Sims 2 won't play

@bev6usa Alright, please download Graphics Rules Maker from SimsNetwork, install it, launch as Administrator (right-click on the Graphics Rules Maker icon or look it up in the Start Menu and select Run as Administrator) and enable the following settings. Make sure that the game selected is The Sims 2 (it supports multiple games so it might land somewhere else the first time you launch) and that it is able to locate the game (using Locate Game button).

• Force texture memory: 1536 MB
• Disable texture memory estimate adjustment
• Enable driver's memory manager
• High Quality on Intel Graphics
• Support VSync on Intel
• Default/Maximum resolution: set to the highest available

Save those changes and add your graphics card to the game's database if it asks you to.

Then, locate your Sims 2 shortcut on your desktop, right-click on it and select Properties. At the end of the Target line, after the quotation marks, press spacebar once and add -w (including the dash). It should end up looking like 

"...\Fun with Pets\SP9\TSBin\Sims2EP9.exe" -w

This will force the game to run in Windowed mode, which can sometimes fix the DirectX 9 error as well. Save that and try to launch the game.

Another bug you might run into is screen flickering when you move the camera; to fix that, enable Smooth Edges in the game options. If you notice black boxes under Sims when they are inside, set Shadows to Medium (this will hide Sim Shadows) or download Nopke's Sim Shadow Fix mod and keep them on High.