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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th Jul 2011 at 9:37 PM
Default Problems with both CleanInstaller & Mods
For several yrs, I had Windows Vista & your cleanpack installer worked great in getting downloads & custom content to work in my game. However, my hard drive & graphics card both crashed at once, so I was forced to get new ones, & the new hard drive is Windows 7. Not only did I have a difficult time installing Sims 2 itself (the neighborhoods didn't even show up until I got "Seasons" put in, (I got all the expansion packs), but the cleanInstaller hardly works at all now.

I also feel stupid now b/c I put in an older cleanpack installer to see if I could get it to help out w/ the mods, but only a third of my objects show up, & the only hairstyles & clothing mods that show up are things I downloaded from the Sims2 Exchange

Then I tried installing your new cleanInstaller and the computer keeps complaining that the old one is still there, even though I got rid of as many files from it as possible. Please help me before I go loco!

I got the same problem when I put in the no-install version of your latest cleanInstaller mod-only Sims exchange items and a third of the objects show up. What is going on here?!

And one more thing, when I tried installing that netFramework thing u mentioned to go with the newest installer, it said it doesn't support a Windows 7 64-bit. Please to GOD tell me what I'm doing wrong! I miss playing Sims 2 very much and haven't been able to do it very well for nearly 4 months

Please help me. I really miss Sims 2. Sims 3 doesn't hold a candle to it.
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Site Helper
#2 Old 18th Jul 2011 at 9:49 PM
To uninstall, try this:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=217787

Don't worry about .NET. A newer version comes with Windows 7 and it's supposed to be backwards compatible, so there should be no problems. The fact that you are able to run the no-install version bears this out; it would not run without a valid version of .NET.

Could you give me a link to one of the downloads that doesn't work?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 12th Sep 2011 at 7:45 PM
Default Packaged Files
Actually, now that u mention it, I need to add some details to my first posting. For some reason, when I installed my games, the neighborhoods were already set up exactly as I'd done a few months before the crash. I was a little creeped out, b/c I hadn't even installed anything yet, tho I'd transferred my downloads & packaged files into the new system, but NOT into the game itself.
None of my Saved Sims items shows up, like hair, clothes, genetics, etc, except for what was in packaged characters I either made or downloaded from the exchange. I don't understand what's going on here.
I also realized after a while that the only objects showing up are items that were packaged along with my custom houses that I packaged in my last computer.
Maybe u can clarify about the packaged mods.
Should I uninstall the game & put all my downloads on another hard drive? That's where I back-up my files, on an external hard drive.
It seems as if the cleanpack is ONLY reading objects and clothing mods in packaged files. So how can I get it to read stuff that ISN'T in packages?
Site Helper
#4 Old 12th Sep 2011 at 11:48 PM
It's difficult to tell what you're doing. You're going to have to be more clear about exactly what you're doing and the results of those actions. It might also help to attach screenshots, so that we can try to figure out what you're doing.

Quote: Originally posted by LadyAquanine73551
For some reason, when I installed my games, the neighborhoods were already set up exactly as I'd done a few months before the crash. I was a little creeped out, b/c I hadn't even installed anything yet, tho I'd transferred my downloads & packaged files into the new system, but NOT into the game itself.
Exactly how did you transfer your downloads and packaged files into the new system without transferring them into the game itself? Give specifics, such as full path names.

Quote: Originally posted by LadyAquanine73551
None of my Saved Sims items shows up, like hair, clothes, genetics, etc, except for what was in packaged characters I either made or downloaded from the exchange. I don't understand what's going on here.
When you say that they "show up", exactly what do you mean? Do they show up in the game? Do they show up in Body Shop? Do they show up in Windows Explorer? Do they show up in the Clean Installer window when you browse your Downloads folder? Do they show up in the Clean Installer when you double click on a Sims2Pack? I honestly don't understand what you're trying to do.

