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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 4th Mar 2005 at 6:41 PM
Default What Would Cause This Icon Probem? Anyone... Anyone? :)
I posted this earlier in another thread and I believe it got lost in the shuffle, so I'm going to try to post it in it's own thread. I apologize for making a pest of myself, but this is just anoying enough to make me not want to play the game.

The day I installed Uni I had some problems which I found out were caused by hacks, in particular the Teen Woo Hoo hack and some other old ones. I removed them all and it played fine. Turned off the computer and went to bed.

Next day my son boots it up to take his sim teens to college. He calls me over to the computer and says, "Where did my sim's memories go?" Sure enough, all the memories are blank red and green squares. Other icons are gone too. When my sims have conversations, many of their talk bubbles are blank or have scrambled icons. Many of their actions in quey are only empty squares as well.

Except for that, my game works fine. It loads slowly, but I have a lot of custom clothes, hair and makeup, and homecrafter files.

Is there somewhere else I should check with the Clean Installer besides "Downloads" and "Saved Sims"? In other words, is it possible there is another hack lurking somewhere.

Should I just reinstall Uni? Or should I reinstall the whole game? How does uni afftect the saved games?

If you are able to help, thanks so much. And even if not, thanks for listening to me complain.
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The Quiet One
retired moderator
#2 Old 4th Mar 2005 at 7:02 PM
If the hacks created those memories, I suspect the removal of those hacks caused them to lose their memories.

Were these Young Adults already created in the game pre-University? How about the Young Adults that came with the game?
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 4th Mar 2005 at 7:08 PM
The memories themselves are still there, you have to click on the blank squares to get the usual memory window to pop up and tell you what it is. This has happened to all my sims, even in the regular neighborhood. The Sims I have been playing are older ones, but I opened a house that came with Uni in the "Sims State" campus, and those sims also had no icons on their memories. It's just those little icons that tell you the subject of the memory, or the conversation, or the action. You know, the little boxing glove for fght, the two people standing together for meeting a new person, the purple hearts for woo hoo, the little footprints for move, things like that.
Lab Assistant
#4 Old 4th Mar 2005 at 7:47 PM
I'd try killing everything in your thumbnails directory first. Maybe that'll bring them back. Then if that doesn't work, just reinstall the thing with an empty download folder.
Test Subject
#5 Old 4th Mar 2005 at 8:30 PM
Default I have missing icons, too.
You are not alone!! Same thing is happening to me. I don't know why. I think it may be because it's short on virtual memory. I didn't check whether my sims' memories were gone, but the icons for some of the activities in the queue were empty boxes. (At first I thought they were puddles of water). And some of the "dialogue bubble icons" were scrambled.

Then, when I click on the major, there are empty squares for the "best careers" that match that major. And the icons for the jobs for my non-college sims had also disappeared.

I have been trying to replace some of my downloads, but I put in too many (or something was corrupted, because the game wouldn't complete loading. So I removed them and restarted. Things worked fine, but my son did minimize the game to get to the printer, which is why I think it may be related to memory. I think the icons began disappearing after that.

Author of these career tracks: Psychology, Automotive (with Poojkins); Architect (with Vanilla)
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 5th Mar 2005 at 1:38 AM
Yes, that's just like mine!! So, you think it's virtual memory? I am sooo computer illiterate: I have no idea what that is, is it like RAM? I have 512 RAM, processor is a Pent. 4 with 2.4 gigs. We just updated the video card to a nVidia GForce FX 5500 so that it could play TS2 better. It's 256 mg.

So would it be better if I just uninstalled and reinstalled? If I move out my saved sims and my download folders, what effect would that have, if I have some sort of courpted file? I'm sorry I keep asking stupid questions, at least my game runs, but I want it to run propperly. I just paid over $100 for the video card, then almost $40 for the game, and all the time and effort on top of that, so it should work. And now that I'm having this problem, (which my hubby, not a Sim-addict and not understanding, says I brought on myself because I keep downloading things ), I'm more frustated than ever!!
Field Researcher
#7 Old 5th Mar 2005 at 2:13 AM
Hi, Kristalrose...

