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Breathe Deeper...(Clean Install for Dummies)

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  • liannanatorliannanator Posts: 2 New Member
    edited January 2010
    Uzone27 wrote:
    Hello all, I've been out of the loop for a bit so apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

    Happy New Year everyone!
    UZ

    Welcome back, Uzone. I was wondering if, when you get a chance, you could take a peek at the post I made a few days ago on this thread and see if you have any idea.
    Thank you!!
  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    Uzone27 wrote:
    Hello all, I've been out of the loop for a bit so apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

    Happy New Year everyone!
    UZ

    Welcome back, Uzone. I was wondering if, when you get a chance, you could take a peek at the post I made a few days ago on this thread and see if you have any idea.
    Thank you!!

    Hi llannanantor,

    Sorry I overlooked your question.
    A couple of people have had a similar questiion so I'll try and cover them all as best I can.

    CC isn't as simple as it used to be as it was in TS2 there are 3 different types of "CC", and three or more different ways to get that content into the game.

    The fist type of "CC" is stuff you get from the store. For all intents and purposes this shouldn't be called "CC" at all...any more than we would have called content from stuff packs CC for the first two games. This content is the least likely cause of problems.

    The second type of CC is Exchange stuff. Some exchange items have been modified using out of game methods, and reintroduced to the exchange. This is most evident in the wall and floor pattern sections where it is apparant that users have found a way upload custom, patterns and textures to the exchange. Problem is while they look spiffy on the exchange, they may not download and/or install properly. However it is not very likely that individual items customized in this way are causing problems. I think in most cases the object(s) just don't show up in game if a 3rd party tool was used for CAS.

    My guess is, the tricky part of the exchange is with the Sim exchange, and to a much greater extent the lot exchange. I simply don't have the technical knowlege or understanding of their process to be able to tell you how this works but I suspect that if there is too much "alien" CC coding on a Sim or a lot, that it could cause problems.

    What appears to be happening is that the launcher and the installer are letting this content through, but some of this content is causing problems once in the game.

    Both of these "CC" types are found in the "Downloads" folder in my documents.
    and delivered to that folder via the launcher.

    The third type of CC is obviously 3rd party CC. As Simulate pointed ou earlier in this thread
    The MOD folder is totally seperate and located in the "program" files as opposed to "My Documents".

    In your case llanna, if you are seeing place holders for CC that was previouslty there, this is most likely because the save file you are using is remembering something belonged there that doesn't exist any longer. No way that should be happening at the stage you describe...because at that point in the guide all we have done is install the base game without even patching. The TS3 file with your save(s) should be on your desktop at that stage replaced with a brand new one, and your MODS folder should have been either moved or erased entirely. Let me know if I missinterpreted where you were at when you encountered this.

    For the benefit of other people asking about CC in this thread..I'll explain the best I can

    In the past (TS2) over 70% of third party CC were simple recolors, 25% were remeshes, and less than 5% were mods/hacks that affected the coding of the game.

    This time around those numbers are skewed dramatically.
    The two MATY story progression mods were extremely popular.
    No doubt in my mind this was the leading cause of most glitch related problems.

    The majority of the installlation related problems I suspect were related to programs designed to automatically install third party content.

    Finally I suspect some of the save related issues (that weren't caused by EA's admitted incompatible coding) may be caused by save files created while mods/and or third party content were in game, and later removed.

    I reaiize that's a lot more than you asked for llanna, but since the majority of the questions seemed centrered around this topic I thought I'd use your question as an opportunity to elaborate on the variations of CC...I know that you know most of this stuff already.


    UZ


    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    Deleted dp
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    GiantSquid wrote:
    THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
    I followed your directions to do a clean uninstall and get my game to run faster- and now it does!!! You're a LIFESAVER!!! :D


    YVW GiantSquid,
    Glad you found it helpful!

    UZ
  • XOX1XOX1 Posts: 2,643 Member
    edited January 2010

    Uzone27-

    Time for me to eat some crow.-

    I would like to apologize to you for our previous discourse. There was no good excuse for my behavior.

    You have performed a remarkable task, and enhanced our community with your efforts on your two threads.

