Random desktop crashes

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, funnily enough, my game crashed for the first time for ages just an hour or so ago, and it happened in build mode in Veronaville as I was attempting to remodel a house - the one next door to the Summerdream lot, with the maze in the garden.  And when I checked my logs, I had two of these exception files, one a notepad one which could be read, the other an MDMP file (whatever that is).  I'm pasting the first part of the log in case anyone can explain what this Access Violation is!

Exception time: 01/22/2006, at 15:51:26.
Exception code: 0xC0000005 (-1073741819) ACCESS_VIOLATION.
Current thread ID: 2968 (0x00000b98).
Version information:
Application/module path: C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Nightlife\TSBin\Sims2EP2.exe
Application/module version name: The Sims 2 Nightlife
Application/module version: 1.2.0.337
System version: Windows NT 5.1
System memory: 1024 Megabytes total, 272 Megabytes free.
Application/module configuration: ReleaseSRT


Extra Exception Data:

Shutdown: 0
HostName: BLUE
MemoryUsage: 455904K
Neighborhood Name: Veronaville
Neighborhood Prefix: N003
Lot Name: 95 Bard Boulevard
Extra Exception Data End:

All I was doing at the time was removing some of the flowerbed edgings!

And I agree with Angelyne, making the groups.cache file read only would not be advisable. 

[angelyne]

well what do you know.  This is the EXACT same error as me.  Either this is a very generic error message or...I am not sure about the or part lol.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I can only think that my crash was due to something being faulty with the lot - I've had similar crashes when trying to delete a mini-fridge in a dorm in the past.  I think some Maxis lots are definitely buggy, and nothing you can do will actually save them!

I just wanted to make a manageable house for the Summerdreams!  I can't cope with that totally ridiculous lot they live in now!  It's enough to give me a migraine!

[Li'l Brudder]

I found that deleting the Groups.cache helps with astronomical closing times after you close the game.  It's amazing, and it doesn't affect the game other than that at all!

[ZephyrZodiac]

Everyone is entitled to play the game as it suits them!  I don't think that criticising other peoples' playing style is helpful to anyone.

[angelyne]

I used to think I had a problem, but you have an idiotic sad problem.

If this makes you feel better about yourself, then good for you!


Zephyr, I did a quick search and 0xC0000005 ACCESS_VIOLATION is a very very very generic error.  It's present in every application and game that is based on Microsoft.  So no help there.

So far my crashes have happened on a Maxis community lot (no custom content there), on my own lot, building a house in a different lot.  So I am not sure if it's lot related.  Interesting enough the problem on my lot re-occured constantly until I deleted the cache file.  I think it occured when the portal was activated, I'm not sure.  The error on the community lot occured when I tried to use the photo booth and lastly the error building a lot occured when I used the dropper icon (but it wasn't the first time in that session)/

[ZephyrZodiac]

I'm wondering if my problem was I just continued using the wall tool to delete the border.

But I think it may be more to do with memory - in that I'd deleted a heck of a lot of walls etc. in a short time, and I was probably expecting too much and the game just couldn't handle it!  It seems to find it easier to remember what you build more easily than hat you "unbuild"!

[Renatus]

6 GB?!?  10000 files?!?!?

What do you people find so great about custom hair and clothes?  I get by using the game's stuff!

I have 270 files and 50.2 MB of stuff, most of which are hacks.

I used to think I had a problem, but you have an idiotic sad problem.

You are a judgemental little sort, aren't you? First that nonsense about macs a couple of weeks back, and then snotting off about other people having custom content... do you actually have any idea what you're talking about? 

[ZephyrZodiac]

6 GB?!?  10000 files?!?!?

What do you people find so great about custom hair and clothes?  I get by using the game's stuff!

I have 270 files and 50.2 MB of stuff, most of which are hacks.

I used to think I had a problem, but you have an idiotic sad problem.

You are a judgemental little sort, aren't you? First that nonsense about macs a couple of weeks back, and then snotting off about other people having custom content... do you actually have any idea what you're talking about? 

I think he just likes being rude!

[Renatus]

I think he just likes being rude!

Quite possibly. I have a feeling that it is at that age where being rude to other people, especially us 'old folks,' is cool. Sorry, kid, it just makes you look like a wanker.

[angelyne]

<holds a sign up that reads " Don't feed the trolls">

[Jorenne]

OK, calm down, deep breaths, I'm not shaking, honestly, my typing is always this bad....

