Game Stuck In 800x600
There is a frequent problem in The Sims 2 where the game will be set to 800x600 resolution and have no option to change it to a higher resolution. This seems to be caused by the game being unable to detect or identify newer graphics cards. If you are having the problem where in the in-game Graphics Options menu you can only select 800x600 and your screen is in a higher resolution, try the solution below to correct it.
1. Open your Config folder by going to Program Files (If you use Windows 7 it will be Program Files x86) / Ea Games / The Sims 2 (Latest Expansion or Stuff Pack installed, for example The Sims 2 Mansion and Garden Stuff) / TS Data / Res / Config
2. Backup your "Graphics Rules.sgr" file by making a copy of it with a different name (Ex: Graphics Rules - copy)
3. Open "Graphics Rules.sgr" by right-clicking and open with... notepad. Make sure to uncheck where it says "always open with this program".
4. Once open, Ctrl+F to search for "maxres". You will find four lines that look like this:
option ScreenModeResolution
setting $Low
uintProp maxResWidth 800
uintProp maxResHeight 600
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $MediumButDefaultLow
uintProp maxResWidth 1280
uintProp maxResHeight 1024
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $Medium
uintProp maxResWidth 1280
uintProp maxResHeight 1024
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
setting $High
uintProp maxResWidth 1600
uintProp maxResHeight 1200
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
Change all instances of "maxResWidth" and "maxResHeight" to your computer screen's resolution. For example, mine looks like this:
option ScreenModeResolution
setting $Low
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $MediumButDefaultLow
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $Medium
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
setting $High
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
Once you have finished save the file and load up your game - you should now have the option to change the resolution.
Your graphics and Sims may also look "squished" if you are playing in a 4:3 resolution, to fix that make sure to toggle "Use pixel squares" to on in the Graphics settings and click apply (thanks to Nysha on modthesims for this one)
If you are having this problem as well as your smooth edges option being greyed out, see this tutorial but skip steps 1-3 as they are the same on both tutorials.
Note: Make sure it does not convert the .sgr file to a .txt file, if it does simply rename the file.
Credits: An_dz at this thread & this tutorial for making this tutorial and fix known, thank you!
1. Open your Config folder by going to Program Files (If you use Windows 7 it will be Program Files x86) / Ea Games / The Sims 2 (Latest Expansion or Stuff Pack installed, for example The Sims 2 Mansion and Garden Stuff) / TS Data / Res / Config
2. Backup your "Graphics Rules.sgr" file by making a copy of it with a different name (Ex: Graphics Rules - copy)
3. Open "Graphics Rules.sgr" by right-clicking and open with... notepad. Make sure to uncheck where it says "always open with this program".
4. Once open, Ctrl+F to search for "maxres". You will find four lines that look like this:
option ScreenModeResolution
setting $Low
uintProp maxResWidth 800
uintProp maxResHeight 600
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $MediumButDefaultLow
uintProp maxResWidth 1280
uintProp maxResHeight 1024
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $Medium
uintProp maxResWidth 1280
uintProp maxResHeight 1024
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
setting $High
uintProp maxResWidth 1600
uintProp maxResHeight 1200
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
Change all instances of "maxResWidth" and "maxResHeight" to your computer screen's resolution. For example, mine looks like this:
option ScreenModeResolution
setting $Low
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $MediumButDefaultLow
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 800
uintProp defaultResHeight 600
setting $Medium
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
setting $High
uintProp maxResWidth 1360
uintProp maxResHeight 768
uintProp defaultResWidth 1024
uintProp defaultResHeight 768
Once you have finished save the file and load up your game - you should now have the option to change the resolution.
Your graphics and Sims may also look "squished" if you are playing in a 4:3 resolution, to fix that make sure to toggle "Use pixel squares" to on in the Graphics settings and click apply (thanks to Nysha on modthesims for this one)
If you are having this problem as well as your smooth edges option being greyed out, see this tutorial but skip steps 1-3 as they are the same on both tutorials.
Note: Make sure it does not convert the .sgr file to a .txt file, if it does simply rename the file.
Credits: An_dz at this thread & this tutorial for making this tutorial and fix known, thank you!