Game Help:FAQ Index

All the FAQs, all in one place. For easier browsability you can choose one of the links in the "Game Help Categories" listing above.

Installation ... Installing or uninstalling the Sims 2, expansions, stuff packs, or game patches, and stuff that happens right after you've installed something new.

12-24 Hour Clock How to change the clock from 24 hour "military" time back to 12 hour time.

Change Game Language How to change the language of all the game's text.

Install What to do if you're having trouble installing the game, expansions, or stuff packs.

Patching Your Game A guide to the patches, which ones you need to install, and why you need patches.

Poor Graphics Quality After New EP Install If you've just installed a stuff pack or expansion and your game suddenly looks terrible.

Preparing for the Next Expansion What to do before purchasing and installing a new expansion or stuff pack.

Red Flashing Walls If your walls and foundations are flashing red after installing a new expansion or stuff pack.

Uninstall How to uninstall Sims 2, expansions, or stuff packs, what to do first, and if you're having problems uninstalling.

Custom Content ... Everything related to downloading, installing custom content, and problems with it.

Bad Lot If your game crashes when clicking on a custom lot in the lot bin.

Custom Content Shows up Incorrectly If your downloaded items don't look like they're supposed to.

Custom Neighborhood Terrains Information on custom neighborhood maps/terrains.

Custom Objects on OfB Shelves How to place your custom items on shelves to sell in shops.

Download Accelerator FAQ How do I download from MTS2 without worrying about files being cut off, or taking a long time to download? Why can't I use my download accelerator to download from MTS2?

Downloading for Fracking Geniuses A quick summary on how to download and install custom content, for computer-savvy users.

Downloading for Fracking Idiots How to download and install custom content, explained in the simplest way possible, with pics!

Finding Problem Custom Content How to find problem or unwanted custom content to remove it from your game.

Expansion Pack Data Not Installed If you're getting a "This content requires expansion pack data that is not installed," error when installing a lot, sim, or pet.

Getting Custom Content to Show Up If some, all, or none of your downloads are showing up.

GUID Conflicts About GUID conflicts, and how to find conflicting items.

Maxis Content Manager Information on the Maxis content manager tool for custom content.

Meshes and Recolors What is a mesh, what is a mesh recolour, and why you need to know what they are.

No Downloads Folder What to do if you're missing a Downloads folder.

No Longer Prompted to Save Files If your computer has stopped asking you where you want files saved when you download.

Organizing Custom Content How to clean out, organize, get rid of, and fix up your mess of downloads.

Poly Counts What poly counts are for meshes, what's a good and bad poly count, and why you need to know.

Q-Xpress Information about Q-Xpress, a program to download and install content from MTS2.

RAR What RAR archive files are, and how to use them. Anyone can use RARs!

Removing Default Replacements How to find default replacement skins, eyes, and other overriding content to remove it from your game.

Too Much Custom Content? How much is too much custom content, and is there a limit to the number of downloads you can have?

What are Hacks? Information on what hacks/mods are, and why you need to know.

Gameplay ... Information that will be helpful in the various aspects of playing Sims 2.

Cheats

Cheats A list of the game's cheats, with instructions and descriptions on how to use them.

Cheat Box Won't Appear What to do if you can't get the cheat box to show up.

Testing Cheats Information on the game's testing cheats (aka boolProp).

Userstartup.cheat How to automatically enable cheats so you don't have to type them each time you play, and shorten them so you don't have to type so much.

General

Adoption Adopting children has never been so easy!

Aliens Everything you ever wanted to know about little green men from outer space.

Babies Well, the bun's out of the oven... what do you do now?

Babies and Children Direct links to all our guides on breeding and raising kids in Sims 2.

Careers and Jobs A guide to excelling in the workplace, and all the job levels and stuff.

Change Last Name How to change the last name/family name of sims in your game.

Change Lot Zoning How to change a lot to/from residential, community, dorm, or secret society.

Changing Sims' Appearance How to change everything about how your sims look - face, hair, eyes, makeup, clothes, skintones, etc.

Children Making the most of a fun time in a young sim's life.

