Downloading the sims 3 onto a new mac

The easiest thing to do would be to register your codes in Origin or the Sims 3 store, which would allow you to download all of your content from Origin for free. If you still have your CD cases, those codes will be on the backs of the inserts; they're the same ones you used when you installed the game via disc. If you don't have those inserts, you can look for the codes on your old computer, or perhaps they were transferred to your new one with your other data:

https://bluebellflora.com/finding-your-serial-key-using-terminal/

If none of this works, then your only other shot would be contacting EA customer support and providing photos of your discs, cases, inserts, etc. But that takes more effort and isn't guaranteed to work.

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/

Once you've registered your codes, it's a good idea to do a clean uninstall of any files that were transferred to your new computer. If you don't remove them, those remnants could prevent you from launching the game going forward.

https://bluebellflora.com/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/

When you're ready to install, there are several steps you'll need to get TS3 running on your new mac. Bluebellflora has written a very helpful guide to installing TS3 on a mac, with descriptions of the various errors you'll need to handle:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/6984929#M13578

If you successfully launch the game only to run into a connection error, please see this post for the solution:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/Sims-3-quot-There-is-a-problem-connecting-to-the-server-quot/m-p/7113494#M14618

I know this is a lot; feel free to ask for help with any of it. Just describe which step isn't working or what you don't understand. It would also help to know the specs of your mac, as well as which packs you plan to install. Of course, you may decide to throw up your hands and Bootcamp your mac instead (as a few of us have), and we can help with that too.

One thing that I think might be worth adding here, the lack of a CD-ROM drive is not really the issue as external ones are cheap and easy to come by. But the more recent versions of the Mac OS, El Capitan and forward I believe, will not read and authenticate TS3 discs even for those who have a disc drive. Origin for Mac is the only choice in those cases, other than Bootcamp and run the Windows version of the game instead as so many of us do.

@wassup573 - I will add to the above excellent analysis that there is another reason TS3 for Mac may not be a long-term proposition. Apple is removing support for all 32-bit applications and TS3 is 32-bit only. We thought at one time that Mojave, the most recent version of the operating system, would thus be the end of TS3 for Mac for those who stay current but Apple released a stay of execution order and extended the 32-bit support for now. Currently we believe that the next OS not yet named (so probably Mac OS 10.15), again for those who stay current, will not be able to run TS3 and then the game's over unless or until one Bootcamps Windows onto the system and installs the Windows version of the game instead.

@ClO0215 The latest versions of mac OS will fail to authenticate Sims 3 discs. The solution is to register your codes in Origin and then download the game digitally. First, though, you'll need to do a clean uninstall of the disc version:

https://bluebellflora.com/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/

Then install the base game only from Origin, and run the Super Patch (digital download version) to manually patch the game to 1.67. The launcher doesn't do a good job of patching on its own.

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-manual-super-patch-for-mac-1-67/

When you install Late Night, you'll need to create an alias for it in Applications, since you probably won't get one automatically. (High-End Loft Stuff will be fine.) Creating an alias is easy enough:

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-packs-not-showing-as-installed/

Hi just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for what laptop (on a budget) would be the best to run the sims 3, if so what mac would run the game the best ?

@wassup573 If you're on a budget, you really don't want to buy a Mac for TS3. I love Macs—I'm typing on one right now—but the cheaper varieties don't come with the hardware to run TS3 properly. For a laptop, you'd need a 15" MacBook Pro to get a dedicated graphics card capable of running the most demanding packs on high graphics settings. The iMacs are a better bet; the current highest-end 21.5" model and all of the 27" ones have hardware that would handle the game just fine.

However, these models are all more expensive than their Windows counterparts with the same hardware. I would never discourage anyone who wants one from buying a Mac, but someone with budget constraints may need to consider the significant price difference. You could probably find a Windows desktop that would run the entire game for under $800 U.S. (prices will vary in other countries), and a laptop with sufficient specs might be $100 more.

None of this even takes into account that TS3 doesn't run nearly as well in Mac OS as it does in Windows. The game is a mess to get installed, but more relevantly, it can only use a maximum of 2 GB RAM before crashing, as opposed to ~3.7 GB in Windows. This is due to the way TS3 was ported into Mac OS, and the memory constraint can't be overcome. Some people can live with the RAM limit, but many of us have decided that the only way to play properly is to partition our hard drives and install Windows. (This is known as Bootcamping.) It's certainly doable, and the setup isn't all that hard to maintain. But if the point is to play TS3, it's just one more annoyance that's only necessary on a Mac.

If you'd like some help picking out a computer, list your budget and country, as well as any other features you'd like the computer to have (do you in fact want to buy a Mac, do you want a laptop or desktop, etc.) It might be better to post in the dedicated thread for new members, especially if you're not interested in a Mac anymore, but we'll find your post regardless.

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893122/thread-for-new-members-to-post-their-sims-3-game-issues#latest