Quote: Originally posted by LadyAquanine73551
It seems as if the cleanpack is ONLY reading objects and clothing mods in packaged files. So how can I get it to read stuff that ISN'T in packages?
When you say "packaged files", are you talking about Sims2Pack files? Because that's what people mean by that phrase.

Or, are you talking about files with ".package" file extensions?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 13th Sep 2011 at 11:25 PM
Default Part I
[QUOTE=Mootilda]It's difficult to tell what you're doing. You're going to have to be more clear about exactly what you're doing and the results of those actions. It might also help to attach screenshots, so that we can try to figure out what you're doing.

Exactly how did you transfer your downloads and packaged files into the new system without transferring them into the game itself? Give specifics, such as full path names.

First of all, thank u for answering so quickly This is a somewhat complicated problem and I'm grateful ur making the effort 2 help. I really miss playing the Sims 2 properly. I'll answer in parts, to make things a little clearer, (especially for myself).

Part I

When I first installed the Sims 2 on my last hard drive (a windows Vista), and started installing mods, I followed the instructions on Parsimonious on keeping a file on the path:

Computer/Local Disk (C/Users/My Documents/EA games/The Sims 2

In there, I had 2 files I used for my stuff. "Downloads" for objects & modifications, and "Saved Sims" for hair, clothes, genetics, skintones, etc.

I had copies of all the downloaded custom files in a separate folder so I could organize & b able to find them again, should I ever need to re-install the game. It is in this path now for my Windows 7:

Computer/Local Disk (C/Users/user/My Documents/Sims 2 files

When I transferred these files to my external hard drive when the old hard drive was on its last leg, I put them in the User section. I put them in that chain of files on the new Windows 7 Hard drive when I unloaded them from the external. I never installed any of it into my game, b/c my Sims 2 had not been put on my Windows 7 yet. It just sat there while I was doing other stuff. Plus, it's a matter of logic. You can't install custom content on a game that isn't there.

There were packaged files included in that 2nd folder, such as Sims Exchange characters I'd downloaded online, neighborhoods, the few custom characters I was able to make b4 my Body Shop quit booting up from too much stuff, and houses I'd constructed in the game.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 13th Sep 2011 at 11:45 PM
Default Part II
When you say that they "show up", exactly what do you mean? Do they show up in the game? Do they show up in Body Shop? Do they show up in Windows Explorer? Do they show up in the Clean Installer window when you browse your Downloads folder? Do they show up in the Clean Installer when you double click on a Sims2Pack? I honestly don't understand what you're trying to do.

Before I newly installed the Sims 2 & all the expansion packs on my new hard drive, I transferred over the custom stuff to a separate folder on Windows 7 from my external, but DID NOT install anything custom in the game.

I discovered these things soon after ONLY installing the Sims 2, BEFORE adding anything to the game at all. It was really creepy, I'll tell you.

I then proceeded to add into the "Downloads" & "Saved Sims" folders stuff that had been copied into my extra folder, and NOTHING mentioned below changed.

With clothing, genetics and hair, stuff that was included in custom characters from the Body Shop & characters I downloaded from the Sims Exchange, those all show up in the CAS, the workshop in the game where you can make families. (I haven't been able to use the body shop in ages). The codes for these select items show up on the Cleanpack Installer when it's reading files as well. But clothes, hair, genetics, body items that were NOT in those packages do not show up in the CAS. And believe me, I quit downloading whole sims from the Sims Exchange b/c too many of them were crashing my game. It was safer to download the clothes & hair separately, once I found the right sites.

With objects; things such as furniture, decorations, wallpaper, cars, all that stuff that was included with the custom houses I built and packaged in the game (another way to back up my stuff in case of game crashes), only those items showed up in Buy Mode in the game as custom objects. And believe me, I have TONS more stuff than was just in the few custom houses & buildings I made. The Cleanpack Installer reads those too, but NOT the other objects I have.

