Very recent problem with having more than one EA Games folder

[lechapeau]

I have usually two, sometimes three EA folders in My Documents at a time.
The main 'Play' one, then one for building, and sometimes one to check things out if I don't want to corrupt either of my others.
Obviously you can't have them all called EA at the same time, so I rename according to which I want to use.
This has always worked with no problem.
Right now I can't get my playing game to work at all. I click the icon and get the egg timer for a split second then nothing else happens, though sometimes I don't even get the egg timer.
I thought it was something to do with the new Content Manager thing. I installed that on friday, it worked straight away without impressing me, but yesterday it just disappeared from my desktop. So I looked in 'Add and Remove Programs' and couldn't find it and also in program files. I downloaded a new one which won't do anything at all and was just going to leave it when my daughter came in and said sims wasn't working.
I've tried a few times, the normal clicking and also restarting the computer over and putting the disc in again. I defragged it last night, but don't know that that would cause this.
Still going with the content Manager, I've looked around at the comments and not seen anything, and even removed the Hack Scanner just in case as it was the only thing I could see that looked a bit like it, and have had to get that again.
Then just now, I checked the 'spare' EA that I was using on Friday and that is working fine, so it's not the new CM program. The 'Play' game has been used three times since I used the other one, so I know it has been working completely normally since.
A couple of times this week, the EA folder didn't want to rename without a restart. So, is the method I'm using wrong ? It's been fine since I started doing this in February.
I'm thinking of making a new EA and putting my active folders into that before probably reinstalling.
I know I can put my build EA into a separate account, but this is easier, or has been until now.
Any help or information gratefully received !

[J. M. Pescado]

Hmm. Nasure what you mean by "egg timer". Check your ALT-CRTL-DEL. Is the TS2 process actually running, or did it terminate? If it isn't booting at all past the splash screen, you could be experiencing a copy protection problem.

[gali]

I am not professional, but logicaly, you can't have more than one EA folder.

You can put in the EA/TS2 many downloads folders (building, clothing, hacks) - but EA games folder has to be only one.

Which EA folder will the simulator activate? No 1? 2? 3? - each one of them has different neighbourhoods and many other folders, and different saved games, in which you don't know are your saved games.

Or, you mean that you have many Downloads folder - explain yourself more clear....

[lechapeau]

I'll check the ALT-CRTL-DEL, I didn't do that yet.
I have three EA folders at present in my My documents.
Play-EA Games
Build-EA Games
Spare-EA Games
Each time I want to play I take away the bit before so it just says EA Games, after having renamed the other one.
It's worked this way for ages, someone told me that this was how to get a clean accout to build in.
The 'Play' one's got the downloads and hacks and saved games.
The others have no downloads that are kept in them, neither of the non play ones have any Maxis made neighborhoods, and I don't save games in them, if it's checked, it's OK and what I want from it goes to my main game.
The Build EA has one created neighborhood where I build package and then delete the lot and quit as I have it saved for whatever is needed.
If I'm doing it wrong, I'll have to change, it really has worked for all this time and that's whats confusing me now.
Also, if it's the changing names that's doing it, the other two are fine, it really is only the play one that's not working.
So I guess that has saved files that are corrupting or something ?
Thank you for your help, and sorry to confuse !

I've just checked the ALT-CRTL-DEL...I don't actually know what I'm looking for as I can't see 'Sims' or 'Uni' or anything Sim related.
So instructions for a stupid person please !
I can see other things I would recognise though, so maybe it isn't registering at all and I've done it right anyway.
So will reinstalling be my answer, or will copying the old files over new ones work ?
I just want it right...And Thank you !

[J. M. Pescado]

If TS2 is running, you will see te programs "Sims2.exe" or "Sims2EP1.exe", as well as "~e5.0001" under "Processes". If you see e5, but not Sims2, this is probably a copy protection problem. If you see both, or multiple copies of both, and yet the game is not running, kill all of them with End Process and try again.

