Hello all.

I currently have The Sims: Double Deluxe, the Sims: Open For Business, the Sims: Pets and the Sims: Seasons installed. However, when I attempt to install University, Freetime, Apartment Life, Fashion Stuff or Bon Voyage, I have the following occur: the installation runs up to 100% - and then a pop-up box occurs with the message, "This product will now ensure your existing installation is up to date."

Almost immediately after, it comes up with "Installation terminated".

I've already removed my mods from my downloads folder and downloaded the patches for the games I have. I've patched each of them. The error message is still coming up.

I have some lots that I really don't want to lose, and though I've read the guides on backing up data, I'm not sure how to go about it. I also have The Sims: Double Deluxe stored in a different directory to the rest of my expansion/stuff packs, and without uninstalling it, I can't see how I'm going to be able to move it.

So:

1: Is there a way around this error issue?

2: If not, how do I back up my lots so that I can uninstall everything and reinstall it?

3: Is there anything else I should be doing or checking on?


Thank you all for your time and, hopefully, your help!

Try and re-patch your stand alone EP's then try to install one of them and make sure you patch afterwards any stand alone EP's.

Patch these "Open For Business, the Sims: Pets and the Sims: Seasons"

Now that I read all of your post.

First to make a back up all you have to do is copy "C:\Users\Asus Game\Documents\EA Games\TheSims2" folder to your desk top.

Then having your EP's in a dif. place than the game is more than likely your problem.
Try and un-install ever thing and restart your computer and then install all and let it chose where to put the files.
Patch all Stand alone EP's as you install them.

After reinstalling the game and all EP's and patching as you go, start up the game and let it gen. up the new "C:\Users\Asus Game\Documents\EA Games\TheSims2 folder" then delete it and place your back up in its place.

Installing EPs in different directories is not the problem. If you installed them in the same directory, that would be a problem. Equally, as long as they're installed on an internal drive and the games still run fine, installing in a non-default location is a good idea.

Are you on Windows 8?

I took this as player installed DD some where else other than "C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES" and the EP's were installed to "C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES"

The Sims installed in the following directory: C:\Users\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2

The others installed in: C:\Program Files\EA GAMES

Each of them has a separate folder, such as C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff and C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Mansion and Garden Stuff.

I'm running Windows Vista, unfortunately.

I'm still confused about backing up. I've made a copy of my original Sims folder and I've kept it in a sub-folder of Documents. When I uninstall it, won't I lose all of that data?

Forgive me for being so ignorant of all of this. I'm trying to learn, but really, it seems like I've made so many mistakes that it's almost not worth attempting to fix them all. Almost.

Edit : the only thing that is stopping me from uninstalling everything and starting again is the existence of about three lots that I would be loathe to lose. That, and the fact that I'm not certain if it would fix the issue.

The files in Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 are not the basegame installation files - at least I really hope they aren't - they are your user files. If you have lots you don't want to lose, backup that folder before reinstalling.

Unless you told the installer to install somewhere else, your basegame install files are in Program Files (x86)/EA Games/The Sims 2 Double Deluxe/Base. If you did tell the installer to install the program files for basegame into Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2, then that would be why things are broken, and you'll need to reinstall.

Installing one (or more) EPs in Program Files and others elsewhere doesn't cause a problem, as long as the install location has a fixed path and isn't your userdata directory.

Alright.

I re-downloaded each of the patches and ran all of the ones that I could. This time the error message came up as "The update was unsuccessful. This installation will now terminate," which is... different to what it was.

> Install
> "This product will now ensure your existing installation is up to date
> "The update was unsuccessful"

Between steps two and three, I attempted to patch the game - University - but it didn't work.

I'm out of ideas. Someone. Help. Please.D:

I just reinstalled all my Sims 2 ep's yesterday. Here's the order I did mine:

The Sims 2

PATCH

University

PATCH <------ (message saying already up to date when I tried to run the Uni patch)

Nightlife

PATCH

Open for Business

PATCH

Family Fun Stuff

PATCH

Glamour Life Stuff

Pets

PATCH

Happy Holiday Stuff

Seasons

PATCH

H&M Fashion Stuff

Bon Voyage

PATCH

FreeTime

PATCH

Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff

IKEA Home Stuff

Apartment Life

PATCH

Mansion & Garden Stuff

I expected a huge mess when I was done because of all the weird messages I was getting along the way. Like, all the way up till Mansion & Garden Stuff, almost every install of every EP ended with a message saying I couldn't run the game till I inserted the disk... which was already in the computer, plus I kept getting popups about TS2 not being compatible with W7. It was frustrating doing all the work and figuring at the end I wouldn't be able to play anyway, but the game's running fine.

I don't know if it made a difference, but I ran the patches as administrator. Also, for each EP/SP, I finished the install process, the message would pop up saying the game would be checked to make sure it was up to date, and it always said "already up to date" even though I still had a patch to run (and which would update the game, so obviously it wasn't really up to date).

So... install Sims 2, let it finish and check to see if it's up to date if it asks to, just finish out the whole process, THEN run the patch. Then move on to the next EP. The only patch that didn't seem to take for me was University.

Hopefully, this makes sense. I tend to ramble lol

Edit: I have no idea why my list up there is all crammed together with links and whatnot... sorry about that. Not as easy to follow without the line breaks.

Merry Christmas from Australia!

I've found out what a mess I made when I originally installed everything, so I'm weeding through it and uninstalling as I go. I have the folder backed up, as advised, and hopefully once I've figured everything out I'll be able to start again with a clean slate. Thank you all for the help so far and wish me luck. I'll report back on my success later. Fingers crossed...

Edit: I've successfully installed all of my games - Base, Uni, Nightlife, OFB, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Freetime, Apartment Life, Family fun, Fashion, Teen Style and IKEA - except for Mansion and Garden. It brings up the original error message, and in addition, my anti-virus software brings up a message during the installation warning that it's "stopped a known bad file from opening". I'm not sure where to go from here. It's a pity, because I like Mansion and Garden. I actually have two copies of the disc and I've attempted it on both, but the error message and anti-virus message persist.

Second Edit: I added the troublesome file to the "exception" list of my anti-virus, redownloaded and repatched Free Time, and it works! Finally! Thank you all for your help!