    I hope you don't mind, but I have provided a link to your two threads on my help thread, "The Sandbox".-

    http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/142349.page

    If you object to this, I shall remove it.

    You have a proven, extraordinary grasp of this subject.

    I would like for us to become friends, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

    Thank You- XOX1

  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    XOX1 wrote:
    Uzone27-

    Time for me to eat some crow.-

    I would like to apologize to you for our previous discourse. There was no good excuse for my behavior.

    You have performed a remarkable task, and enhanced our community with your efforts on your two threads.

    I hope you don't mind, but I have provided a link to your two threads on my help thread, "The Sandbox".-

    http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/142349.page

    If you object to this, I shall remove it.

    You have a proven, extraordinary grasp of this subject.

    I would like for us to become friends, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

    Thank You- XOX1

    Heyya XOX1,
    Thanks for your kind words. No need for apologies.
    I'd be honored to be call you friend, and by all means feel free to link this wherever you think it could help.

    Hope you had a great Holiday and enjoy the upcoming SP!

    UZ
  • XOX1XOX1 Posts: 2,643 Member
    edited January 2010
    Thank you UZ!-

    I really like your explanation of the nature of CC!

    It is very clear, concise, and will be of great benefit to those of us who are unfamiliar with it's peculiarities.

    XOX1

  • SNEVEDSSNEVEDS Posts: 19 New Member
    edited January 2010
    After doing all this stuff and finding the game still doesn't run without invoking a blue screen error some questions came to mind:

    1) Why would a company release an 'expansion pack' to base software that requires anyone to go through such extreme efforts just to be able to even load the game--shouldn't the software be made to self configure properly 'out of the box'?

    2) Why would anyone want to risk loading such damaging software if warned in advance--should there be a sticker on the box saying something akin to "Caution--special instructions are required just to load this software and after even a proper loading please be aware that this software may very likely still not run properly"?

    3) Because Sims 2 loaded properly as did all of its expansion packs without a major hitch--is it too much to expect that Sims 3 should work similarly?

    4) Sims 3 & expansions cost 25% more--shouldn't they run at least 25% or more of the time?

    5) If Sims 3 WA will not run when sold 'as is', where the incentive to buy additional expansion packs?

    Sorry, it just seems that such questions loom large over the future of Sims 3.

    While the instructions provided may work for "Dummies" to load the game, it should be noted that there is still a good chance that the game still will not run using the current release & patches.

    Sims 3 + patch 1.46 does run for most people.
  • JKLEMONJKLEMON Posts: 21 New Member
    edited January 2010
    Thanks,just wanted to say it's nice to have someone willing to help those of us who know just enough about our computer and CC and the Sims 3 game to get into trouble, but not enough to get out on our own. Thanks again :)
  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    Hi SNEVEDS,

    Sorry that the steps in this guide weren't helpful in getting your game up and running. I certainly sense your frustration and empathize. I will try and address your questions as best I can.
    1) Why would a company release an 'expansion pack' to base software that requires anyone to go through such extreme efforts just to be able to even load the game--shouldn't the software be made to self configure properly 'out of the box'?

    The short answer is yes.
    Ideally developers have a responsibility to insure that their products are as "dummy proof" as possible right out of the box.
    Looking at it objectively however it seems pretty evident that the Sims series offers several additional QA challenges not necessarily present in other titles.

    The sheer size of the game, the endless variations of user configurations and the complexity of the coding make The Sims more of a QA challenge than most titles right out of the gate. Toss in the "X" factor of user created content and it becomes even more daunting to assure that the expansions will just "plug n' play" flawlessly on top of the original code.
    2) Why would anyone want to risk loading such damaging software if warned in advance--should there be a sticker on the box saying something akin to "Caution--special instructions are required just to load this software and after even a proper loading please be aware that this software may very likely still not run properly"?

    I'm not sure what you are referring to when you say "damaging software".
    I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and guess you are referring to the software programs I recommended in the OP.

