Hello, this is a problem I've had for years. I quit sims 2 because of it. I discovered it randomly one day while doing a legacy challenge.

I've done everything I can to fix the problem minus doing a complete re-install. I've deleted (or, technically renamed it 'backup') the sims 2 folder and even that doesn't fix the problem.

I've applied all the patches, removed all my CC, made new neighborhoods, and as I've said deleted the sims 2 folder so the game would make a new one, and none of that has fixed the problem.

As for what happens, dog comes home, sinks into the ground briefly, then walks away from the car without me even getting payment. The promotion meter is maxed out and they have all the necessary skills. Pet functions normally otherwise.

I don't know of any other issues. Everything else seems to work fine besides the pets. They can learn all their skills fine, and even get promoted to the second rank.

I was wondering if there was a solution I could do in lieu of doing a complete re-install. I'm not 100% sure where all the discs are, so a re-install would be far more than just re-installing the game. And that's assuming I even still have all the discs. The only discs I know I have are the ones for the base game and apartment life (the latter is the disc I need to run the game). I recovered a bunch from my father's house when he died, so I know I do have some of the others. I just don't know if I have them all. And as I've said, they're probably in a giant storage box somewhere. It could take me hours to find them. And don't ask me why I didn't just put them near my computer. I had given up on the game years earlier so I guess it didn't occur to me to make a mental note to keep track of them.

Have you done a 50/50? Sounds like a mod or hack is screwing up

Removing all my CC does nothing. Besides, I don't technically have any 'mods'. Mostly all I have is custom clothing and a few custom objects. Oh, and I used to have custom wall paper and carpets (the game didn't have enough goth content for me...). Besides, I have nothing that would affect pets at all. And even playing with a 100% clean vanilla sims 2 folder does nothing to fix the problem.

edit: I just remembered, I noticed something odd when I was looking for my sims 2 folder: I have two 'ea games' folders. One of which is empty. Literally. It doesn't even have a 'sims 2' folder in it.

As of right now, I'm thinking I need to just go ahead and do a complete re-install. Even though it could take me an entire day or more to find the discs. And it could take all day to re-install all my expansion packs (I also have one stuff pack, but for some reason I can't select it as an expansion I have).

It shouldn't be necessary to reinstall the whole game just to fix a jump bug. Have you tried running with testing cheats turned on so that the game generates an error log? You'll get a dialog offering you the choices of "Cancel", "Delete" or "Reset". Choose reset (you'll see the dog sink into the ground as always). The game will generate an error log that will appear in EA Games > Sims 2 > Logs. There are some folks here who could look at the error log and might be able to tell you why your game is doing what it's doing.

I was thinking of just re-installing pets to see if that fixed the issue. I was also thinking about using the 'any game starter' to run the game without certain expansions, so I could deduce which one the problem was associated with. I don't know if its safe to play an actual game with that or not though. I've only ever used it to make custom cas rooms.

Regardless, I can't seem to find the discs, and I'm assuming that fixing anything would require me to have the appropriate disc.

Besides, I've removed all my cc and it does nothing to fix the problem. Even generating an all new sims 2 folder does nothing. So the problem must be in the installation itself.

Reinstalling can do more harm than good and should always be the last resort after exhausting all other possibilities, as you can leave files and stuff behind in the registry. When you removed your CC do you also delete your cache files? The accessory.cache, group.cache and cigen.cache? Also i would do what RoxEllen suggested, as it does sound like you have a jump bug which are caused by CC and the CC doesnt have to be related to pets to be causing the bug. You could also be missing something that the CC needs to work properly.

I removed the sims 2 folder. As in, I removed the ONE folder that appears in mydocuments/eagames (or w/e the file path is, I actually have the game on another pc that I can't connect to the internet) which forced it to generate a new one. I would assume that would remove everything. It removed my neighborhoods and reset everything in the game. I have no cc anywhere. And it also put the default neighborhoods back in (I remove them so I don't have to keep scrolling past them to get to my custom neighborhoods). As far as I can tell, the game has been set back to its 'factory conditions'.

about error logs, I take the game generates them anytime there is a problem; regardless of testingcheatsenabled.
only difference with testingcheatsenabled seems to be we being able to see those messages in game.

an alternative to re-installing could be to replace files in Program Files directory.
getting the Ultimate Collection could probably be another alternative; if you want that collection. though AnyGameStarter I have heard is non-compatible with it. if you want it, I hear that getting it may take several attempts.