I also had copies of the neighborhoods I was playing in, b/c I heard somewhere on the Sims 2 sites that you could save copies of whole neighborhoods. I had it all organized into separate folders in the separate folder I told u of in the last post.

It's almost as if some of that stuff had been imprinted on my game somehow. Weird
Site Helper
#7 Old 13th Sep 2011 at 11:46 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 14th Sep 2011 at 12:05 AM.
Actually, you can install things into a non-existent game by adding files to My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2. When you subsequently install the game, it may read those files. I say "may" because the game may decide to delete your files, or it may decide to restore them to defaults, or it may decide to use them, depending upon EA game logic. I wouldn't count on any specific behavior, but I wouldn't be surprised by any of those behaviors either.

Once your game has been installed and run once, you should be able to copy files to My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 and they should show up correctly.

I would not expect to see anything in your game that was installed in a completely different folder (outside of My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2); if that's what you're seeing, then something very odd is happening to your game.

However, that still doesn't explain what your problem is.

Are you having problems seeing things in the game? If so, have you worked through these tutorials?
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...Fracking_Idiots
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:GCCTSU

Do you have the exact same EPs and SPs installed as you did on your original machine? If not, some of your CC may not be compatible with your current configuration.

Is it possible that you had some CC installed in Program Files, rather than My Documents? If so, then it would obviously be missing from a backup of My Documents.

Are you adding your backup CC to new CC that you've downloaded since the backup? If so, there's a possibility that you have conflicting CC.

Are you saying that .package files show up in the game, but .Sims2Pack files do not?

As you can see, I'm still having problems understanding your problem.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#8 Old 14th Sep 2011 at 5:15 PM
Default Got an Idea
I'm gonna try an experiment. I'll put all my mod folders back in the external hard drive, & uninstall Sims 2. I've got all the games, from the Sims Deluxe, (Original game, plus Nightlife & Celebration Stuff together), all the way up to Mansion & Garden stuff.

If what you say is true, perhaps it's merely a matter of letting the game install without any files to grab & make it act goofy. So, I'll move all the modded folders to the external & OFF my main drive, & install the Sims 2 by itself.
You said it only needs to run normally with no mods b4 trying to add stuff. Maybe it was the mere presence of my mods w/ similar files that was screwing things up. So I'll try that. I can't do it today b/c I'm gonna be gone at college all day, but I could attempt it tomorrow. I'll let you know how the first step (install the game by itself) goes. Then we can take it from there
Site Helper
#9 Old 14th Sep 2011 at 5:50 PM
That sounds like a very reasonable plan. Also, make sure that you have CC enabled. You may have to exit the game once after enabling CC before the CC shows up in-game.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#10 Old 12th Oct 2011 at 4:14 PM
Default Phase 1 Complete
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
That sounds like a very reasonable plan. Also, make sure that you have CC enabled. You may have to exit the game once after enabling CC before the CC shows up in-game.


Hey, srry I haven't replied in a month. I had a problem w/ my security program on my PC & couldn't really install the Sims 2 b/c I was forced to keep the internet signal off until the problem could be fixed by Geek Squad. (Long story, has nothing to do w/ the Sims 2, tho it prevented me from doing what I said I was gonna do).

I took all the download folders & put them on my external, & re-installed the Sims 2 (everything, including the stuff packs). It works just fine, but now the clean-installer won't read any download files I put in yesterday. I don't understand what the problem is. The files are RIGHT THERE.
Site Helper
#11 Old 12th Oct 2011 at 7:28 PM
The most likely explanation is that you are using the wrong Clean Installer mode. It has a mode for looking at package files within a folder, which is accessed by running the Clean Installer and Browsing to the folder. It has a mode for installing Sims2Pack files, which is accessed by double clicking on the Sims2Pack file in Windows Explorer (assuming that you have the file associations set correctly). It has a mode for installing all packages and Sims2Pack files in a folder, including those within zip and rar files, which is accessed by right clicking on the folder and selecting "Install all" from the context menu. Are you using the first mode?

