Thanks for your answer; I didn't know my message has been posted as EA told me they couldn't send it. I am currently trying to reinstall my game and extensions using the app. I have done a bit of cleaning first,; I'm afraid if I reinstall using the CDs, I'll run in the same problem cause you can't bypass the update.
Have a nice evening
@Jacquie06 It's important to do a clean uninstall before reinstalling the game, to remove the leftover registry entires. I would suggest Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine), like this guide, which is for Sims 4 but applies equally to Sims 3:
You can skip this step for now if you want, but if you still can't play, this would be the next thing to try.
