This depends on the type of object/skin you download and the format.

1. If you have a zip or rar file, then you need to extract it using WinZip [ http://www.winzip.com/ ] or WinRar [ http://www.rarlabs.com/ ] Extract the files to your desktop, and then do only one of the following steps.

2. If you have a .sims2skin file, just double click on it and the Maxis installer will launch and copy the file to the correct place. You do not need to do anything else - just launch the game and enjoy your new content. If you do not have a .sims2skin file and have a .package file go to step 3.

3. If you have a .package file you need to copy them into the following directory:
My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads

If the downloads directory doesn't exist, then you can create it by click File - New - Folder, and call it "Downloads"

First off, we need to cover some rules. ModTheSims2.com do not, in any way shape or form, cover support or usage of this program. We cannot help you if you break your copy of the Sims 2, and we advise taking backups and/or reinstalling if things go horribly wrong. We will not help with those who have warezed versions of the game, nor can we help with no-cd cracks.

There is a nude patch available that does not require any exe modification, available in the Game Hacks section of this site.

Sorry, ModTheSims2.com doesn't endorse or support no CD cracks in any way, shape or form. You'll have to look elsewhere.

[Thanks to Buggi for answering this question previously in the Chatbox]

Where have you been the past four odd years?!?

Go to http://www.thesims.ea.com. Honestly, people these days, sheesh!

Replicated here for your convenience, here are the known cheat codes for The Sims 2:
Press CTRL + SHIFT + C to access the cheat window, then enter the following:

motherlode 50,000 simoleans
exit closes cheat window
expand expands or contracts cheat window
kaching get 1000 cash
vsync (on/off) increases game performance but lowers graphics
autopatch (on/off) lets you know if theres a patch
help -all list cheats
StretchSkeleton makes your sims larger or smaller
moveobjects (on/off) moves objects and deletes you couldnt before
aging off turn off aging
aging on turn on aging
faceBlendLimits (on/off) turns off facial bounding limitations. It prevents the normal corrections the game will make for two parents with very different facial structures.
letterBox # Adds a letterbox effect to the view. (# = 0.0 to 0.4) (require postprocessing on)
vignette # # # Blurry bits at the edge of the screen. (# = 0.0 to 1.0) (require postprocessing on)
slowMotion # Make you set the game speed. (# = 0 to 8, 0 is normal)
filmGrain # Makes the screen grainy. (# = 0.0 to 1.0) (require postprocessing on)
bloom rgb # Sitcom flashback blur effect (# = 0.0 to 1.0) (require postprocessing on)
boolProp enablePostProcessing false Turns Postprocessing off.
boolProp enablePostProcessing true Turns Postprocessing on.
deleteAllCharacters At neighborhood view only, removes every Sim from the neighborhood.
TerrainType (desert/temperate) Only for use in neighborhood view, toggles between the two terrain types.
-nosound Disables sound
-f Fullscreen Mode
-r[width]x[height] Start with desired resolution (in pixels).
-w Windowed Mode
Phew! More can be found here: Cheats

To prevent everything from chugging to crashing to glitches, it's recommended that you do the following before playing the Sims 2 [of course, 9/10 the game will run fine without these, this is more for those experiencing difficulty]

1. Remove all Spyware from your machine
Use Xsoftspy [http://www.paretologic.com] or Adaware [http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/] or Spysweeper [http://www.spysweeper.com] or all three.

2. Make sure you have the latest video and motherboard drivers
You can get these from http://www.ati.com or http://www.nvidia.com/ Check the specs of your computer for the motherboard drivers, or the website (Asus, ABit etc)

3. Clean your registry
Use RegCleaner [http://www.webmasterfree.com/regcleaner.html] or RegScrupXP [http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2048] or Registry First Aid [http://www.rosecitysoftware.com/reg1aid/] or all three.