Next time don't remove it just rename. Much quicker for you and ensures nothing decided to corrupt by moving it. It's uncommon but there is a small chance that something will corrupt when moving the folder. You can have multiple sims 2 folders, whatever you rename to something else eg 'The Sims 2 Old' the game stops reading.

Did all the disks install correctly? Did you try the correct patches? Where they from here? http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?tit...elp:TS2_Patches

I found two cache files, which I deleted. For some reason though, my original 'back up' sims 2 folder has 4 or 5. Oh well.

I got an error log. It claims that there's music files with 'missing extentions'. I was unable to find where these files are located. All I know is they have something to do with 'dj booth' and 'karaoke'. Also, it had a bunch of errors for random sound files, mostly relating to cas and 'nhood'. It claimed that they were all 'duplicated'.


It then listed a bunch of odd errors about failing to do things. I can't make much sense of it. One of them said something about being unable to 'find occupant'. I don't get why the sound files would be corrupted. I've never touched the audio at all. Also, it played the 'promotion jingle' when my dog got promoted to the second tier.

edit: The game installed with no problem, and I didn't have any problems with the thing until I gave a pet a job (I was attempting the legacy challenge for the up-teenth time). And I don't know where I got my patch files from. It was a long time ago. My game files claim they were all last updated in 2012. Well, aside for the base game, which did let me 'patch' it (though if I recall right, the base game always says it patches even when it actually doesn't).

edit2: And I didn't 'delete' the folder. Honestly, all I did was re-name it 'sims 2 backup'.

None of you seem to understand. I've already done everything the FAQ tells you to do. Literally the last thing it says, if all else fails, is to do a complete re-install. That's why I'm asking here. I wanted to know if there was an alternative.

You don't by chance have both the disk version and the Origin UC installed at the same time do you? That will royally mess things up if you do.

I didn't even know of origin when I installed those. I have a hard copy of them all. I just don't know where most of them are right now. Actually, I don't think origin even existed when I got those. I got apartment life as soon as it was released.

You can ignore those; they are legacy errors and occur in all games- mine, yours, everyones.

If you play the game with testingcheats active, do you get an error message pop up when your pets sink into the ground?

I forgot how to turn it on... I pressed ctrl+alt+c, but nothing happened.

My log had a bunch of files, but most of them were empty. One was a 'music error log' (or something like that) that just stated the missing extensions, like the 'sound error log' had at the beginning. Another had my system information, though it didn't appear to be accurate. The thing claimed I was running windows NT 5.1 I think. I'm actually running windows 7 in compatibility mode for windows xp sp2. Other than that, all the others were blank.

I guess I should note that the game wouldn't run when I first tried to play it again. I had to have the computer fix 'compatibility errors' or something like that. I've actually heard from other people that I'm lucky the game would even run for me. Apparently most people can't get the thing to run on windows 7 at all.

ctrl-shift and c
Type:
boolprop testingcheatsenabled true

The empty logs and the music error logs can be ignored, they are not relevant to this.

I did that, and got an error message. It said:

ERROR: Attribute number out of range.

It claims the object that triggered it, was the pet itself.

I also made a second neighborhood and new family. This time a cat. I got the same result. Including the same error.

It did generate a log file of the error, but its massive (58 kb, hundreds of lines!). It looks like the thing spat out every variable it was keeping track of at that moment. As a beginner programmer btw, it was actually interesting to see all the things the game has to keep track of.

If you could attach the error message to your post, it might help us to figure out what's going on. Have you ever had mods in your game in the past? Some mods require files to be installed to the game data files, and those would probably not have been removed when you reinstalled.

Sigh. Its not easy for me to switch pcs. I don't have enough outlets to have both on at the same time. Also, I only have one desk, so I have to switch the monitors. And I have to use the same keyboard, mouse, and headphones. Switching things around takes a bit. Also, the computer this thing is on takes 20 minutes to start up.

And I have finals next week (one of which is for an online course that I haven't read all the material for yet!), so I can't really afford to be wasting time switching computers back and forth all day. No offense, but it may take a while for me to get this file to you.

For the sake of not making an insanely long post, I'll just post part of the code for now.

Most of it seems irrelevant anyway. I did a search for 'error' and 'invalid', and came up with nothing other than the error at the start (well, and some function that includes the word 'error' near the end). Reading through it all myself, most of it is just what cheats I have enabled and the stuff on my lot. Perhaps I could shorten the text by running the test with fewer items in my house...