Choose Gender of Babies Want a boy, or a girl, and getting the wrong gender? Here's how to get a baby of the desired sex.

Creating Sims How to make interesting, unique sims, and how to create sims to produce beautiful children.

Death All the ways to die, ghost colours depending on method of death, etc.

Community Skilling Not gaining skill points when doing skill stuff on a community lot? Here's why.

Deleting Neighborhoods How to remove a neighborhood from your game.

Disable Censor Blur How to get rid of the blurred pixellation when sims are nude or using the toilet.

Extract In-Game Sim How to export a sim born in-game or made in Create a Sim so you can remake them or share them with others.

Gender Preference Information on how gender preference works in the game.

Installing Lots Multiple Times How to install that perfect house sitting in your lot bin more than once.

Inviting More Sims to Parties How to invite more sims to parties than the game lets you.

Keyboard Shortcuts A list of keyboard shortcuts you can use in the game.

Moving Sims How to move sims from one neighborhood to another the right way, so you don't break your game.

The Nanny How to deal with the old lady who comes to eat your food and ignore your children.

Parties Throw a tremendous bash that has everyone in the neighborhood talking for weeks!

Playing Your Own Music Want your sims' radios to play your music rather than theirs?

Pregnancy What to expect when you're expecting a sim baby.

Private School How to schmooze with the headmaster like a pro.

Screenshots and Videos A basic guide to taking pictures and making videos in Sims 2, with links to more info.

The Social Worker What to do if your sim children have been taken away by the social worker!

Teens All about rearing rebellious teenage sims.

Toddlers Potty training, learning to walk, playing in the toilet, and more.

Windowed Mode Run the game in a window, so you can do other things while you play.

Expansion Packs ... Gameplay and technical issues related to specific expansion packs.

University

Building a Dorm How to construct a college dorm for your sims.

Build Mode in Dorms Enable build mode even when you're playing on a dorm lot.

Deleting University Sub-Neighborhoods What to do if you want to delete a college/university from your game.

Greek Houses All about joining a fraternity or a sorority.

New Features in University Information on the various aspects that University adds to the game.

Resurrection Returning from the dead... in style. Or not.

University A basic guide to university gameplay.

Zombies Gnarrrrr, braaaains.

Nightlife

Scope Room The 'scope room' interaction, what it does, and why it might not be working for you.

Carpool Still Comes Bought a car, but still have the carpool showing up? Here's how to drive your own car to work.

Cars, Driveways, and Garages How to buy a car and set up a driveway and even a garage for your sim, using driveable Nightlife cars.

Casual Groups Setting up and using casual groups, so sims can go out together, dine together, or go out without dragging the whole family along.

Compatability Who should date who? Whom? Which sim should date your sim? Find out!

Downtown Skilling Not gaining skill points when doing skill stuff on a downtown lot? Here's why.

Inventories Find out how to access and use your sim's inventory.

Lot View Options What all those lot view options mean... and how to see your neighbors' houses and other buildings.

Vampires Become a blue-skinned creature of the night.

Open for Business

Business Guide How to start, run, and not crash and burn a business!

Can't Place Custom Objects on OfB Shelves How to place custom objects on normal OfB shelves.

Disappearing Food How to stop a bug which causes sims' plates to disappear out of their hands.

Restock Signs In The Wrong Place What to do if your restock signs vanish and reappear in the far corner of the lot.

Selling Cars How to set up the perfect swanky automobile showroom or skanky used car dealership.

Servos Bleep blop blort whiirrrrrrRrrrRRrr.

Servo Graphics Bug Why is there a random ray of light/white or yellow line on my screen when I use servos?

Stuck At Community Lot Bug What to do if your sim gets stuck on a community lot that they own.

Pets

Flashing Blue Accessories What to do if accessories on your sim flash blue when you enter a lot.

Jumbled Floor Tiles How to fix jumbled up Pets floor tiles.

Sim Faces Change If your sims' faces change to defaults after you make them...

Werewolves Howling at the moon, hair growth, and glowing golden eyes.

Seasons

Fishing Baits, badges, and bass with squash.

Flashing Blue Accessories What to do if accessories on your sim flash blue when you enter a lot.