I am having the exact same problem. Yep, it's definitely annoying.

Hmm. I doubt it's a Virtual Mem problem...my Virtual Mem is a-okay.

Maybe we can fix this problem via POE, though?

Below is a list of the hacks that I've added back to the game (not many). Please tell me if you have any of them installed in your game:

InSimenator 1.5 DEST Ver. (object)
No "What's This?"
Pay Bills at Box
Toddler "Playing with Toilet" Fix
TurboJAzn's Sex Pie Menu Mod...(although I'm sure you don't have this hack w/ your son playing the game lol)
Test Subject
Original Poster
#8 Old 5th Mar 2005 at 2:26 AM
Quote: Originally posted by pseudonymph24
Hi, Kristalrose...

I am having the exact same problem. Yep, it's definitely annoying.

Hmm. I doubt it's a Virtual Mem problem...my Virtual Mem is a-okay.

Maybe we can fix this problem via POE, though?

Below is a list of the hacks that I've added back to the game (not many). Please tell me if you have any of them installed in your game:

InSimenator 1.5 DEST Ver. (object)
No "What's This?"
Pay Bills at Box
Toddler "Playing with Toilet" Fix
TurboJAzn's Sex Pie Menu Mod...(although I'm sure you don't have this hack w/ your son playing the game lol)





Nope, I have removed all my hacks according to the Clean Installer. However, in my "Buy" Menu, some cars and alienware computers still show up. I got them by accident a long time ago when I downloaded some lots. I can't find them with the clean installer, but there they are in my game.

I'm just relieved that someone else is having the problem. I was really starting to think it was just me and that there was no solution but to uninstall and reinstall the game, including saved games, and start all over.
Test Subject
#9 Old 5th Mar 2005 at 3:15 AM
No, I don't have any hacks installed. I've removed everything, and am only now adding in some clothing and skins bit by bit.

I have a ton of memory, too, 512 MB RAM. But still sometimes the computer can bog down and not completely load parts if it's feeling weighed down.

Have you turned off everything running in the background? It seemed to run fine for me when I remembered to do that. Unless it broke after this last time and the icons are permanently screwed up. I'll be playing this weekend and I'll let you know if the problem recurs.

Author of these career tracks: Psychology, Automotive (with Poojkins); Architect (with Vanilla)
Field Researcher
#10 Old 5th Mar 2005 at 8:00 PM
yep, i tried the "turn off background tasks" thing. i also removed the sex menu pie hack...yet and still, my memories are showing up as blank red and green squares, and i'm missing icons (mainly career and college major) in the wants panel. and no, i don't have any custom careers installed anymore. i also tried deleting the thumbnail files, which daysies said was safe to do, but nope, none of my attempts have worked.
Test Subject
#11 Old 7th Mar 2005 at 5:05 PM
I couldn't figure out a solution, either. I reinstalled, and that fixed the problem. I'm thinking maybe some hack was in my downloads that affected the program when I tried adding them back in. Even though I later removed it, it may have infected the program. Bizarre! We're not alone, by the way. There are a couple of threads on the official BBS about this issue.
Test Subject
#12 Old 10th Mar 2005 at 1:33 PM Last edited by maaya2021 : 10th Mar 2005 at 1:35 PM.
I have the same problem. Although, this didn't happen until I added some hacks and some meshes back in the game. When i did my install with only clothes, floors and walls, I had all my icons.

Also, I don't know if any of you are experiencing this, but when my sims go to work, they don't change into their costume anymore. My chef goes to work with his everyday clothes and my private school kids go to school in their everyday clothes.

Hacks:
nocheering
novelprogress
abductionpie

Hacked objects
Merola dressers
Merola multipainting + fruit painting
Voodoo bottle
Merola mind control mirror

Meshes
Boblishman blinds
echo and numenor rug mesh
Asymmetrical dress
Long hair mesh CEP files

I have all of these in folders and I'll try to pull them out one by one tonight to see which one might be the culprit.



