Take a deep breath.
run Clean Installer and make sure you have no duplicates (pink highlighted files) and no packages marked "empty package" in your Downloads.
Navigate to your Sims 2 folder in My Documents and delete the files groups.cache cigen.cache and accessories.cache (they will be replaced on next loading the game.
Defrag your computer (if your game is installed on a drive other than C, defrag both C and the drive the game is on.)
make sure there is plenty of space on BOTH these drives.
if the game will load as far as Neighbourhood Screen, enter boolprop testingcheatsenabled true - and then try to enter the suspect lot. Sometimes this will give you information as to what object causes the crash.
If you do have the CEP installed, you might want to try pulling the _EnableColorOptionsGMND.package file before loading your game - temporary fix only, and don't save the lots if they DO load or your recoloured items will disappear... this is because if _EnableColorOptionsGMND.package file has become corrupted, the game will crash whenever you try to enter a lot with an object that is listed in the _EnableColorOptionsGMND.package. A bad GMND resource will crash the game. If the suspect lots all load with the CEP removed, uninstall and reinstall the CEP.
It may help to turn off antivirus software.
increase paging memory size. FOR XP: Right click on the "My Computer" icon from your desktop, then choose "Properties" and then the "Advanced" tab -at the top, it should say Performance - visual effects, processor scheduling, memory usage, and virtual memory - click "Settings" next to that = then click "Advanced" tab again, and "Change" next to virtual memory.
remove Maxis objects (downloaded from Store etc....) this is a personal thing but I have found many times that an EA/Maxis item (which usually show up in red as Game Objects in Clean Installer) can be the culprit. ALSO as Sims 3 items are also called .package files, be careful that you have no Sims 3 downloads in there... I have had this cause crashes. This may be because I move download files around a lot and put some in the wrong folder.
check for .txt, .doc, .html, .jpg, .png, .bmp, .Sims2Pack etc files - whatever you can think of that might have landed in the Downloads folder by mistake or misclick - also .rar and .zip of course. Clean Installer won't find these, Windows Search will or a visual inspection of the files will (sort by type).
SimWardrobe's Hack Conflict Detector (archived here) may pick up problems with user-made hacks.
Clean dust out of your computer!
If none of this works, remove all hack (sometimes called mod) files.
If that still does not work, remove all Downloads and restart your game; if the game loads properly without downloads then the problem can be isolated by
the binary method - take half the downloads and put them back in, try again, take half of what remains and return that... sooner or later you will find a chunk that contains the problem download.
The way I personally do this is not the binary method - I do a folder at a time, as my DLs are sorted by folder, and I usually have a fair idea of what I added recently. This CAN be slower but it also allows for weeding of content "Wow, I didn't realise I still had THIS installed...."
Check your Downloads and SavedSims folders for a sneaky little file called uhkjhihjkj (11).package. I asked about it a while ago, it's some sort of trash file that the game occasionally generates which serves no real purpose. When I had it in my DLs, it made CAS and Bodyshop crash in the Elder male clothing section, though I've seen other people say that it crashes their Bodyshop in other sections as well. (Thanks Esotheria!)
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Avoiding_Hood_Corruption
Sita January 28, 2021