@semlovessims There's no current fix for the EA App version of Sims 3. I do want to point out that CAW and EIG still work just fine with a disc install, and with a Steam install once the necessary registry edits are applied. That would of course involve giving more money to EA, directly or indirectly, unless you managed to find a secondhand disc copy of the base game that didn't require Origin to manage the install process; that means any disc manufactured prior to September 2012.
Other than that, there's unfortunately nothing to share, other than that EA is aware of the issue but probably isn't going to bother to fix it.
I have the disc's. I downloaded the codes from the boxes they came in. My PC doesnt have a Disc Reader. Could I plug in an external disc drive?
@semlovessims You could uninstall the EA App version and reinstall via disc, sure. But in order to reinstall and stay on patch 1.67, with no need for the EA App to be involved in launching the game, you'll need a base game disc that was manufactured prior to September 2012. You'll also want to uninstall the EA App from your computer before installing Sims 3.
If you want to go this route, I'd recommend using Revo Uninstaller to clean-uninstall Sims 3 so that the registry entries associated with the game are also removed. An alternative is to uninstall the normal way, then use Piriform's CCleaner to clean the registry afterwards. The free version of either app is fine. If you use Revo, and you want to preserve your saves and other user data, first go into Documents > Electronic Arts and rename the Sims 3 user folder to something that doesn't include "Sims 3," so it doesn't get flagged for deletion. You can remove the EA App with Revo as well.
You'll also need to install the correct version of CAW, the one for patch 1.67.
How can I tell how old a Sims 3 Base Game disc is? I have one, but I forgot all about this before I purchased it. I don't want to have to uninstall EVERYTHING just to check to see if I have a true 1.67 disc. *super frown*
@simmerLella The fine print on the back of the disc should have a copyright date, and 2011 and older means no mandatory Origin tie-in. The newer discs also have an Origin logo on them.
