Game freezes at 5:59pm

[Bane~Child]

Witch, you made me think of something related to what you have said. 

Kukes,

Do you have any scheduled programs that run at this time?  Spyware, automatic Windows Updates, Anti-virus scanners or other maintenance programs?  If you do or are not sure about a schedule, disable them like Witch suggested just before you start your game.  You won't need these if you are only playing the game and you can reenable them later.  If you have McAfee's virus scanner, it will restart itself after about an hour, depending on your settings.  if you have AOL installed on your machine this is also a problem - it's files are spread all over the computer.  Since I mentioned AOL, disable all IM's, too.

All of these things can seriously hinder the performance of your game and any time cut-scenes or other special events take place, it puts an extra burden on the memory.  I also restart/reboot my computer right before I disable everything, to flush the memory.

[Bane~Child]

I'll use Cleaninstaller, etc. and see what happens - though I tend to be quite pedantic about what gets into my game, it's possible something's corrupted/conflicting.

While you are at it, check your Teleport folder, too.  There should be nothing in there once the game is started and everything pending in this file has been loaded.  Sometimes there are bits of things left behind that don't belong to anything there.  If there is anything in this file after the game is loaded, then you should delete anything left behind.

One more thing, I also reboot my machine after I have used Body Shop or HomeCrafter Plus.

[Kukes]

Wow. Thread explosion. So many ideas for me to try...

LK: I didn't even think of the day/night transition. I'll go and check it out ASAP, but I've noticed it doesn't freeze at 7am (but it could definitely be something to do with night and aging happening at the same time, and my computer dying from the strain). The only thing is, it's happening in Pleasantview only, no other neighbourhood has this problem.

clem: my graphics card info (128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro) - and yes, I recently got some Anti-spyware and ad-ware programs. I'll disable everything and see if it works.

JM: I'll go and try to get an error log now.

Bane~Child: That's another good idea. I'll disable/remove all the lights and see if it helps. And I do have one file in the Teleport folder, called (strangely) familySegmentForUpload.sims - I've never uploaded or downloaded a family.

witch: I defragged about a month ago, but I'm about ready for another. The drive Sims2 inhabits has nearly 30 gigs free, but possibly there's a lot of fragmented Pleasantview files.

Thanks everyone! Now to go and test out the game...

[ZephyrZodiac]

If you have a family segment in your teleport folder, it's probably come in a house you've downloaded, and you're best off without it!

Do you have any scheduled programs that run at this time?  Spyware, automatic Windows Updates, Anti-virus scanners or other maintenance programs?  If you do or are not sure about a schedule, disable them like Witch suggested just before you start your game.  You won't need these if you are only playing the game and you can reenable them later.  If you have McAfee's virus scanner, it will restart itself after about an hour, depending on your settings.  if you have AOL installed on your machine this is also a problem - it's files are spread all over the computer.  Since I mentioned AOL, disable all IM's, too.

I think the 5.59 referred to is 5.59 in the game (sim-time) not 5.59 real-time!

Kukes, it might also be worth running Chkdsk before you defrag.  Also clear out your caches and generally do everything you can to (a) increase your hard-drive space and (b) to make sure your PC is as healthy as possible.

[witch]

The groups.cache file is a database sort of file, lives in the sims2 folder under mydocs I think. One of the Maxoids said this could be safely deleted as it can become corrupt. I have safely done this a number of times. The game just generates a new groups.cache at start up.

I have read that the objects.package can become corrupt, I don't know if there's a way to fix that.

Creating a new sims2 folder and copying your neighbourhood over might also help.

[ZephyrZodiac]

I think you would have to replace the objects package file in that case.    I always tell myself, next time you reinstall, make a copy of all those sorts of files and keep it on the other HD, then it's easy to replace any time I need to  - but do I remember?  You bet your boots I don't! 

Thanks for that tip about the groups.cache file, useful to know about!

[Kukes]

Well, I got rid of the familySegmentForUpload.sims file - it was a whopping 273 megabytes, but it didn't cause the game to malfuction when I ran it again. There was no error with boolprop testingCheatsEnabled true, the game still froze (and, just in case it did have something to do with the video card, I put all the in graphics/performance on Low - which made the game look dreadful but had no effect with the problem). I'm currently defragging, but since most of the fragmented files are from My Documents, it's possible that could be the issue.

Oh, and Zephyr - yes, 5:59pm is referring to game time, not real time. 

witch: I need to format my computer, so maybe that will fix it (but it's quite possible something has corrupted within the neighbourhood, since no other's are affected... well, I'll just have to start over).

When the defrag is over, I'll disable all my hacks and have another go.

[ZephyrZodiac]

If all else fails, don't give up on your neighbourhood.  Move the whole Sims2 folder to your desktop, then uninstall/reinstall Uni, then move your sims2 folder back into EA Games and let it overwrite the new Sims2 folders.  Believe me, it can work!

[Bane~Child]

I think the 5.59 referred to is 5.59 in the game (sim-time) not 5.59 real-time!

Oh, darn you caught me.  Actually, I just meant programs in general that may have been running at the time this happened.  Just trying to think of all possibilities - they got run together - vapor lock from this retched migraine. 

I did think of something else though - The mouse and keyboard drivers that you install from the manufacturers CD.  Unless you have functions that allow for a physical handicap or you require features as a programmer or other IT professional, that the drivers installed and updated regularly through Windows are sufficient.  The CD installed drivers are redundant and are huge memory hogs, too and can be removed without consequence.  This was a solution passed on to me from a MS certified tech site.

