It seems like these days, it's difficult to download the original Sims let alone it's expansion packs. And trying to download it online is risky business.

Does anyone know of any safe places you can download the original Sims and it's expansion packs; particularly Hot Date & House Party are the particular expansions I'm interested in.

Thanks in advance.

There's a guide that explains where to get the game and how to install it at https://www.reddit.com/r/sims1/comm..._on_windows_10/. The Sims 1 doesn't work on modern operating systems without Makin' Magic, because the cracked version of sims.exe that works on Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11 requires that, but luckily, the link in the tutorial is to The Complete Collection, which has all seven expansion packs.

I've downloaded it from The Internet Archive, myself, and it works fine and didn't contain anything it shouldn't.

And will it cover downloading Hot Date and House Party?

The complete collection contains all of the EPs.

I said this in my previous post:

the link in the tutorial is to The Complete Collection, which has all seven expansion packs.

I don't know how I can make that any clearer?

Thank you

I'm having a bit of trouble downloading it.



I've seemed to have installed it but having trouble booting it up. On the reddit link you posted, in the section If you do NOT have the disks, do this:, on no. 2, i have no idea what they mean by "apply compatibility mode" and I have no idea where I can find the "no-CD version of Sims.exe". I assumed it means the cracked version because in the link your reddit link referred to seems to instruct a similar thing with the cracked version. However, following that link the program doesn't pan out as they instructed; when I replace the Sims shortcut in the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\The Sims" with the cracked Sims shortcut, it doesn't give me an option to replace but rather, a popup pops up and asks "Windows cannot create a shortcut here. Do you want the shortcut to be placed on the desktop instead?". When I say yes, or when I double click on the cracked shortcut, it simply says "Fatal Error: cannot find the sims directory".

I'm probably being a big boomer and not understanding something really basic, but thanks in advance for the further help.

Go to the cracked version of sims.exe, RIGHT-click on it, and choose "Properties" from the list. You'll get a pop-up box with several tabs along the top. Click on the "Compatibility" tab and put a checkmark in the box next to "Run this program as an administrator." While you're there, set the Compatibility mode to "Windows XP (Service Pack 2.)" (Occasionally people have luck with Service Pack THREE if Service Pack TWO doesn't work for them, but try two first.)



Yes. The file you downloaded, when extracted, contains a folder called Game Files. Inside that folder are a bunch of other folders, one of which is The Sims Crack. Inside that folder is a version of Sims.exe that works with modern operating systems and doesn't get shut down because of old DRM.



It's not a SHORTCUT you're replacing; it's the actual executable! You need to REPLACE sims.exe with the cracked sims.exe.

This is covered under Step 3 in the "If you don't have the discs, do this" part of the tutorial. Here's what that says:
IF your computer tells you that it can't copy the new sims.exe into the folder, then you have a permissions problem. Windows 10 and 11 assume that the people who use them are stupid, so they shouldn't be allowed to change any of the files on their computer. But never fear, you can change that! To change the permissions, RIGHT-click on the Maxis folder and choose Properties. You'll get a small pop-up with several tabs. Click on the Security tab. There will be a list of group or user names. Scroll down that list until you find the entry that says Users (the name of your computer) and click on that. Right underneath that list, it says, "to change permissions, click Edit," so click Edit. That will get you ANOTHER pop-up. Click on Users again, and click the check box that says Full Control. Then click Apply, then click OK. That should give you the right to actually move files around on your own #@%$ computer! At least for the Maxis folder and its subfolders. :-)


I was born in 1958, myself, so please don't call it "being a big boomer." :-) :-)

Hmmm, still problem. I allowed permission but when I move the cracked application to the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\The Sims", it just creates a shortcut to that file section and doesn't replace the Sims application there :/

When I double click on the cracked Sims file tho, it says "Cannot find The Sims data directory".

It says it can't find the data directory because you haven't moved the cracked sims.exe to the place it's supposed to go.

I didn't think I had to explain how to replace a file, but since you're having trouble, let me get specific.

