#6
6th May 2012 at 3:17 PM
Last edited by msmilder : 6th May 2012 at
3:27 PM.
still messed up
I had The Sims (with all six major expansions) on my old XP computer, and everything worked fine. I replaced the old computer last fall with a new Windows 7 computer. This week, I decided to install The Sims on the new computer. Like many other people, I've had problems. The game worked upon initial installation, but I was unable to re-start the program a 2nd time, and eventually, uninstalled it. I reinstalled it again (in chronological order of The Sims expansions release dates, instead of the Expansion Collection set ordr), it failed again. Uninstalled. Then I went online to get help.
I read the info about creating a Games folder in the C: drive, instead of the program folder...that didn't fix it. I tried running the program as XP...didn't fix it. Then I played the game using the right click/"run as administrator". The program did run...but with some problems. One...it defaults to the small screen 800x600 version, when I prefer the 1024x768 version (which requires less flipping though the lists of options...wall treatments, floor coverings, furniture). No big deal, if that were the only problem. BUT, as I was originally installing the expansions to see what each expansion added to the game (new faces, bodies, furniture, wall paper types, floor cover types, etc)...I knew more or less, exactly what the end looked like (96 different adult male heads, 108 adult male bodies...289 different wall treatments...193 different floor coverings....26 dining room chairs)...and 26 different misc. furnishings, including 4 different trash cans (the gray, black, barrel & elephant foot). I only mention it, because when I play the game "as administrator"...it only has two of the waste cans. Which means, there's likely a bunch of other items that are left off. When I open up the premade houses, several say that there are graphics missing (because they're not loading up).
Some smart-asses out there recommend playing The Sims 2 or 3, because they're better games. First off...they are DIFFERENT games. But, "better" is a subjective term. 2 & 3 have better graphics, and the sim-relationship stuff is improved...but the original game has quite a few advantages over its sequels...for one...it's a much better HOME builder game...with many more decor options and structural options, two floors, the variety of pets (beyond cats & dogs), the magic stuff, and many other offerings its expansions added, that were not carried over into 2 & 3. Like most game series, all three each have something the other two don't have. I'm sure there are some people who love the way 2 plays over 3...and there are people who love 3 much more than 1 or 2. Each game gives the player different things from which to enjoy. I have 2 on the PS2, and think its great. But prefer the extensive home design options available on 1. (That, and after purchasing all the expansions of the first game...I really don't want to invest in buying all the expansions of the 2nd or 3rd versions...just in time for version 4 to come out).
But, back to the problem.
Is there ANYTHING I can do, to play The Sims...with all its expansions...on System 7...WITHOUT losing items in the game...or having to reinstall it every time I play (since it takes around 45 minutes to install them...after doing so 4 times, I'm getting close to memorizing the seven different serial number codes), or just leaving the program running in the background all the time?
Or at least answer me this...why does it work perfectly upon installation...but not subsequent operations of the game? All the same stuff is on the computer...it hasn't moved.
I've read several other posts online, and several were under the impression that it was just Makin Magic that was causing the problem. It isn't. As I was installing each expansion the first time through, I opened up the game to catalog all the stuff that was added by that version...and I had issues after Unleashed as well. The program thinks expansions were added after that major version was installed (major being one which uses the expansion disc instead of the previous disc to run the game...ie once all expansions are installed, it uses the Makin Magic disc to play the game), and makes the program want to reinstall...or uninstall...the program. I was hoping that if Makin Magic was the LAST program to be installed, it would solve the problem...but it didn't (that's what I attempted to do on my 2nd 45 minute reinstall).
What really ticks me off, is that after the initial install (and 2nd one)...I took time to design a house and make a family to put into the house...just to lose all the work I put into it when I had to uninstall it. I learned my lesson on the 3rd & 4th installs.
There has to be an answer, but I don't know enough about how these PC's run, to figure it out.
I currently have the game (and all 6 expansions) installed in C: in a games folder instead of the programs folder, and can only run the game (albeit with missing items) if I run it as administrator.