I've written up this topic because a visitor came to me with this question and told me of the indifference and lack of help she'd gotten from EA when she experienced this problem.

First of all I should say this is not caused by custom content. It is basically caused by the fact that Pets, Family Fun Stuff and all other later EP's all need slightly better graphics cards in order to run than the basic game and the earlier expansion packs. This means that someone who has The Sims 2, University, Nightlife and Open for Business can play the game fine with a low spec graphics card but then suddenly run into this problem when they install one of the newer packs. 

Yes... but how do I fix it?

Sadly if this is happening to you then there is not likely to be a quick and pain-free solution. The first thing you can try is to update your graphics card drivers, your card may be supported, but hasn't had its essential software updated to the latest version. Obviously if its a shared computer and you're not usually responsible for its maintenance then do check with the person who looks after about this issue, they may be able to sort this out for you or let you know that the drivers are already up to date.

Otherwise if you're not sure where to look for new drivers then try downloading this freeware tool from System Spec (look for the exe link at the bottom of the page). Your graphics card will be listed under "Display Adapters" - copy and paste the information in the box (if there are multiple sections select only the first part before the | ) into your search engine of choice plus with the word 'drivers' and after a little scouring you should be able to track down a support page for your card where you can download the latest files. If that fails ask whoever sold you your computer to point you in the right direction!

That didn't work, they're still red... now what?

You have 2 choices essentially:-

a) cheaper option: uninstall the EP's that aren't supported by your computer. Send polite but firm email of complaint to Maxis (optional, but recommended).

b) expensive option: buy a new graphics card. Maxis isn't terribly helpful on the subject of which graphics cards are supported and which ones aren't. Not entirely surprising given there are a huge number of options available and they'll only ever test a small handful when they are actually developing the game. My advice is to get recommendations, see what your local computer store thinks should work with your existing hardware (again, if you're not sure what else is in your machine, scribble down the results of the System Spec analysis and take that into the store with you). Once you have some suggestions from someone with technical know-how its a good idea to compare notes with other Simmers to see which ones they are happy with, there are some very expensive and powerful cards available which don't support all the features the game has to offer, conversely there are some fairly cheap cards which are highly compatible. 

My personal recommendation would be anything in the Radeon series from the 9600 upwards (not the 9700 or 9800). I had a 9600 card which I bought in late 2003, it was second hand and despite its not all that exciting, 128Mb of memory, it ran The Sims 2 beautifully. It showed the reflections properly, it supported bump mapping, high resolution and texture settings without odd coloured water or any of the other problems that are known to occur with The Sims 2  - if you're on a limited budget it could be a good choice, its been around for quite a while now so its possible to pick up one of these without spending a fortune (as I write this Ebay has quite a selection with a buy it now of just £4.99)! Currently I have a Radeon X1900 which again, works very well with The Sims 2 as is a generally great all-round graphics card although it is in a somewhat higher price range than the old 9600. 

Obviously whatever you are considering buying please do make sure it should work with your system before you buy it, or at the very least that you can return it for a refund if not! You'll also need to make sure you can actually install it too - whether you take it into your local computer store or if you've got a techie friend who's handy with a screwdriver, just make sure if you are going to do it yourself that you wont void your machine's warranty if it has one! 

Here are some links on the topic for those wishing to understand a bit more about setting up hardware for the Sims 2, Murronrose @ MTS2, Darth Joules @ TSR & of course not forgetting The Unofficial Sims 2 Tech Guide. For those who like a good book on the topic, try "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Upgrading & Repairing PC's" - a useful guide not only for graphics cards but if you ever want to get a bigger hard drive or add more memory to your computer but don't want to pay your local shop a premium when you could do it yourself!