@cyberpunk309 There isn't any information that says this patch only works with Windows 10 and 11, but I wouldn't be surprised. I do see that your graphics driver is from 2020, and Nvidia offers a newer driver for Windows 7. So go here:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/
Select GeForce, GTX 16 series, GTX 1660, Windows 7, and download the Game Ready Driver. Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator." Restart your computer after installing and before trying to play.
If you still can't, please look for new errors in the Reliability Monitor. Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each day. Today is on the right.
Look for an error that happened at exactly the time of your most recent attempt to launch Sims 3, specifically after reinstalling the driver. If you find one, double-click it to see more details, then copy that info and paste it into a reply here. If you don't see a new error, check back in an hour or so—the Reliability Monitor doesn't always update right away.
Could not run patch as administrator.
@cyberpunk309 It's not a patch, it's an installer for the graphics driver. What happens when you try to run it as an admin?
As a side note, you can run it NOT as an admin if you want; it's just not quite as reliable that way. But it's still fine most of the time.
Still did not work. I plan to get a new computer soon. I will wait until then.
Thanks for all your help though.
@cyberpunk309 Alright, let me know if you need help setting up the new computer, or you change your mind about troubleshooting on this one. Also, when you're shopping for the new computer, feel free to ask for help here, whether it's advice what to buy or a second opinion on whatever you've already picked out.
@cyberpunk309 If you want to try something else, I wrote this out for two other users who also can't run Sims 3 on Windows 7 anymore:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-patch-Jan-13-2025/m-p/14411882#M268025