4. Turn off your anti-virus while playing
Or tell your anti-virus what folders to skip real time checking on. Just tell it not to check the Sims2 game folders, thus fixing the majority of problems.

5. Check all of your running processes in Task Manager
Know what's running on your pc. There are running process sites that will tell you what those programs are. If you find things you don't really need, turn them off.

6. Defragment your drive.
Start > Programes > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmentor This will rearrange the files on your hard drive so your PC runs faster.

7. Run chkdsk
This can be found in C:\windows\system 32

8. Make sure the Sims 2 disc is spotlessly clean!

9. Reboot when things start to chug

[Kudos to Carrigon, Karybdis, Tormunda [and anybody else I might have missed] for providing this info in the forums.

First of all, the Sims 2 has just been released. Second, it takes time to figure out the code, which is far more complex than the first game.

So, currently, while our greatest minds sift through the code, there are no Sim 2 objects yet - they haven't been created and there are no tools yet to do so.

It could take weeks, months or even close to a year before such things are available. Remember, modding is done in people's free time, which is precious. All we can do is support them and say nice, encouraging things.

In time, objects will be available, but there's nothing untill we can figure out the formats and code AND write tools.

Currently, a mood raiser exists, see the downloads section.

No mesh editors exist though

You will need one of the following programs

Game Extractor - A program by Watto which can view and extract files from sims2 packages. It will most probably not have editing functionality however in the future. Get it at www.watto.org or in the download section.

DBPF Extract - A program by Qbert which can extract files from a package file. Get it in the downloads area.

Datgen 0.7.0 - By DarkMatter. The new rewrite of Datgen being created for Sims2. This program will once completed allow full editing functionality of package files. Any user will be able to write a plugin at that point to edit or view the various types of files in a package. Get the latest version at www.datgen.info

SimPE - By Quaxi. This allows full extraction and modification of package files and thier contents. http://sims.ambertation.de

You can find info on our progress on file formats in both the tools forum http://forums.modthesims2.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

And the Wiki http://www.modthesims2.com/wiki/MTS2

We tend to post info as fast as we find it out with a small delay sometimes for us to make sure we're not posting bull. If you dont see relevant posts for awhile, don't fear, because we do a lot of work on MSN too, so stuff is still most likely progressing nicely.

No you don't. This is one of the more wrong rumours out there. The two games are independant of eachother.

Several notes though.

Firstly, the current tool that we are working on creating for actually modifying the formats of the game, Datgen, was primary designed for Simcity4, and so a lot of work also goes into making it compatible with SC4's formats in addition to TS2s. So you will be able to use it for both games, as well as The Sims Online, and any future Maxis games using the DBPF archive format. Secondly, you will need Simcity4 ONLY for making custom neighbourhood terrains. Simply downloading a small map from an existing SC4 map site wont work because you need roads pre-placed before starting TS2 in order to place house lots. Also these files cannot be created independantly (at least yet) because they have an emormous complexity to them with over 100 formats contained in a single savegame. If any site offers small maps with preplaced roads in the future, you could use those however. To see how to make SC4 custom terrains for TS2 yourself, read this thread : http://www.modthesims2.com/forum_viewtopic.php?4.132

If its not in the : a) Downloads Section - http://forums.modthesims2.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38
b) Tools Forum - http://forums.modthesims2.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4
c) Modding the Game Forum - http://forums.modthesims2.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13Then its almost certainly not on this site. (yet ;) )

If its not :
a) In the links area - http://www.modthesims2.com/links.php
b) On Google - www.google.com
c) On The Official Sims2 Site - http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/index.php
Then probably nobody else has it either.

Please dont keep asking us to direct you to the appropriate thread as we dont have the time to constantly search all 6 of these places for everyone :) Plus they dont take long for you to look through yourself.

This is a known issue with cracked Versions of the game. Yes this means you.

Please make sure your copy is original off of the legal install of the game and not cracked in any way and everything should work again. We wont help with getting cracked games to work.