Gardening Compost, planting, the garden club, the wishing well, greenhouses, and more.

Seasons Options Missing Missing some options that came with Seasons? Can't fish? Can't make snowmen? Find out why.

The Seasons Information on seasonal changes in the Seasons EP, as well as info on the seasonal perks that your sims get.

Bon Voyage

Bon Voyage Bugs A list of known issues in Bon Voyage which will hopefully be fixed in the patch.

Bypassing the Bon Voyage Launcher Has Bon Voyage apparently uninstalled a previous EP? Or do you just think that launcher is annoying and cheap? This article explains how to bypass it, and any issues resulting from it.

Vacation Mementos How to obtain all 45 vacation mementos for your traveller sims.

Miscellaneous Issues ... How to fix a multitude of miscellaneous malfunctions.

Baby Face Problem What to do if your baby is born absolutely hideous, or with an eye in the middle of their forehead.

Can't Build Walls What to do if you can't build any walls at all.

Can't Place Doors and Windows What to do if you can't place doors and windows in build mode.

Delete Cache Files Some bugs, like the game not starting, can be fixed by deleting cache files made by the game.

Disappearing Food How to stop plates of food disappearing from your sims' hands.

HUD Disappeared If the heads up display (game's blue control panel along the bottom) disappeared and can't get it back, here's what you do.

Invisible Fish How to make fish visible in fishtanks and ponds.

Nude Thumbnails Why do some of my custom clothes etc show up as thumbnails of nude sims?

Overpriced Lot Bug Do you have a downloaded lot that costs a billion simoleons or more? That's a bug, and there's an easy fix.

Sim Faces Change If your sims' faces change to defaults after you make them...

Vanishing Pie Menus Pie menus vanish as soon as you open them, before you get a chance to pick an option.

Wall Limit What to do if you can't build walls after a certain point.

Can't Delete Object Recolours How to delete recolours when the dustbin icon doesn't show up.

Bodyshop & Homecrafter ... Having trouble using Maxis-made modding tools?

Bodyshop Everything you need to know about fixing Bodyshop.

Blurry Bodyshop Projects Are your Bodyshop creations blurry and pixellated?

Homecrafter Everything you need to know about fixing Homecrafter.

Technical & Graphics Issues ... Information on various technical and graphics related issues.

Graphics

Bump Maps and Shaders What are bump maps and shaders, and why do you want to use them?

Can't Raise Game Resolution How to raise the game resolution if the option is greyed out, or if you've just installed a new EP and can't go above 800x600.

Flashing Red Walls What do you if walls and foundations in your game start flashing red after you install a new Expansion/Stuff Pack.

Graphics Cards Everything you'll ever need to know about graphics cards, and associated problems.

Invisible Fish How to make fish visible in fishtanks and ponds.

nVidia Blue Screen Issue What to do if your game crashes to a plain blue screen, and you have an nVidia graphics card.

Onboard/Integrated Graphics Issues How to play the game using onboard graphics without blurry textures, crashes, and damaged motherboards.

Performance

Issues with Dual Core Processors How to fix lagging, jerkiness and crashes when using a dual core processor.

Slowness on Create-a-Sim Screen 4 If your game gets really laggy when you go to choose makeup, eyebrows, and glasses when making a sim.

Packaging a Lot Is it taking a really long time to package up a lot you've created?

Technical Information

Backing Up How and what to back up before doing anything mildly risky to your game files, or if you're switching computers.

Changing Game Language How to change the language your game runs in.

Change Location of Downloads Folder How to change where your Downloads folder is stored.

Finding Your License Key How to find the serial key for your game if you've lost the booklet.

Patching Your Game Patching your game is something you should do whenever a new patch comes out - find out why and how here.

Problems with No-CD Cracks If you cannot place any walls, and you're using a No-CD crack...

System Checkup Some bugs, like crashing and freezing, can be caused by your computer, not the game. So here's how to take your computer to the GP, DIY style.

System Specifications How to find out about all the bits and pieces inside your computer, no screwdrivers required.

System Requirements What your computer needs to have in order to run The Sims 2 and its expansions.