    The programs I recommended have been around for a long time and have been recommended many times in other help/troubleshooting threads.
    However as highly regarded as those programs are, there is always the possibility of user error and/or that using these programs could produce undesirable results. Hence the disclaimer.
    3) Because Sims 2 loaded properly as did all of its expansion packs without a major hitch--is it too much to expect that Sims 3 should work similarly?

    No not at all. From a consumers point of view I would certainly expect that when I buy something it's going to work as intended.

    However there is a bit of a problem with your statement.
    That being it implies that the game didn't load correctly out of the box for anyone which is simply untrue. This is an important troubleshooting distinction because what it proves beyond a reasonable doubt is that the problem doesn't lie with the coding per-se, rather (more likely) with the compatibility of that coding with unknown or unanticipated variables.

    Another very important thing to keep in mind is that the overwhelming majority of people using 3rd party CC are also using a third party installer which is definitely causing installation issues. I've experienced this myself.
    As far as I know there weren't such problems with any of the auto-CC installers for TS2.

    There isn't really anything extraordinary in the steps I have outlined in the OP.
    At the very least they are basic maintenance tips that should be practiced by all PC users as GP, and at most they are additional steps that should be taken whenever loading a program of such massive size and complexity.
    4) Sims 3 & expansions cost 25% more--shouldn't they run at least 25% or more of the time?

    I'm going to go ahead and chalk this statement up to frustration and assume it was rhetorical. ..again I really do empathize....with your plight.
    5) If Sims 3 WA will not run when sold 'as is', where the incentive to buy additional expansion packs?
    Sorry, it just seems that such questions loom large over the future of Sims 3.

    Obviously if most users could say with absolute certainty that....


    a) Their computers are healthy
    b) Their computers meet or exceed all minimum specs, and
    c) they have not introduced variables such as third party hack/mods or CC
    and the game still didn't load or run properly...


    then yes I would say that it is a pretty safe bet that the franchise would be doomed to fail sooner rather than later.
    At the risk of sounding glib however if this is not the case then I as a user would probably examine the above points a bit more thoroughly.
    While the instructions provided may work for "Dummies" to load the game, it should be noted that there is still a good chance that the game still will not run using the current release & patches.

    Indeed I did offer that caveat in the first few lines of the disclaimer. In looking back at the responses on this thread however I'm not sure I would phrase it quite as you have here, as it apparently has helped roughly as many as it hasn't.
    Sims 3 + patch 1.46 does run for most people.

    Again..while it's painfully obvious that this particular release has seen more problems than most in recent memory, in looking around the forums I see no evidence to suggest this statement is entirely true.

    SNEVEDS I realize that I have probably said some things here that you most likely don't want to hear, and that some of the statements you made were probably made out of frustration....totally understandable.

    From a troubleshooting perspective however it's important to put emotion and blame aside, and just look at the facts.

    The fact is the game is running for many people but obviously not for everyone.
    This fact absolutely excludes the possibility that the problem lies strictly with the coding, however it doesn't exclude the possibility that something relatively simple was overlooked in the QA process when assuring that the game works with as many different user configurations as possible.


    In order to reach this conclusion however it is important that as many "user" variables as possible are eliminated.

    In a perfect world I absolutely agree that the onus shouldn't be on the user to do this...however with such a huge & complex game where the use of third party code is rampant, it is important to establish a 'ground zero' or common point of reference for proper troubleshooting.

    In order to establish with absolute certainty that the problem lies on EA's end we have to be able to say that we are playing the game exactly the way it was coded, and tested in their QA labs.

    In your case SNEVEDS, if you have performed all of the steps in this guide, your computer meets or exceeds specs, and you are not using 3rd party content of any kind, the next thing I would suspect is a faulty disk, or a corrupt download.

    Hope in the end you are able to get it all sorted,
    Best of luck,

    UZ
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    JKLEMON wrote:
    Thanks,just wanted to say it's nice to have someone willing to help those of us who know just enough about our computer and CC and the Sims 3 game to get into trouble, but not enough to get out on our own. Thanks again :)

    YVW JKLEMON,

    Glad you found it useful.

