Sims 2 does not start at all - Please read first post carefully before posting
There are many issues with the Sims 2 going on atm but this thread is for one issue only, so please read the instructions carefully before posting.
Symptoms
You double click on the icon on your desktop or hit play in Origin and the game starts for a moment and then disappears
Cause
There's a file called paul.dll that comes with SecuRom which seems to cause a conflict on certain systems. This will make the game not start.
How to find out if you have exactly this error
Make sure the process Sims2EP9.exe disappears shortly after starting it. It if does, do the following
- Click on Start and then type the following into the search prompt at the bottom: perfmon /rel
- Press Enter to proceed.
- A window will open and in there you can click on the red circles with a white X.
- After clicking the X, the info on the bottom will update. Choose the Sims 3 Critical Event one and right click on it and choose "View Technical Details"
- Now on the next window, choose Copy to clipboard at the very bottom and post this into a reply to us here.
If the report you get looks anything like this
Application Name: Sims2EP9.exe
Application Version: 1.17.0.66
Application Timestamp: 00000000
Fault Module Name: PAUL.DLL
Fault Module Version: 4.1.1.20
Fault Module Timestamp: 4c9bc521
Exception Code: c0000094
Exception Offset: 0001bd7b
Things you can try
-
If you've come face-to-face with this error, try the following workaround to get back in the game:
- Download paul.dll from here on EA Help.
- Find the file location C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSBin\
- You can do this by clicking the Start button, selecting [My] Computer, then opening your C: drive.
- If you've set a custom Origin Games installation folder, your file path will look different preceding Origin Games.
- Copy paul.dll and paste it into the TSBin folder and confirm you'd like to replace the previous file.
Once you've replaced your faulty paul.dll file, you should be able to jump into The Sims 2 without a problem!
- Note, using Origin's Repair Installation feature on your The Sims 2 installation after performing this swap will update the paul.dll file you replaced back to its original, error-causing file.
- Use the repair option you get when right-clicking on the game in Origin.
- Read page 2/3 of this thread
If not, you have a different issue, please make your own thread.