The next most likely explanation is that you are looking at the wrong folder. If you are using the first mode, are you sure that you are browsing to the correct folder?

I still don't understand what you're doing, which makes it difficult to help you. Basically, I need a lot more information about the exact steps that you're following. Let's try this: Try getting the Clean Installer to show you the files. Take a picture of your folders in Windows Explorer, and then take pictures of each screen that the Clean Installer shows you as you try to view your files. Attach all of those pictures here.

Also, when quoting me, it would be helpful if you could use [ quote ] tags, as explained here:
http://www.modthesims.info/misc.php?do=bbcode

Without the QUOTE tags, it's difficult to follow the conversation that we've had so far. The quote tags will make my quotes more obvious, which will help me to find your answers.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 20th Oct 2011 at 6:04 PM Last edited by LadyAquanine73551 : 20th Oct 2011 at 6:05 PM. Reason: images
Default Pictures
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
I still don't understand what you're doing, which makes it difficult to help you. Basically, I need a lot more information about the exact steps that you're following. Let's try this: Try getting the Clean Installer to show you the files. Take a picture of your folders in Windows Explorer, and then take pictures of each screen that the Clean Installer shows you as you try to view your files. Attach all of those pictures here.


First of all, I want to thank u for being so patient. This problem has been very stressful on both of us & I'll scream many praises when we find a solution.

Now, I feel so dumb b/c I should have sent u pictures in the first place :S Here they are.

This is where I keep my mods folders. I left out all the packaged files I mentioned in earlier posts. They're still on my external hard drive:
[IMG]Problem 1[/IMG]

This is Sims2cleanpack I've been using. It's a sub-folder in the first picture.
[IMG]Problem 2[/IMG]

Here's the No-install version, since I can't get rid of the earlier cleanpack installer I put in earlier this year:
[IMG]Problem 3[/IMG]

Here are the files it gives me within the above folder:
[IMG]Problem 4[/IMG]

This file area links up directly with my games. I was using instructions that Parsimonious had given out a few yrs ago, though I'm starting to think whoever runs that site needs to update their information.
[IMG]Problem 5[/IMG]

Here's what's in the Downloads folder (I grouped them by name so the list wouldn't be so long):
[IMG]Problem 6[/IMG]

And Here's what's in the Saved Sims folder:
[IMG]Problem 7[/IMG]

But here's what the no-install cleanpack says is in those files:
[IMG]Problem 9[/IMG]
[IMG]Problem 10[/IMG]
Site Helper
#13 Old 20th Oct 2011 at 7:12 PM
Could I please see what's in at least one of the subfolders of your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads folder? From the pictures, I can see that you have a lot of files in those subfolders, but I can't see any of the files themselves. It definitely looks like the files are in a format which is not recognized by the Clean Installer.

I also notice that you have some fairly large cache files. You might want to clear them all:
http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php...ete_Cache_Files

Note that clearing caches should not affect the Clean Installer, but will affect what you see in-game.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#14 Old 1st Nov 2011 at 10:06 PM
Default Return
Hey, I'm back. Had to deal w/ College, tho I've returned.

Good idea. Back when I played Sims 2 on my Windows Vista, sometimes I had to delete the groups cache file b/c the game wouldn't start sometimes. Figured out how to fix the prob when looking at one of those Sims 2 wiki articles. (If only this problem were just as easy, *sigh*). Anyway, deleted that cache file u mentioned. The 1 w/ 11,000 KB of data.

Here's a picture of some of the files in the downloads section. It's mostly just objects, a few mods, & some Sims Exchange stuff I downloaded yrs ago. Tho I'm starting to understand something u mentioned earlier, about files being in a certain format.