    UZ
  • Polly75Polly75 Posts: 814 New Member
    edited January 2010
    I just wanted to say thank you for this. I had read so much about bug concerning the latest patch and WA that I waited a long time to buy the EP and patch my game, even though I really wanted to. But, I actually added one step. I did not put my Sims3 folder back as it was, because allready had som technical issues and wasn't really sure about where all my cc was.

    A lot of players don't seem to realise that by downloading sims, households and lots, a lot of custom content might be installed to the game! I had a lot of clothes, make-up etc, clearly installed via the launcher, but the orginal files not to find (I think they go as anonymous .package-files to the DC-backup folder...???).

    I decided to only put back the CC that I had control over over. No sims, no households. Just my saved games, my downloaded package-files and the sims3pack-files that I had in a folder. And to download and reinstall all store items again. I actually found a tool at MTS where you could test and fix package-file objects for causing the blue lot-bug. It fixed a curtain for me. Not used in game, but anyhow.

    Everything is so far running smooth here, no problems besides some minor glitches:

    1. One hair I bought for my new sim points was in game, but then dissapeared. Then it came back, without me really do anything. I'm 100% sure because it was the hairstyle I gave to a sim in one of my test games, and in another game the hair wasn't there. When I came back to the first sim his hairstyle was changed to a base game one, but when I send my sim tio change it by the mirror, I found my purchased hair again. :shock:

    2. My launcher is little unsteady. I've had to force it to close down, and some times I've had to retry to downloading stuff.

    3. I found a fishing glitch but searched on this forum and there seems to be a solution. Not a big thing right now anyway and I haven't even tested it.

    ... And my technical issues in my legacy game hasn't appeared yet. I'm som happy, keeping my fingers crossed. :mrgreen:




  • cutiepie_54cutiepie_54 Posts: 3
    edited January 2010
    I had to have a new video card for my computer when i got sims 3 :evil:
  • Leslie923BLeslie923B Posts: 4 New Member
    edited January 2010
    Thank you, Thank you :D I did everything you said to do and.... I am now able to play my Sims again. You are just wonderful to have taken your time to help all of use out here who needed someonr to show us how to do what was needed. I can't say thank you enough. Thank you :D
  • Uzone27Uzone27 Posts: 2,808 Member
    edited January 2010
    YVW Polly & Leslie,

    Glad it worked out for you guys!

    UZ
  • TrinityDivineTrinityDivine Posts: 2 New Member
    edited January 2010
    SNEVEDS wrote:
    After doing all this stuff and finding the game still doesn't run without invoking a blue screen error.

    For this very reason, I am reluctant to do all of the prescribed procedures. I have 1 terrabyte of disk space so I can't even imagine how long it would take to defrag it. Plus, I don't understand why a registry cleaner is needed, unless WA left a mess in its wake when I first installed it.

    As for the rest of your questions, SNEVEDS, I think the only answer is that EA released a buggy expansion and they are not quick enough to fix the problems. I'm a little mad at myself because I actually did some research before buying it and I did see all the complaints. I guess it never occured to me that my top-of-the-line gaming machine would not be able to run World Adventures.

    What bothers me even more is that it's been two months since the expansion was released and people are still having these problems.

    For now, I have decided to uninstall WA (and my game runs fine without it by the way) and just wait until EA fixes all the bugs. I do think that people should be made aware of all the problems so they won't sink their $40 on something they MAY NOT be able to play.
  • xlilcip15xxlilcip15x Posts: 249 New Member
    edited February 2010
    I just went through all these steps, I think.... a little confused though.

    When I re-installed and went back into the game, all the stuff from the EA store that I bought previously was still there, as well as the game saves from my old family... but this was before I manually put them back in. What did I miss? I was pretty sure I deleted everything related to the game before I re-installed, so why would that stuff still be there?

    As a side note, I'm still having the same bugs that I was before. But, maybe I just did something wrong.

