Hi there

Never posted here before, so I hope I'm doing this right... Anywayy.

Since I installed The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection, I have tried to transfer my previous saved game from an older machine (which runs Win XP). This has worked before when the game was reinstalled on said computer and a backup of the saved game replaced the new default files. My problem now is that this does not seem to work when the files are transferred over to another machine. My neighborhood (N001, Pleasantview) will not work. I've tried to replace all the files, but then Pleasantview disappears from the game. When I added the files without replacing the ones that were already in the folders, nothing new shows up in the game. (Btw, I did try to add my old downloads to the download folder, and they showed up perfectly.) I also tried to copy the default neighborhood and changing the names of the files (so the whole thing was copied and appeared as two separate copies of Pleasantview in the game) worked, until I introduced the old files and everything again disappeared.

I wonder if it's the game that does not accept that the older files are added. On the old machine I did not install about 1/4 of additional packages that The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection contains (including Pets, Open for Business and most stuff packs). Could this be the problem?

When I bought the newer PC half a year ago I was also promised that Win 8 should be able to install all games intended for WinXP, including the Sims 2, which has proved to be wrong so far (Although if you have a miracle method to install The Sims 2 on Win8 using the disks and not Origins Ultimate Collection please feel free to argue )

I really hope that someone knows how to fix this. I feel like I've tried everything but I'm not ready to say goodbye to my beloved sims yet and my old computer has been dying since 2008 xD

Thank you for reading and have a nice day.

- Toffnm

Try this, remove the UC Sims 2 folder from your My Doc. and let the game gen up a new one and then remove all the Neighborhood folders and then place your old Neighborhoods in and then delete the NeighborhoodManager and see what happens.

Windows 8 has a bad habit of making all folder read only and you need to change your My Doc for Sims 2 to both read and write. Some times you also need to change the Programs folder for Sims 2 to both read and write.

Did you have the store edition installed on your old computer?

Maybe a read through this thread will help "How to make The Sims 2 Work in Windows 8" http://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=500523

Also, make sure you always delete the existing neighbourhood files before pasting yours over. Don't ever copy neighbourhood files on top of an existing neighbourhood, that'll definitely break the 'hood.

I tried this and also the read and write thing, and now I've got no neighborhoods at all What am I doing wrong?

You may be putting them in the wrong folder for both windows 7 and 8 make 2 of them. Make sure you are putting them in the folder that has all the other folders in it and not the empty one.

Documents/EA Games/Sims2UC/Neighborhoods, right?

Yes that is the right path.

Try and delete the NeighborhoodManager file and then restart your computer and then try the game.

Hmm, that did not work. What if I uninstalled the UC and then just use the tutorial you linked to try and install the disks. Would it be easier to use the neighborhoods there, you think? Since they're the same games I used before?

Ok start up Origin and right click on UC icon and do a repair on it and then keep on right clicking on UC and do the updates until it tells you UC is up to date. (There should be at least 10 updates.)

You also still need to check if you had Store Edition on your old computer, as that's one of the things which is known to cause neighbourhoods to not show up.

I did not have that.

I contacted EA Norway and got a mail back the same day. The guy said that he did not think that you could transfer files from an old pc with only some of the expansion packs installed, to a new one where all the packs were installed, and expect the files to work.