[clem]

Clem, you aren't shooting anyone down, the more suggestions the better. What I know about computers can comfortably fit on the back of a matchbook cover, so I'm certainly always eager to learn. So keep on suggesting, it's called bouncing ideas around; it's actually a good thing

I'm tenative because what I know about computers fits only a notebook page. I don't want to look like a total idiot. A partial one will do.

clem: my graphics card info (128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro) - and yes, I recently got some Anti-spyware and ad-ware programs. I'll disable everything and see if it works.

Your card sounds fine; I'm running on an Nvidia 5200 and all the graphics set to high without trouble.

Let us know if you manage to fix it. What's the computer doing--just sitting there, no spinning of disc, no "thinking" light? And just how many people do you have growing up/aging? Not that that should really matter, I guess. Just thinking aloud here.

[Bane~Child]

Okay, gonna shut up now.

Clem, you are so darn cute with that mouse.  I could not read without stopping to look at him and yes, your ideas are certainly welcome, as much as anyone here.  It is hard enough to figure out why these things happen to one person and not another and brainstorming can be a saving grace.

So darn cute, he looks like he is waiting for a treat.

[Kukes]

If all else fails, don't give up on your neighbourhood. Move the whole Sims2 folder to your desktop, then uninstall/reinstall Uni, then move your sims2 folder back into EA Games and let it overwrite the new Sims2 folders. Believe me, it can work!

Don't worry, I'm not giving up yet! There's too many fantastic sims to lose - Pleasantview was my first neighbourhood, and I have very fond memories of Dina's many aspiration failures in the Goth house (Alex having to raise his half-siblings, practically), Don's many marriages and offspring, Cassandra's constant twins and I really don't want to lose the family trees (and plans for future intermarriages) that I have now. When I reset I'll have to copy all my other neighbourhoods anyway, so I won't leave Pleasantview behind.

Your card sounds fine; I'm running on an Nvidia 5200 and all the graphics set to high without trouble.

Let us know if you manage to fix it. What's the computer doing--just sitting there, no spinning of disc, no "thinking" light? And just how many people do you have growing up/aging? Not that that should really matter, I guess. Just thinking aloud here.

I think it's got to be something to do with the neighbourhood - none of the other neighbourhoods in the game have this problem, they're all passing 6pm with no issues. In another neighbourhood I had a grow-up "too many iterations" issue but I don't think this is related, since it's simply when days are ended in the sim's lifespan, not a change in life stage. I tried defrag, no solution. Now I'm trying to disable my hacks with the CleanInstaller to check if that's the issue. The computer itself is silent - no whirring sounds indicating any activity, or lights from the CD-drive. When I tried after defragging I almost got it to Ctrl-Alt-Del again to close the program (it popped up but was inactive, so I couldn't End Program Sims2), but no other changes.

There's actually no one growing up on these lots - I've tried with medium sized families (two adults, two children; two adults, one child), larger families (two adults, four children), and even single member family lots. Though I haven't tried every house, the fifteen or so I've tried are all descendants of Maxis-made Sims (Brokes, Oldies, grandchildren of Cassandra/Darren, Alex/Angela etc.). I think I'll try with a totally unrelated and new family before testing out my hacks. 

[ZephyrZodiac]

That sound like a possibility, a family with no memories clogging up everything!  Also, if you try with aging off, that would prove once and for all whether the adding on of a day to everyone's life is what is causing the problem!

[Kukes]

Also, if you try with aging off, that would prove once and for all whether the adding on of a day to everyone's life is what is causing the problem!

I didn't even think of that! Great idea, I'll test it out ASAP. 

[ZephyrZodiac]

Well, I hope it does do what I think it will, and that if your game works fine with aging off, at least then you know for certain where to look for a solution!

[Kukes]

Well, I hope it does do what I think it will, and that if your game works fine with aging off, at least then you know for certain where to look for a solution!

IT WORKED!  The clock ticked over to 6:00pm, and I kept playing until it reached 8:00pm just to be careful. This was with aging off, so it must be something to do with the aging, rather than graphics/CPU etc. At least it's narrowed down, which is good.

[gali]

Well, I hope it does do what I think it will, and that if your game works fine with aging off, at least then you know for certain where to look for a solution!

IT WORKED! The clock ticked over to 6:00pm, and I kept playing until it reached 8:00pm just to be careful. This was with aging off, so it must be something to do with the aging, rather than graphics/CPU etc. At least it's narrowed down, which is good.

3 times "Hurray" for ZZ!!! 5 benes + 5-star SP....

[Kukes]

3 times "Hurray" for ZZ!!! 5 benes + 5-star SP....

And 5 star uploads of course! I'm so glad I know what it is, and at least I can play Pleasantview again and use my hacked painting to add days to their lives. Thanks Zephyr!

[ZephyrZodiac]

Blushes in confusion!  It's nice to be right occasionally - I'm so often wrong!

[veilchen]

Blushes in confusion!  It's nice to be right occasionally - I'm so often wrong!

No you are not. On the contrary, you are often right on the money. I for one am very appreciative of your help, I couldn't use SimPe without you, remember? :D

[ZephyrZodiac]

Thanks for the vote of confidence!  (You may be interested to know that my Pleasantview, which JM said would be irreparably damaged after I changed some character file numbers, is still going strong!  I may break the rules, but so far I've been lucky!)