[lechapeau]

No, none of the above.....is that good or bad ? !

[J. M. Pescado]

Neither good nor bad. I'm still inclined to suspect the copy protection: the e5 program is the copy protection bootloader, and if it's running when the game itself isn't, then your copy protection is stalling. If the e5 is not there at all, then your copy protection has outright rejected. You may wanna try a noCD and see if that helps any.

[lechapeau]

I don't understand what you mean by a no CD.
I have got it going now though.
I renamed the main one and got it to make a new EA which I checked was fine. Then I tried just taking it's 'The sims 2' folder out and putting mine in, nothing.
So then I took all my bits, neighborhoods, downloads, saved sims etc....everything except the tutorial and the Cameras config & logs, and the Cigen Content and Groups Cache, and now it's fine.
So do I wait longer/check first with the Task Manager before renaming in future. Or restart first, or just don't do that at all and make another account for building ?
I don't want to do that if I don't have to, it was easier this way, but a good working game is the most important thing right now.
And still Thank you for helping as I hate it when things happen and I don't understand !

[humybyrd]

So then I took all my bits, neighborhoods, downloads, saved sims etc....everything except the tutorial and the Cameras config & logs, and the Cigen Content and Groups Cache, and now it's fine.

Ok at the risk of sounding stupid...what is cigen content?  What do groups cache do?

[dmchess]

If TS2 is running, you will see te programs "Sims2.exe" or "Sims2EP1.exe", as well as "~e5.0001" under "Processes". If you see e5, but not Sims2, this is probably a copy protection problem.

I've got exactly this situation today: the splash screen just sits there forever spinning the CD, and the ~e5.0001 process is listed in Task Manager, but Sims2PE1.exe isn't.

This is a perfectly legit storebought CD, and it's been running fine for weeks.  What can cause this kind of "copy protection problem", and what can I do about it?  Is it physical damage to the CD, or something hosed on the hard drive, or...?

Arg!
DC

[dmchess]

I've got exactly this situation today: the splash screen just sits there forever spinning the CD, and the ~e5.0001 process is listed in Task Manager, but Sims2PE1.exe isn't.

Ooops, arg, I take it back; at the moment Sims2EP1.exe is in the process list (as is ~e5.0001), but still the splash screen just sits there.  And this happens every time I try to start the game.

Sigh,
DC

[Akharra]

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[dmchess]

I've got exactly this situation today: the splash screen just sits there forever spinning the CD, and the ~e5.0001 process is listed in Task Manager, but Sims2PE1.exe isn't.

Ooops, arg, I take it back; at the moment Sims2EP1.exe is in the process list (as is ~e5.0001), but still the splash screen just sits there.  And this happens every time I try to start the game.

Update: swapping out the CD drive for one from a different computer seems to have fixed it (at the moment knock wood).

So tentative conclusion: a slightly wonky CD drive can appear able to read the TS2 CD just fine, but still not be able to actually run the game (perhaps because it's just wonky enough that the 'copy protection' mechanism can't verify that the CD is legit).

Fleh, what a waste of time!

DC

[Danni]

You know, my manual for NightLife says something about updating Firmware if that happens (I'm sad - I read it in the car on the way back from the MetroCentre). Maybe you could go see if your other CD drive has new firmware on the manufacturer's website?

[dmchess]

You know, my manual for NightLife says something about updating Firmware if that happens (I'm sad - I read it in the car on the way back from the MetroCentre). Maybe you could go see if your other CD drive has new firmware on the manufacturer's website?

Thanks for the suggestion; I might give that a try!  Given that it had been working for a few weeks with whatever level of firmware it was, I tend to think it's something mechanical (or maybe I just needed to clean the lens; didn't think of that), but an updated driver or firmware might also help.  Given that it's working with the other CD drive now, and I didn't really need that drive in the other computer anyway, most likely I'll forget all about the problem now...              DC