Note that 'spot' is the name of the dog.

edit: Oh, and I forgot. This was with NO cc at all. Clean sims 2 folder. Also, I've never had any mods that affect jobs or pets. And like I've said, pretty much all I've had is custom clothing and recolors.

Also, I find it worrisome that it claims the problem object is the pet itself. All its doing to trigger this is coming home from work, with a promotion. Also, it doesn't give me any payment when it comes home.

Object id: 260
name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Stack Size: 8
Error: Atribute number out of range.
Iterations: 96
Frame 7:
Stack Object id: 260
Stack Object name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Node: 41
Tree: id 8236 name 'Sub - Return to World - Try Bring Friend' version -32742
from JobDataGlobals
Prim state: 0
Params: 260 279 220 Locals: 279 0 260 0 0 25
Fram 6:
Stack Object id: 260
Stack Object name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Node: 10
Tree: id 8214 name 'Sub - Return to World' version -32734
from JobDataGlobals
Prim state: 0
Params: 220 3 284 Locals: 279 260 0 3
Frame 5:
Stack Object id: 260
Stack Object name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Node: 16
Tree: id 8206 name 'Interaction - At Work' version -32668
from JobDataGlobals
Prim state: 0
Params: 284 Locals: 0 0 220 3 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1
Frame 4:
Stack Object id: 260
Stack Object name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Node: 5
Tree: id 281 name 'Wait For Notify' version -8
from global
Prim state: 1
Params: 0 1 Locals:
Frame 3:
Stack Object id: 260
Stack Object name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Node: 1
Tree: id 8192 name 'Function - Main - Check Queue' version -32753
from PetGlobals
Prim state: 0
Params: Locals: 309
Frame 2:
Stack Object id: 260
Stack Object name: N004_User00363 - Spot
Node: 1
Tree: id 8221 name 'Function - Main - Loop' version -32755
from PetGlobals
Prim state: 0
Params: 1 120 Locals:
Frame 1:
Stack Object id: 0
Node: 3
Tree: id 8266 name 'Function - Main' version -32753
from PetGlobals
Prim state: 0
Params: Locals:
Frame 0:
Stack Object id: 0
Node: 0
Tree: id 4111 name 'Function - Main' version -32758
from TemplateDog
Prim state: 0
Params: Locals:

I decided to try and see if sims could climb through the career track. Problem is though, I think I corrupted my test lot. When the error message came up again for the pet, I chose 'delete' rather than 'reset'. This removed my pet from the lot. I quit without saving.

I just can't seem to win...

No idea what I'm going to do. I'm tempted to just play like I don't have pets installed honestly. Not that I intend on actually uninstalling it, I'm just going to score any legacies I do as if I didn't have that expansion.

I'm sick of waiting for my game to be fixed. I want to play. Besides, maybe if I'll come across another bug that will give me a hint as to what's going on.

edit: As for why I decided to turn that pc back on just to play a buggy game? I got stuck on homework and decided 'screw this'. I'm taking a course that's teaching things that should be spread out across 4 semesters. I was so sick of the excessive amount of information i was having to learn, I needed to blow off steam for a while.

Windows 7 is actually the easiest version of windows to run sims 2 on, don't know where or who is saying otherwise. Windows 8 is the one that gives the most troubles. To me it sounds like you might need to uninstall and get it cleaned of all registry keys and reinstall since it sounds like an issue with your install.

I recall from somewhere that Windows 7 had problems with this game; I do not remember where or when or any details of those problems.
Windows XP seems to run this game without problems.

The original computer I ran it on had windows xp. It was kinda made for that OS. Honestly, I've thought about setting up a retro gaming computer with xp on it, because I have several games designed for that system (besides just the sims 2). I do have an install disc still I think. Of course, I can't get the patches anymore, that OS can't go online anymore. Its too vulnerable to viruses. I do have the case for the original computer I had this game on, but it doesn't have its harddrive anymore. I don't know what components are still in it, if any.

I have Windows 8.1 and I never had problems with the game (except for cc).
I am afraid to buy windows 10 though. I hope it still works then.

I've been playing the game on Windows 7 for years, never any issues.
lientebollemeis, that is good, but there was a lot of help posts for Windows 8 users. There are already people playing it on 10 and once I have my computer upgraded I will be too so I hope to not have any/much issues.