Impending BFBVFS? or Bad Pooter.... baaaaaaad

[Scratch]

Thanks for the info ZephyrZodiac....

I got a chance to look at some of the sims in Simpe last night and i don't think the playables are corrupted to badly... the couples with the want to go steady are elderly anyway and won't last much longer so i'm not worried about their memories and they look OK in Simpe anyways...  I'll let the townies and playables just regain the friendships... they have enough points so it would just be a matter of talking to that sim again to be friends/best friends again...

It was just a wierd error... All of their skills and aspirations are intact.... only some of their memories were effected and the loss of the cellphone... but i think like you said, it was a computer issue not a game or hack issue and that's what i really wanted to find out.... what caused the problem?

Thanks again everybody   

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, if it's a one-off, then I think it must have been a bad save, but if you get the problem after you play again, then it means checking your hacks, I think.  And if it isn't a hack - all your downloads!!

[Scratch]

I think it was a one-off ting...

I've played a few times since i first noticed the problem and it hasn't got worse....

stoooooopid pooter.....   

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, I'd be grateful for small mercies - if it was a bad download, it would have been a long and tedious job sorting it!

I did wonder if it was caused by something like Windows Update or your AV update just happening to be in the middle of doing its stuff when you closed your game.  I'd rather turn the things off, but then I keep getting Security Center messages every darn time I start my computer up, so now I just let them do their thing, but it can be very annoying when I'm playing and suddenly my mouse gets the jitters and then I get the pop-up and the voice saying "Avast has been updated"!  And I always wonder what would happen if I was just closing my game when it does that.

[notveryawesome]

I disable my internet and antivirus when playing any game. Unless you use the EA Link, there's no need to be connected to the internet or to have your AV enabled. In fact, the instructions in the brochures that come with CD and DVD versions of the games specifically state that leaving your AV running whilst installing or playing can potentially be a VBT.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Yes, I know, but I am using the Link, dammit!  So I have to stay connected, and there's no way I'm doing that without AV and Firewall in place!

When playing earlier versions of the game, with cd, I've played both with and without AV, and I've never noticed much difference, except in RAM usage.  But it's also nearly impossible to disable some AVs without all the bother of going into msconfig, McAfee for one just won't let you which is one reason why (apart from the fact that it overloaded my CPU and caused my fan to break - at least, I think it was that which caused it - and my hard disks both got fried) I got rid of it and now use the free version of Avast and save myself 50 quid per annum!  And apart from the annoyance when Avast updates, it sits very quietly in the background and causes no problems, and uses about half the RAM that McAfee uses, doesn't insidiously invade a lot of Windows stuff and is very easy to uninstall if necessary - McAfee is almost impossible to eradicate completely without hours and hours of searching.

[notveryawesome]

Yep. Both McAfee and Norton are Teh Evilz. You have my condolences.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I won't use them any more - Avast! is to my mind a far superior product - and it's free for home use.  Luckily McAfee refunded the money they'd just taken from my account when I phoned them up to complain about the program.

[jolrei]

I won't use them any more - Avast! is to my mind a far superior product - and it's free for home use.  Luckily McAfee refunded the money they'd just taken from my account when I phoned them up to complain about the program.

Running Norton myself, which would be OK, but it uses a lot of system resources and is apparently hell to get rid of, once you have it installed.  I always play with the computer offline and with as much of norton disabled as possible.  I think I'll check out Avast.

[Lorelei]

If anyone wishes to rid themselves of Norton in favour of AVast (or whatever), I have a NortWare zorcher at 4shared. See sig.

Geek Squad decided (without asking first) that I had to have Norton on my laptop. I was displeased. This removed it.

[jolrei]

If anyone wishes to rid themselves of Norton in favour of AVast (or whatever), I have a NortWare zorcher at 4shared. See sig.

Geek Squad decided (without asking first) that I had to have Norton on my laptop. I was displeased. This removed it.

Excellent.  Will try out, as soon as I have replacement "virus prophylactics" ready.  Like switching from Trojan to non-latex - kind of the same, but hopefully sorta new as well, with a satisfying ultimate result.

[ZephyrZodiac]

You wan't difficult to get rid of, I think McAfee takes first prize!  I rarely bother now to turn my AV off, Avast only activates itself if you're online, switch off the modem and it just sits quietly waiting until you switch on again. 

[jsalemi]

You wan't difficult to get rid of, I think McAfee takes first prize!

Is there a McAfee zorcher around anywhere?

[ZephyrZodiac]

Dunno, I only got rid of all the bits when I had to reinstall - it caused my PC to overheat so much it blew a fan and killed my sims!

[jolrei]

Dunno, I only got rid of all the bits when I had to reinstall - it caused my PC to overheat so much it blew a fan and killed my sims!

Won't be going there then.  My CPU fans go overtime in game - no real overheat problem so far, but I'm not interested in adding something else that overstresses the processor.

Just got Avast! - will try it out.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Hope you like it as much as I do!  (I love companies who see their role as improving internet security by encouraging ever home user to have AV and antispy for nothing - it's good news for everyone!)

[Scratch]

I found Kaspersky about a month ago and i like it so far.... of course, it found virus's hanging around a few places that Norton missed for months...   glad i didn't use those things   

It just has some annoying popups that i haven't figured out how to get rid of....

[Lorelei]

You wan't difficult to get rid of, I think McAfee takes first prize!

Is there a McAfee zorcher around anywhere?

Try Major Geeks forums. They tend to have useful tools.

Also, some people have expressed love for Panda AV, but that program stuck around like a bad rash when I tried it on my Win98 lappy. I can only assume they made it less tenacious.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Also, some people have expressed love for Panda AV, but that program stuck around like a bad rash when I tried it on my Win98 lappy. I can only assume they made it less tenacious.

It also costs money!  And if you don't buy, you get spammed!

[notveryawesome]

Personally, I use the AVG free edition, and have been very happy with it.

[Simsample]

Is there a McAfee zorcher around anywhere?

Yes there is:
http://ts.mcafeehelp.com/faq3.asp?docid=408294
Norton one here, as well as from Lorelei's link:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039