    Thanks for your help.
  • Simsinger79Simsinger79 Posts: 12 New Member
    edited February 2010
    Thanks for this helpful topic here.

    but what i didn´t found here is how do you REinstall the game when you only purchased the download version with the download manager from EA?
    i crashed my game and can´t fix it again- so i thought i try eliminating the whole game and reinstall it all new-
    but i´m just really worried that i won´t be able to reinstall because it was a download digital download from the EADM and i don´t have the cd...

    can i reinstall a digital download? and how please?

    please help! i´m desperate!
  • VRStevensonVRStevenson Posts: 4,396 Member
    edited February 2010
    Whew! So glad you made this. Currently updating to get back on track but so far so good with the reinstall.

    Thank You so much!
  • misseychrissymisseychrissy Posts: 23
    edited February 2010
    Hi Uzone,

    I also wanted to say a big thank you for this. I would never have been able to do it otherwise! Its do good that you are willing to help us out on something that I think EA should be more willing and openly helpful with.

    I have used this to re-install world adventures and it has worked with the bugs. I havent installed any of the patches and so far so good! I cant believe that an official patch released by EA is the thing that made my game un-playable! Seems a bit crazy.

    Anyway, thanks again Uzone, you have helped a lot of people I am sure!
    x
  • RemdragonRemdragon Posts: 20
    edited March 2010
    I followed every instruction in the guide but for some reason... when I tried to install the game, it won't even start! I don't know what happened, maybe I deleted something wrong... but is that possible to delete something in the computer to make my disc reader stop working?

    When I go to my computer it shows that the sims disk is in there, but when I double click on it (or right click and choose to install) it doesn't do anything.
  • RemdragonRemdragon Posts: 20
    edited March 2010
    Before it would register that the sims disk was in my computer, so I tried Fallout 3 and Spore and those just show up as a "DVD-ROM" and when I try to execute it, it tells me that there's no disk inside. I went back to the sims and it does the same for that now as well.

    3/24 8:14 AM
    I bypassed the disc error for now.. (still doesn't work though) and downloaded the game on the EA Manager. Now after I test ran a family to see if there were any quick bugs I could spot.. None. So I tried downloading the patch but it says something about my QtCore4.dll missing. I've tried to download it but I've no idea where to put this or how it works. The patches still don't update.

    9:07 AM
    Somehow the patch started updating without me fixing the QtCore4... But I unzipped it into my system files anyway. Just in case it's needed for something. Now, when I try to open TS3 (the launcher to be specific) it says that there was an error in startup and to check the log for more details. Then the whole thing freezes and I can't even close the window without having to go to my task manager.
    I can play the game without the patch but I have to uninstall and reinstall it... Though that my be more because I don't know how to remove the patch alone.

    So I uninstalled and resintalled it, much faster now after the initial loading off of the EA Manager, seems like it's like having a disk on my computer at all times, except non-functioning correctly. When I did the initial installation the first time, TS3 ran almost perfectly, I had no issues whatsoever... But now I can't even update the patch as I did before. The QtCore4 didn't come up as an issue until I bought World Adventures. Which I can't even begin intalling for some reason. The manager asks for my permission then just doesn't do anything.

    I've run registry checkers anti-virus/malware programs and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with my computer... it just seems broken now.

    I really wish someone would read this and help...

    9:55 AM

    Alright, so I figured out that the QtCore4 was supposed to be a part of the EA Download Manager but it was missing a file. So I reinstalled the whole thing in case it was missing more. But now whenever I launch it, it says "EA Download Manager tried to launch an external application but the path was invalid. Please try again, or reinstall EADM"

    Why is EVERYTHING breaking down now?
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • OliverSuddenOliverSudden Posts: 514 New Member
    edited June 2010
    This clean install worked for me ... the second time I used it.

    Long story short, I also had to remove the EA Launcher because I was getting that "error ... log" message with a launcher indicating nothing but zeroes in the version.

    Then, of course, the same video card that's been running the game since release wasn't recognized, but on a third install, it was.

    This is a work of genius.
  • kylie90210kylie90210 Posts: 9 New Member
    edited July 2010
    Never mind, found my answer!
  • ToachyzzToachyzz Posts: 66
    edited July 2010
    I also had to remove the EA Launcher because I was getting that "error ... log" message with a launcher indicating nothing but zeroes in the version.
    but sadly won't work work keep get Errour date yber date so keep press retry now havn't got lancher what done wrong?
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