instructions I missed?  Oh, and maybe this is a stupid question to some but how will I know they're Nailati's faces I'm looking at? (Nope, didn't download any other faces either.)  I've looked at all of the pictures on the previous pages and the comparisons and they look somewhat different but,... well,    I'm just not as good as most at distinguishing one face from another.  Are the backgrounds different color?  Do they display Nailati's name or signature?

If someone could *please* make up a post with all relevant info for those of us who aren't as good as we used to be at doing a whole lot of stuff. 


Thanks!


Sundown

The Sapphire has great (and numerous) reviews but don't believe everything you read in reviews.  They are easily padded.  What I'd suggest is this:

* Do google searches for reviews on the cards you have as finalists.

* Go to www.thesims2.com and hit the community forum and do 90 day+ searches there too.  Find out what the Simmers have to say.  They have the 'experience' with the cards. Every Techie in the world can say "Oh definitely!  This card will work with Sims 2" but if they have never actually played Sims 2 on that card, they don't know.

* Find out the system requirements for each card.  Only one of those 4 shows System Requirements (most specifically what wattage of PS is required) and that raises a flag for me.

I agree with JM on the NVIDIA.  I am just finishing up the fine tuning of a new system. I finally broke down and built one myself.  I learned a lot through trial and error... more error than trial actually.  My Gateway collapsed on January 1.  It was a little over 4 years old and had went through 3 power supplies, all through warranty.  That was my 3rd Gateway and my last.  I was determined to build my own this time.  Cheaper, and I get to decide the parts, not someone else.

My suggestions are these:

First, and foremost, pick out your video card before your power supply.  Some of these video cards won't run on a lower wattage power supply.  If it's not 600-700 watts, or more, the higher end cards won't work.  My first video card was an NVIDIA 7300.  I even asked the salesman at the store I went to if it would handle Sims 2.  "Oh definitely!" was what he told me.  Well, it didn't.  Never saw the blue screen of death on XP till I tried the 7300 in Sims 2.  After much testing I found I could play Sims 2 if I played less than max Sims in the house and lower rent housing... like starter homes.  If I put 8 Sims in the house and lots of decor, it crashed every time. NV4_DISP was the major error with some minor ones from Direct3D ... D3Derr_not available.  Luckily, Nvidia Tech Support is 24/7 and I utilized a great many of those 24/7 hours too.  I asked the Techies if this 7300 was strong enough to handle Sims 2 and they all said "Yes".  Well, after doing a lot of searching on the Sims2.com site and realizing it wasn't just the 7300 that was having problems, I figured out the Techies didn't have a clue what Sims 2 was!  I was doing the beta testing and the techies were just agreeing with me when I called them.  I took the 7300 back and went straight to a Fry's Electronics store and started reading boxes and asking questions.  I ended up buying an ATI 1300 X16 PCIE from Visiontek. Their tech support isn't 24 hour but after one call I haven't needed them again. *knock on wood*  It's not the higher end Video card. Unfortunately, I don't have the $250+ to spend on a higher end power supply before I could buy a higher end graphics card.  But what I got works ok.  No more blue screens of death although I do have a touch of a graphics stripe but I think that's probably because I haven't updated the drivers to the latest off the Visiontek website. (I did at first, but my antivirus prg determined it was a virus and quarantined it! LOL!)  Make sure the video card you get is X16, PCIE, 512 mb, and 3D.

Second, pick out your motherboard before you do the case.  You also need to make sure that the power connector on the power supply matches the one on the motherboard you get.  Some are 20 pin, some are 24 pin.  If you can, get a power supply that's 20+4... that way,  you're set either way.  The power supply that you listed in the post (the one in the case) is 20 pin.  The motherboard lists 24 pin.  You can get a 20 to 24 pin adaptor but the guy at Fry's told me he wouldn't suggest converting and I agreed with him.  Too chancy.

Check to see how many ATA/PATA connectors is on the MB as well as how many SATA and how many USBs and memory slots.  Making room for expansion for the next 4 years or however long you want your new system to last is important.  Also, how many drives are you going to put in that case... count bays.   I'm sure you are very knowledgeable enough to do all of that without me noting it but these new motherboards are just plain weird.  SATA and PCIE are confusing to us ATA/PATA folks and since ATA and PCIE aren't interchangeable, you need to be doubly aware.

Do you need all of those fans?  IMO, you bet.  Many of the upper end video cards even have a fan on them now.  I have 3 on my tower, (not including any on cards or the MB) only 2 hooked up though, but I could have the 3rd hooked up in a minute.  Keep in mind that additional power may cause additional 'tremors' or rattling of your new tower so be ready for new noises.   Tighten anything tightenable before you start piecing together your system.   And, the more bells and whistles you get on your tower means that many more bells and whistles to cause problems and drain juice from your power supply.

Also check to see how the cards are held in the tower.  Some of the new clips are plastic and not all that 'secure'.  If you have a large electronics store near you it might be best to get some hands-on browsing of those cases before you make up your mind.  What you see in a JPG on the net isn't always what you get when you open the box. (As I'm sure you know.)


I hope this helps and good luck with your new system!


TX


Here's what I ended up putting in my system: (for now, any way)

Tower:  Thermaltake Soprano - http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/soprano/bns/bns.htm

Power Supply:  Allied 400W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817154013

Motherboard: Intel D102GGC2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121031&ATT=13-121-031&CMP=OTC-Froogle

CPU - Intel Pentium D 2.66 GHz Duo Core

Visiontek ATI Radeon X1300 512MB GDDR-2 at 533 MHz, 450 MHz VPU (Lifetime warranty) -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142081

Memory: 1 GB of Kingston - expandable up to 2 GB


(If the links don't work... sorry... not used to posting... especially links.