The Sims 3 patching sequence question

wheels18035135

Hi,
I just recently did a complete uninstall of my sims 3 game because I was having with my game meaning complete removal of all sims 3 program files, Registry keys and installation files. My question is how do I make sure the launcher patches in the right sequence? For example the patch level on the sims 3 into the future is only 1.62 How do I make sure the launcher doesn't go from 1.62 straight to 1.67 and make sure it patches in the correct order with each installation of the next expansion pack? I ran into the problem of my game being borked when I tried to use the incremental patch to go from 1.66 to 1.67. I downloaded the file by clicking the link in Sims Vip's patches section. I know it was the official one because they state quite plainly on there website that they linked to the official patched hosted on Ea's servers I have used the incremental patch linked by sims Vip to go from 1.63 to 1.66 and patch worked swimmingly, but when I tried to do the same to go from 1.66 to 1.67 the patching got to 98% complete and then I got and error message. which thereby borked my game and made it unplayable without a complete uninstall/reinstall. The reason I did not use the launcher directly is because I was afraid it would jump from 1.66 to 1.69 and that goofy sims 3 download manager which I don't want! I haven't started the reinstall process yet and and I don't want to make the same mistakes I made that led to the borking in the first place! I also have access to the download version in my games library, so my other question is: Iss the patching process less tempermental if you use the download version instead pf installing from disks? Any help that anyone could provide would be very much appreciated because I miss playing sims 3 something awful!
Thanks!

puzzlezaddict

First of all, if you're installing via Origin, you'll automatically receive patch 1.69 and won't need to do any patching yourself. But you'll also get the mandatory Origin tie-in and the pack selector, so you might prefer to use your discs instead. To stay on 1.67, you'll need disc copies of all your packs, as well as a base game disc manufactured before September 2012. Otherwise, the base game install process will force you to download Origin and patch to 1.69, and a single digital install will do the same.

The launcher has always been unreliable with patching, but that's especially true when you're trying to go from an early base game disc version to 1.67 in one fell swoop. The best practice is to install the base game only, run the Super Patch, install your packs, and run the Super Patch again, just to be thorough. In fact, if you really want to make sure Origin doesn't interfere, here's the most effective way:

• (You've already uninstalled and cleaned your computer's registry, which would be the first step.)
• Uninstall Origin as well, if you have it on your computer.
• Download the Super Patch from here: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/175477/official-ea-download-link-for-the-sims-3-cumulative-manual-update#latest
• Take your computer completely offline—turn off wifi or pull the ethernet cable.
• Now install the base game. You'll get an offer for the EA Download Manager to control your install. Say no. The EADM will do everything it can to update itself to Origin.
• Run the Super Patch, confirm that the launcher lists your patch level (in the lowe left corner) as 1.67, and launch the game.
• If it works, you can install your packs, again from disc. When you're done, you can run the Super Patch again, just to be thorough.
• When you're back online, the launcher may say you need to update. These are patches for the early packs, before the pack patches were bundled with the base game, and accepting them won't update you to 1.69.

wheels18035135

could I put my computer in safe mode since there is no internet access in that mode? My computer is against a wall and it would be really hard to get behind there to unplug the cable?

puzzlezaddict

It's not strictly necessary to be offline while installing, but it's a helpful way to ensure that the EA Download Manager stays out of the picture, and more importantly, doesn't try to download Origin. You can try installing only the base game while online, and it might be fine. Just test it to see whether it asks you to launch or authenticate via Origin. If it does, uninstall, clean the registry again, and start over.

Or you could pull the plug on your router. It doesn't really matter how you're cutting off internet access; the point is to make sure that nothing EA-related downloads behind your back.

Safe mode is useful for what it does, but it can also be more trouble than it's worth. The one time I used it, everything was laggy enough to give me a headache.

igazor

You should also be able to kill your Internet connection on just that one computer by right-clicking on the Network icon in the system tray and following things along until you get to the active connection to disable it (this is slightly different for different versions of Windows). Some users may not wish to switch things off at the router level because that would affect other devices and other users, if any are in the household.

But I agree that it shouldn't, in an otherwise perfect world (HA!), be necessary to do that to negotiate a non-Origin install.