I have deleted some stuff.  Actually deleted, gone, poof, no longer there.

My download folder now sits at a paltry 1.6GB.

I feel ill, this isn't normal, nor is it natural........

[Li'l Brudder]

You don't type bad, I see no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.

[angelyne]

Woot...way to go!!

[bluecatvon]

wow! good for you! i can't bear deleting any custom contents..yet.

oh and i got lots of the ACCESS VIOLATION type logs. maybe it's a conspiracy...

[angelyne]

Not sure if I found a solution but ...

Last night I was getting those annoying crashes to the desktop.  I noticed that the crashes seem to occur when I was zooming around the lot.  I started to suspect that the problem was caused by the neighbour view option.  I turned it off and immediately performances improved and I didn't get another crash.  So we will see if this keeps up.

I find TS2 is really buggy for me, where it wasn't before.  After I reloaded the game, one of my sims gave birth.  I never got the prompt for a name.  She put the baby on the ground and it was unselectable.  It was still named baby boy.  Controls were locked out.  I restored control with Pescado's lot debugger but still couldn't interact with the baby.  I had to exit without saving.

Also I am getting the jump bug for the first time ever.  Sometimes I direct my sims to interact and they jump away from each other, and the action drops out of the queue. 

[Li'l Brudder]

I think the fubared baby was fixed in one of Pescado's Hacks.

The jump bug could be caused by overly too many memories, or by a corrupt memory.  Do you see any jagged line-speak bubbles?  If so, you probably have to destroy some memories that are corrupt.

Isn't it always the way?  One bad memory ruins it for everyone else.

[sabra]

This game is incredibly buggy for me, too.  I never had these kinds of problems with Sims 1, at least when I wasn't idiotically deleting cmx files and the like.

Angelyne, I wish I could advise you but as you've probably surmised by now that would be useless.  But I'm sorry you're having such problems.

[angelyne]

I wasn't really expecting advice.  Although if someone can wave a magic wand and make it all better, I wouldn't say no .  I just wanted to whine a bit about the bugginess of it all.  It used to be so stable for me pre-nighlife.

Oh and no jagged memory, that I have see. 

[Zeljka]

I just don't get it, not only has my game been crashing non stop and generating tons of these error files (duplicate in tsaudio... 1M worth of blah blah in notepad) but I'm not even entering cheats.

I tried the old 'folder to desktop to generate new one' trick and it crashed again trying to load the first house in a default neighbourhood (completely bare newly generated game folder).

I just installed Uni a week or so ago and haven't even been able to play because it keeps crashing.

I seem to think this has only been happening since I installed the patch, which was a day or two after installing Uni... aargh.
Guess that means reinstallation after all

[ZephyrZodiac]

The first time a lot of people installed Uni they had problems, I know I did, mainly with everything just freezing when I tried to enter lots etc. but I also had problems getting any of the new college things to work - just got something which read "spawn blah blah (can't remember what) and then occasionally the sim would go to class or do an assignment etc.  I had to remove all my downloads and replace them a few at a time.  The odd thing was the game was fine in neighbourhood view!

[Zeljka]

I think I'll just skip the patch when I reinstall it, I only want to play for a week or two before adding Nightlife, so it should be ok unpatched til then (it was fine til I patched it)

I will add my stuff back slowly though... heh heh

(so... much.... stuff)

[vilia]

My game has just gone kaput - kept getting stuck at the load screen (after the cine plays) and crashes back to desktop.  Funny thing was I was playing it about an hour earlier with no problems - no new downloads, no spawning of kids etc.  I switched it off as stupid Helen Goth toddler was showing up in a suit and I wanted to make sure she really was a girl and not a boy in disguise - yes it has happened before. I checked simpe, she was a girl, I went and had dinner.  I came back and pfft nothing. I have uninstalled it and will re-install when i get the energy.  moan, whinge, gripe!

[ZephyrZodiac]

Did you check out your PC stats?  Maybe something else was trying to do something at the same time - like your anti-virus maybe was trying to download and install an update?  I used to have real problems with McAfee doing this until I upgraded to the new version.

[vilia]

No it wasn't that - I checked and nothing else was running.  Thanks for the suggestion though.  The only odd thing I did notice was my groups.cache - it showed the date modified as 2004 but I had deleted it earlier on today.

On the plus side, I can play a little recklessly (no china rules) knowing that with OFB coming out in 3 weeks I'll end up re-installing anyway