One problem I ran into with the clean-installer involved the files themselves. On Windows Vista, I found I could right-click on just one of my download files, and in the drag-out menu, it let me open it with..... And I clicked on the clean-installer, and chose the option to open all files just like the download (hence the Sims 2 objects, mods, clothes, & genetics) with the clean-installer program. On this system [Windows 7], it would not let me choose the no-install clean-installer

I tried programming them to open w/ the most recent clean-installer program, (not the no-install, it's in one of my previous pictures, and in the same file folder), but since it can't work, no files are showing up in the game.
Screenshots
Site Helper
#15 Old 1st Nov 2011 at 10:41 PM
You have me stumped...

Perhaps the Clean Installer is looking in the wrong place. Try selecting Browse from the Clean Installer drop down (where it currently says Downloads) and navigate to the folder manually, just to make sure that it's looking at the same folder that we are.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#16 Old 2nd Nov 2011 at 5:18 PM
Default New Idea
I got a new idea. U've heard the phrase "I help those who help themselves," rt?

B4 I first posted my problem here, I was looking at a thread that might b useful. It's here

The idea is, I could try & find the older Clean Installer pack that I put in, & try using the options mentioned in that thread to remove the old program. I believe it was a 1.5 version anyway, so that narrows down the old program.

I also think 1 problem the newest CleanPack has is the fact that I deleted the old program, rather than uninstalling it (I didn't know about this problem at the time). So if it's available to uninstall, maybe the newer program can work.

I also wanted to try this:

Quote:
-Start (All Programs)
-Computer/OS/ProgramFiles (x86)
-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/APPLICATIONS
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE
-Users/(MyName)/AppData/Local/Temp


It said in the thread that I could find these files if I turned off user-control & re-started the computer. Then, once deleted, I could go back & re-boot the PC w/ user-control re-instated.

I could also do this w/ every old clean-installer until the one that's preventing the new 1.6.16 version is gone.

U think this might work?

On the bright side, my Sims 2 game works now, it's just got the basic stuff from the game & expansion packs
Site Helper
#17 Old 2nd Nov 2011 at 7:02 PM
Those are all of the locations where the Sims2Pack Clean Installer installs things.

Be careful when editing your registry, since you can stop your computer from working if you delete the wrong things. Your best bet is to backup the entire registry before removing anything.

Instructions for backing up and removing the entries from your registry are in the very first link that I gave you.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#18 Old 24th Nov 2011 at 6:14 PM
Default Success!
I have wonderful news I finally solved several problems & got the downloads for the game to work. I'll show how I did it too.

1.) CleanInstaller

All the latest program needed was something to uninstall so it could be installed itself. I merely downloaded version 1.5 because I think that was the one I originally used when I first started playing Sims 2 & adding custom content. A yr ago I thought deleting it was the only way to get rid of it. Not so! I just had to leave it alone & let the new version write over it. Case closed

2.) The right Directory

I had to figure out what directory to use. It had been a real problem for me b/c I couldn't figure out what directory path the CleanInstaller was reading the custom content in. It wasn't until one night, I was looking at the instructions from Parsimonious again, and tried looking for other directories that had EA Games in them. The Color Enable Package gave me the clue. It had been depositing in this path:

Libraries/Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Downloads

Apparently that's the directory Windows 7 uses, rather than the User directory Windows Vista & XP use.

3.) Packaged Mystery

I realized when fiddling with the CleanInstaller, that my Packaged neighborhoods, houses, and Sims were only showing up b/c somehow, I'd programmed the installer to open them up automatically, and having them available in my documents when the games were installed posed problems simply by being there. So, putting the packaged files back into the external hard drive helped, as well as installing that new CleanPack and re-installing the base Sims 2 games.

4.) Default

Lastly, I chose a default program to open any Sims 2 Custom content, and chose the current CleanPack Installer.

Thanks a million times Mootilda *hugs* You helped me think this through & I'm eternally grateful It's so much fun being able to play the Sims 2 again!
Site Helper
#19 Old 24th Nov 2011 at 6:46 PM
I'm so glad that you got it working. Good job!
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