The Sims 3 issues

[TKETZ196]

Hi. I am fairly new to this forums and unsure where to pose this question.

My cousin wanted to play The Sims 3. I installed a new graphics card, which is the NVidia GeForce 8400 GS with 256 MB of memory. Hypothedically, and according to System Requirements Lab, I can run the game. Here are the specs best that i can give at the moment since i am typing this form my home PC:

Dell Dimension 2400
Penitum 4 2.4 GHZ
1.12 GB of system memory (Don't ask why it reads that i don't know)
GeForce 8400 GS 0 256 MB (branded by Sparkle)

Now, i also notice that when i check the amount of memory for graphics it says 512MB instead of 256 (That is different from when i 1st boot up the machine, it says NVidia Geforce 8400 GS 256 MB). I am hoping that maybe i am on the right path of why the game crashes when i try to start the game. It seems as thought the grpahics card is taking 256 MB of system memory to work in tandem with the graphics card's dedicated memory. The game does not require all that RAM and i assume that lack of the 1 GB of memory, that is why the game crashes.

I hope somebody can shed some light on how to remedy this. i did scour the internet for answers but haven't found any. I was hoping if someone can tell me if there is a way i can release the extra 256 MB of system memory from the graphics controller. I assume that is the issue but i could be wrong. Please help! Thanks!

[Spools]

What is the brand and model number of the power supply?

[Strider]

It looks like your internal graphics card is still enabled? Maybe that is why it is crashing and why you getting a weird system memory installed, for discrete graphic cards will take a little bit a memory away in order to run correctly. Maybe someone else has a better possible solution?

[pam123]

I have to agree with Strider.
From your description the on board video drivers are still there.

Pull out, or download, the manual for reference.
Your steps should have been, uninstall the on board video drivers.

Shut down and install the new video card and connect it to the monitor.
Now double check the manual to make sure you're covered (The computer may well switch automatically but read the manual any way. ).

Now boot and install the most recent drivers for your card.

You Dell is old enough that you may want to check and see if the motherboard chipset drivers have any "more recent" updates.

Remember, do not use the on board video drivers.

[TKETZ196]

Thanks for your replies. i forgot to mention that i disabled rather than remove the old video card. It was an integrated intel graphics solution. The motherboard did switch automatically after i installed new drivers.

Originally, i did not disable the old graphics solution. Then i did that and i still got the weird amount of Video memory. Understandably, NVidia does do that Turbo Cache, but i assume that is only for the on board solutions they provide. I also forgot to mention it is running Windows XP Home Edition, SP3 (not sure if that makes a difference).

1)Not sure about the power supply (Should i adjust it if i can put the switch at a higher setting & will that harm other components inside the PC?) 2) I did disable the integrated graphics. No where in the BIOS (or in the drivers) could i release the extra memory that i think NVidia GeForce 8400 GS is taking 3) Should i download the latest drivers from NVidia so that could possibly fix the issue (i used the drivers that came from the CD that was provided by the Sparkle company). 4) Should i remove the integrated solution and drivers completely rather than just disabling it?

Thank you everyone for your help and your responses.

[pam123]

Here's the documentation for your Dimension 2400 : http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...0/en/index.htm

Before you do anything else, read the manuals.

Now, remove all video drivers, if I'm reading you correctly you have two sets of video drivers installed.
Reinstall the drivers for the 8400 alone, you do not want he drivers for the integrated video.

[TKETZ196]

Thanks! i did read the documentation, and i may have overlooked it.

Would you think that could cause the abnormal amount of video RAM though? i mean, the integrated video only takes 64 MB Max RAM. if it was taking 256, then i can see it being a possiblility.

I will try to uninstall the drivers and then reinstall them. The only thing i worry about is the integrated video drivers installing again and then having the same issue.

Again, i really do appreciate your help (to everyone!). To be honest i would normally know what to do, but i haven't come across this problem before. i have been used to having the motherboard already know what to do.

[pam123]

The integrated video drivers won't re-install on their own if you have problems with the install of the 8400 drivers you may need to safe mode, VGA, to get them to install correctly.