General questions

I currently only have the Sims 3 Base game (retail) installed and generations is almost done downloading!
I downloaded the RELOADED version of Generations from tpb before I saw the one here, so my question is will it still work on my retail Sims 3 version? Or do I have to download the generations being posted on here? Will the crack work for the reloaded or is it only meant for the one here too? It's just the installation guide was kind of vague, thank you for your time

You don't have to worry about a thing, I also downloaded the reloaded Generations and I am playing The Sims 3 and all of its expansions just fine.

Thank you, this took off a great deal of pressure on me
Do you mind telling me the steps you took to get everything to work?
I've been trying all different process all morning and nothing seem to be working until I stumbled upon this place with the fix and all.

Hi there 2Thu. So to install the game there are two ways you can do this. As a note, do not apply the generations crack until after you have installed all the expansions you want too. You can:

A. Install the Base Game, Generations and then any other expansion you want or:

B. Install the Base Game and the other expansions in retail order, installing generations last.

Be sure to update all of your games before applying the crack. The crack does not go in the Generations /game/bin/ folder but into the Sims 3 /Game/Bin/ folder.

I used option B myself. I installed the game and all other sims 3 releases and updated them to the latest release, installed generations and applied the crack and now it works wonders. I only get one error and that is an incompatible mod error and I'm not sure if thats because of the crack or some file from a previous installation. I can still play if I press continue however.

I hope this helps you.

I did option A described above, installing Generations right after the base game then installing every other expansion. After I had every expansion installed, I checked the launcher for updates, which there was one, then I cracked using the Ultimate Fix, found here: https://games4theworld.forumotion.com/t752-the-sims-3-ultimate-fix-should-fix-most-of-your-problems

Remember to ONLY crack Generations, and also remember to place the Generations crack in C:/Program Files/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Game/Bin.

This method gave me zero errors, and my game plays as it should, with no bugs or glitches.

Ahh, I see where I went wrong. I followed the installation guide for the fix and I ended up cracking all of the expansion packs after I just finish option A. Does that mean I shouldn't have followed step 3-9 and copy JUST the crack into the Sims 3 Bin?
I'm sorry for the bombard of questions.

Yes, just use the Generations crack, and put it in C:/Program Files/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Game/Bin. Check for updates in the Sims 3 Launcher before cracking, though.

I'm reinstalling everything again. Thank you for being so patient with me! This is the most help I've gotten with this, I really appreciate it.

Make sure you install the base game, then Generations, then any other expansions you want. Remember to avoid any cracking/patching the install guides ask you to do. Once you have all the expansions installed, check the launcher for updates, then use the Generations crack and place it in C:/Program Files/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Game/Bin.

Sorry, I felt the need to repeat that because I don't want you to miss something and mess up again.

I'm glad I could help, please feel free to ask anymore questions you may have.

Sigh, I'm getting pretty fed up with it. I managed to do everything and it loads but once it comes to selecting a town it tells me I don't have a disc.

This is exactly what I did.
Install base game with the retail disc.
Install W.A (also retail), it tells me I need to update, I do, then install.
Install Ambitions (ViTALITY), tells me i need to update, do so, but I didn't crack.
Install Late Night (reloaded), tells me I need to update, do so, but didn't crack.
Install Generations (reloaded)

Then I opened up the launcher and updated. Close launcher. Open up the fix, go to #crack folder, copy crack to the TS3 Game/Bin and not Generations bin. I'm still getting that message
Should I not do the retail discs? Or is there another step I missed?

I had similar problems when i tried using my retail Base Game and WA as well. I eventually decided to use all cracked versions provided by Games4TheWorld. I'm not sure if it may be caused by a lack of the stuff pack or not, but that isn't likely to be the problem. This is a very troublesome game to install, it seems as though its different for every person. I myself had to install it different ways that admin had to.

What do you recommend me doing then? Downloading the rest of them on here? I could but the wait would be unbearable. I also have the Sims 3 Base from when it first came out and the W.A too but when I try installing those two manually I end up getting regional message from not being able to patch :/

I myself like to have all of the games that are released, so of course I installed each one and updated them to the latest patch. I installed and updated in the order they were released over the past 2 years. I have the latest version of each game and I only used the crack that the generations game provided. It works like a charm for me.

I'll leave the decision up to you whether you want to install every game or not, but I can't guarantee that installation will be successful if you only install certain games. I'm thinking I should download VMWare so I can run test installations and verify positive and negative install orders and combinations.

I will do all I can to assist you with this problem and ensure that you leave with your game working and a big ole grin on your face.

Ahhh that would be wonderful! I don't want to cause too much trouble though because after all it is my fault. I just don't see how it's working, probably because of the mix between retail and pirated? Though I heard that this shouldn't be a problem.

People say that it should not be a problem, but in all honesty, that is not my experience. I've only had one successful installation up to Night Life on my laptop where I used my retail disc. I haven't been able to achieve those results since. I'm currently downloading vmware and will be installing a virual windows 7 soon. Once that is done I can begin testing various installations.

I shall wait for results from that then! In the mean time, I'll reinstall once again

Haha, I spent lots of time reinstalling before I got the game to work. That was back when Outdoors Living was the latest release from Games4TheWorld. Once generations was installed installing for me was a breeze.

2Thu wrote:Thank you, this took off a great deal of pressure on me
Do you mind telling me the steps you took to get everything to work?
I've been trying all different process all morning and nothing seem to be working until I stumbled upon this plcce with the fix and all.

Hello,

Perhaps you want to read this: https://games4theworld.forumotion.com/t1171-must-read-how-to-install-the-sims-3-correctly-must-read

2Thu wrote:Ahhh that would be wonderful! I don't want to cause too much trouble though because after all it is my fault. I just don't see how it's working, probably because of the mix between retail and pirated? Though I heard that this shouldn't be a problem.

That's what I thought too, but maybe things have changed with the release of Generations. Do you mind downloading and installing the Games4theworld version of The Sims 3 base game, just to be sure?

Lady ElDi wrote:Have you tried changing the SKU version? I had to change it to 1 to install OLS, but back to 2 to play the game.
Also, my launcher crashes without starting the game if I'm not connected to the internet, which is weird.
I don't have all the expansions myself and the ones I have are not all from G4TW, but they're working now after causing much grief, and after installing in the order the "must read" describes.

Hello,

If I'm right, the SKU code doesn't affect gameplay, it's only there for the installation. If you don't change the SKU, you'll get an "Incorrect game region" error.

Admin wrote:

Lady ElDi wrote:Have you tried changing the SKU version? I had to change it to 1 to install OLS, but back to 2 to play the game.
Also, my launcher crashes without starting the game if I'm not connected to the internet, which is weird.
I don't have all the expansions myself and the ones I have are not all from G4TW, but they're working now after causing much grief, and after installing in the order the "must read" describes.

Hello,

If I'm right, the SKU code doesn't affect gameplay, it's only there for the installation. If you don't change the SKU, you'll get an "Incorrect game region" error.

Well I'm still trying to forget the entire ordeal LOL I was about to give up on Generations and tried some things, changing SKU got me a step further. I don't know at which point though. Like I said, I'm trying to forget

Admin is correct. The SKU value only applies to the installation. Even now, it is not required to change the SKU value I believe, if you install in the order they were released that is. I installed every expansion and stuff pack and never had to edit the registry and everything works fine, so that isn't the problem.