i just bought the sims 2, but it requires me to update my video card to something compatible to directx 9.0c, i have win98SE and stealth 111 s540 and i cant find an update of this thing ANYWHERE! this is seriously depressing! i've already tried the diamond site, downloads.com, and numorous other sites!! if anyone can help me out on where to find one, i'd be more then grateful!

Try http://www.diamondmm.com

The card is quite old and probably older than DirectX 7 never mind DX 9. i suggest replacing it with a newer ATI or Nvidea based card.

Hi Lizzy, and welcome.

It appears that your system is right on the edge on the minimum requirements for the game. Sims 2 can be really resource intensive, requiring a reasonably new system.

Although (as peter says) you could just go and buy a new graphics card it is not that simple. Judging by the age of your PC some of the newer cards may not work to their full potential. Anyhow lets skip that issue for the moment and try to get it working without you having to buy anything new!

First you need Microsoft DirectX 9.0c. Download that here:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/0/d/80d7e79d-c0e4-415a-bcca-e229eafe2679/dxwebsetup.exe

You dont actually need a card that can take advantage of DirectX 9 in order to play this game. You can happily install direct x 9 and be up to date.

Now, in the Sims 2 there is a thing called "T&L". This is important. It stands for Transform & Lighting. Unfortunately your card doesnt support this, so therefore Maxis recommend that your CPU and RAM have to be a bit beefy in order to run the game, since the resources that T&L require are now placed on those components, rather than being handled by a newer graphics card.

From Maxis:
If you have a non-T&L capable video card (such as TNT2, Intel, or Rage for example) then you need at least:
2.0 GHz processor
128 MB RAM if Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000
At least 3.5 gigs of free hard drive space

Does your PC meet those requirements?

If you are not sure then download this tool:

ServoPro TS2 System Requirements Checker
http://sims2.servopro.com/TS2sysreqc.htm

Essentially it will tell you if your PC can run Sims2.
Download it, unzip it and run the Sims2SysReq.exe. When it opens, click the "Check System" button. With any luck you should see 5 green ticks appear, indicating that everything is ok.

Your card is also known as a Savage 4- its a grey area since Savage went down the tubes.... as did S3 so getting hold of drivers is pretty hard. Diamond does offer a driver that may work:

http://www.diamondmm.com/support/old/library/graphics/STEALTH/STEALTH%20s5XX.exe

If you cant access it, go here and register your email- they will send you the link.

So then,

Install DirectX 9.0c
Reboot
Install your new drivers
Reboot
Run the checking tool

Run the game

Maybe soon you should perhaps look at upgrading your PC since games are always going to be one of the most resource intensive things you can do- of course new games require newer technology. For now though, I think (hope!) you have got away with it!