bettybrant
26th Dec 2010, 01:55 PM
Hello. I am looking for advice about the following issue: I am having serious difficulties patching a new installation of Sims 3 Ambitions to the latest patch. I managed to get it to patch with no problems up to 4.5.6.009001, but every time I try to patch up to the latest version of Late Night (the new patch), I get the message "Update Error:Invalid File Found" and the utility closes. I have tried both patching manually, by using a patch from Simprograms (the correct one for my region -- I checked), and I have tried patching using the launcher. In both cases I get the same message, the Invalid File Found message, and the patch installation program closes.
Here is the background to my situation with this patch: about a month ago my computer had a serious software issue which could not be resolved. The advice I received from computer technicians (after they had tried fruitlessly to help me resolve it for some time), was to completely reinstall everything on the computer, thus wiping its memory and in effect starting over. Everything has now been reinstalled except The Sims 3, and the computer is working normally.
I began reinstalling the game as was recommended in one of the help pages here (using the Alternate Method). This means that I started installing the game one disk at a time and completely patching that disk up to the latest patch. So I installed the base game, for instance, and I started patching it incrementally one patch at a time until I reached patch no. 1.10.6.004001.
At this point the game would not let me patch, giving the same message I just listed above. I tried various things, including using Delphy's Patch Log Viewer Program, but nothing worked. The Patch Log Viewer Program gave me this message: "Applying DFC Update for Game\Bin\code_version.txt Error: err0031 invalid file found" highlighted in red. I tried copying and pasting the same file from the original disk in the Game\Bin location but this had no effect. The game would not allow me to patch. Out of desperation I finally allowed the launcher to patch the base game and this at last worked; it now shows in the launcher correctly as having been patched to 1.18.9.009001.
Since the game was now showing the correct patch level, I started it up and created a test family in order to make sure everything was running correctly (I had previously updated my video drivers etc). Everything looked and worked as it should, so I went ahead and installed World Adventures and patched it completely up to the latest level (using the incremental method, which has always worked for me in the past). There were no problems patching at all and the game also ran fine with another test family.
Next, I reinstalled High End Loft Stuff, and patched it completely. It also worked well and accepted all the patches up to and including the latest one. Then I installed Ambitions and began patching it as I described at the beginning of this post and found I could not get it to accept that last patch no matter what. Delphy's Patch Log Viewer no longer works, as it gives me the same error message that it did at first with my first patching problem with the base game. I also cannot find the correct rtpatch.log file to delete and thus clear the Delphy program, because there are so many (dozens and dozens) folders and patch log files in my temp folder from all this reinstalling etc that it is impossible. So I can't determine what the invalid file is that is causing the problem.
I have read every page in the wiki and game help sections that I could find on patch problems, game reinstalling, etc, etc, and I have no idea what else to try to resolve this issue. I would like to finish reinstalling the game and (including Fast Lane Stuff and Late Night) in order to play it, but it seems pointless if I can't have all the expansion packs and stuff packs properly patched. I am also leery of uninstalling and reinstalling the game a second time, because there is nothing to prevent this same series of patching errors, or even worse ones, from cropping up again.
I would therefore be very grateful for any help or advice about this issue. (And please accept my apologies for the excessively long post -- I was just attempting to explain everything). Thanks in advance.
Here is the background to my situation with this patch: about a month ago my computer had a serious software issue which could not be resolved. The advice I received from computer technicians (after they had tried fruitlessly to help me resolve it for some time), was to completely reinstall everything on the computer, thus wiping its memory and in effect starting over. Everything has now been reinstalled except The Sims 3, and the computer is working normally.
I began reinstalling the game as was recommended in one of the help pages here (using the Alternate Method). This means that I started installing the game one disk at a time and completely patching that disk up to the latest patch. So I installed the base game, for instance, and I started patching it incrementally one patch at a time until I reached patch no. 1.10.6.004001.
At this point the game would not let me patch, giving the same message I just listed above. I tried various things, including using Delphy's Patch Log Viewer Program, but nothing worked. The Patch Log Viewer Program gave me this message: "Applying DFC Update for Game\Bin\code_version.txt Error: err0031 invalid file found" highlighted in red. I tried copying and pasting the same file from the original disk in the Game\Bin location but this had no effect. The game would not allow me to patch. Out of desperation I finally allowed the launcher to patch the base game and this at last worked; it now shows in the launcher correctly as having been patched to 1.18.9.009001.
Since the game was now showing the correct patch level, I started it up and created a test family in order to make sure everything was running correctly (I had previously updated my video drivers etc). Everything looked and worked as it should, so I went ahead and installed World Adventures and patched it completely up to the latest level (using the incremental method, which has always worked for me in the past). There were no problems patching at all and the game also ran fine with another test family.
Next, I reinstalled High End Loft Stuff, and patched it completely. It also worked well and accepted all the patches up to and including the latest one. Then I installed Ambitions and began patching it as I described at the beginning of this post and found I could not get it to accept that last patch no matter what. Delphy's Patch Log Viewer no longer works, as it gives me the same error message that it did at first with my first patching problem with the base game. I also cannot find the correct rtpatch.log file to delete and thus clear the Delphy program, because there are so many (dozens and dozens) folders and patch log files in my temp folder from all this reinstalling etc that it is impossible. So I can't determine what the invalid file is that is causing the problem.
I have read every page in the wiki and game help sections that I could find on patch problems, game reinstalling, etc, etc, and I have no idea what else to try to resolve this issue. I would like to finish reinstalling the game and (including Fast Lane Stuff and Late Night) in order to play it, but it seems pointless if I can't have all the expansion packs and stuff packs properly patched. I am also leery of uninstalling and reinstalling the game a second time, because there is nothing to prevent this same series of patching errors, or even worse ones, from cropping up again.
I would therefore be very grateful for any help or advice about this issue. (And please accept my apologies for the excessively long post -- I was just attempting to explain everything). Thanks in advance.