Go to the cracked version of sims.exe and select it by single-clicking on it.
While that is selected hit Ctrl and c simultaneously. This copies the file.
Go to the place where The Sims is installed; this is usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Maxis\The Sims.
Making sure that you are IN that directory, hit Ctrl and v simultaneously. This pastes the file.
If you're doing it correctly, you should get a popup that says, "The destination already has a file named sims.exe"
Underneath that will be a list of things you can do. In order, those are
Replace the file in the destination, Skip this file, and Compare info for both files
Click on "Replace the file in the destination," and that will replace the sims.exe that has the bad DRM with the cracked version.

If your computer is not willing to replace the sims.exe with the cracked version, then the permissions did not get changed properly. Go back to that section of the tutorial and try again.

Once you have replaced sims.exe with the cracked version, RIGHT click on it, click on Properties, then click on the Compatibility tab of the Properties pop-up and make sure that the "Run this program as an administrator" box is checked and that the compatibility is set to Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Once the sims.exe has been properly replaced AND has been set to run as an administrator and in the proper compatibility mode, then start your game by double-clicking on that sims.exe, the one that you've just been working on. Do not try to start your game from the copy of sims.exe that's still in the installer's files; use the one you copied and pasted to the game's directory.

It works!!! Guess I was suppose to the Ctrl + C/Ctrl + V rather than the drag + drop.

Thanks

Glad to hear it's working! Have fun.

Just wanted to point out that any EP and even the base game alone work perfectly on modern systems (windows 10 in my case). You just need the corresponding cracked exe and that's all. They're fairly easy to find

Yeah, I think the one that's proliferated the furthest just happens to be an all-EP exe; I had one from a Yahoo group years ago (purely because I didn't want to take the MM disc back and forth to college and thus have a greater chance of losing it (or damaging it! D: )--it's actually the exact same exe I use now that Windows 10 won't run the Sims! and if I got a battery back into my college laptop, I'd also still need it there as that laptop's DVD drive is kaput... awful drive luck for me, truly); that one that I've had for years required everything (or at least required MM?) and I feel like most ones I see when I just do a basic search out of curiosity are that version or one like it.

I think in the interest of following old Simblesse Oblige advice about the best ways to install expansions I went looking for other expansions' exes so I could run the game between installs when I was putting it on 10, but what's in my folder suggests I was only half successful. (I have alternately named exes there that I've notated with stuff like UL or SS or HP but I don't seem to have one for every expansion and I feel like I remember only starting up the game after some expansions and not others... My best guess from the way I notated them otherwise (differently from how I notated the backup copy (i.e. the copy not named Sims.exe presently) of the Yahoo group one sitting in the same folder) suggests I got them from a now-defunct site but also that I somehow didn't find every expansion there...)

I used to think you had to have all the expansion packs, but then I found out that OldGamesDownload has them all:
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-livin-large/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-house-party/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-hot-date/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-vacation/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-unleashed/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-superstar-2/
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-sims-makin-magic/
or, of course
https://oldgamesdownload.com/the-si...ete-collection/

I did exactly that back when I installed it, I used to play for a while between installs. BTW, to install one EP at a time, I think the best way is from the discs but I understand that most if not all modern PCs don't come with a disc reader. But to find them online you'll most likely get cd images with an old weird format. Instead of getting something like daemon tools (redundant IMO) you can get something like AnyToISO and convert them, because an iso image can be handled by windows by default.
This site has the cracked exes for each EP and editions, in case you need them scroll down a lot until you see the no-cd section (it's safe).

Personally, I installed from the discs just fine (current laptop has no drive but we're awash in external USB DVD drives over here); I was just trying to follow the same advice I'd followed in past installations where it was said running the game for a little bit between each expansion install was a good idea (which I couldn't do without a noCD exe due to the missing DRM). I have no need of disc images, though I wonder if (more) exes might be helpful if I ever try to see if a fresh install solves the random crashing issue I keep running into...