It might be a combination of hacks that might cause this behaviour.

Also, what thumbnails are you talking about?
The one in your storytelling folder?
Test Subject
#13 Old 10th Mar 2005 at 8:44 PM
Here's a thread on the official BBS about it

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/communit...62&startRow=201
Test Subject
#14 Old 11th Mar 2005 at 12:39 AM
Does anyone know the file where the icons are stored?

Maybe it can be replaced or something
Not a Llama
#15 Old 18th Mar 2005 at 3:19 PM
Some hacks can alter the neighbourhood files themselves. If this has happened, resetting the neighbourhood or a reinstall are the only ways to fix it.
Test Subject
#16 Old 18th Mar 2005 at 5:28 PM
I read elsewhere on this board that one way to solve it is to replace the objects.package file with a clean one--that that's what gets corrupted. So, now that my game is working right again, I plan to make a backup copy of that file i case my icons disappear again.
Field Researcher
#17 Old 20th Mar 2005 at 5:27 AM
well, right after i posted my first msg in this thread, i reinstalled my whole game. icon problem went bye-bye obviously...*knocks on wood* i hope that problem NEVER comes back. it was so annoying.
Test Subject
#18 Old 20th Mar 2005 at 5:43 AM
This happened to me as well. I backed up my entire Sims2 folder, then uninstalled Uni. After the first reinstall, the icons were still missing. After I uninstalled and reinstalled again, then replaced the neighborhoods and the downloads with the backup I made, it worked fine. I've been playing all day with no problems.

My only question is if you uninstall and reinstall and it works, will the problem come back? I guess we'll find out eventually.

I hoped this helped.


:howdy:
Field Researcher
#19 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:25 AM
I think it may be caused by resurrecting a dead sim because I reinstalled and the same family that caused the blank icon bugged triggered it again. The only difference is that the man has been resurrected.
The Quiet One
retired moderator
#20 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 2:59 PM
Quote: Originally posted by eclipsemuse
I read elsewhere on this board that one way to solve it is to replace the objects.package file with a clean one--that that's what gets corrupted. So, now that my game is working right again, I plan to make a backup copy of that file i case my icons disappear again.

For those of you who have experienced this and have not yet done a reinstall, have you tried the above?

It's certainly not a pattern, from what I've read in various threads. I've seen that a reinstall fixes things, but the objects.package file does get updated when University is installed. It gets updated when you applied the patches for the Original Sims 2.

I've reported this in my bug thread, but it may not be a bug - it looks to be an installation issue - but it's not consistent. I have had NO problems with memories and upon talking with the other mods/admins, they haven't experienced it either.

DDO
Test Subject
#21 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 8:00 PM
I have no hacks, don't use boolprop cheat, no one in college yet, icons gone for the second time. The first time I didn't save any files so it was as if the game was new, all new peeps. Icons were back. Now they are gone.
Test Subject
#22 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 8:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by daysies
For those of you who have experienced this and have not yet done a reinstall, have you tried the above?

It's certainly not a pattern, from what I've read in various threads. I've seen that a reinstall fixes things, but the objects.package file does get updated when University is installed. It gets updated when you applied the patches for the Original Sims 2.



Where would a person get a clean copy of this file?
Test Subject
#23 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:10 PM
I used a clean objects package to replace the one in the game and it worked excellently - all invisibles now visible (I installed on my laptop then copied the file over). Thanks so much for the advice
Test Subject
#24 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:17 PM
where is the objects package located?

Can it just be deleted?
Test Subject
#25 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:28 PM
I don't think you could just delete it - if it becoming corrupt means the game doesn't work probably you must need the file.

I'd like some directions on where to find the file too, though please. I just got this bug after playing for nearly two weeks with basically no problems at all. It's very frustrating - I really don't want to have to reinstall given that people say the problem can just come back.

I might try installing the game somewhere else and copying that file, if I can find it. Is it in the University folders or the original game folders?
 
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