I want to install The Sims 3 on my PC, but when I put the cd in it goes to Origin and it wants me log in and install it there. I don´t want to go via origin I. Is there any way I can install the game like in the old times on my PC withoute origin?
@Linkan1973KPBG To install without Origin, you'd need disc copies of all the packs you want to use, plus a base game disc manufactured before September 2012. The later ones require Origin to be present and managing the install, and you'd then also be on patch 1.69, with all that brings. (Note: It doesn't matter how old the pack discs are, just the base game.)
It sounds like your base game is probably new enough to need Origin. But if you're not sure, you can check the copyright date in the fine print on the back of the case. The newer cases also have an Origin logo on the back and/or a banner across the top of the front that says something about an online experience.
Thanks for your answer, here comes some pictures on it. Is May 2012 the date for the game?
@Linkan1973KPBG It does look like you have an original copy, or at least one that's old enough not to require Origin. I'm not sure what the May 2012 date in the readme refers to, but it could very well be the date the disc was made.
At any rate, you should be able to install without Origin. Here's how:
This is the usual path to installing via disc, and it works for almost everyone. If you run into trouble, just let me know, and I'll try to help.
After you're done, if you want to reinstall Origin, go ahead. But make sure to disable automatic game updates, and watch carefully to make sure Origin doesn't try to patch anyway. (You can cancel the update if you see it.) Some people have Origin and a disc install of Sims 3 side by side without any problems, but others find that they have to uninstall Origin or move it to a different drive to keep it from interfering.
I have done everything now until installing the basegame, but when I put the cd in to install the basegame it only wants to Origin (se pitcture). When you run the cleaner you wrote, is there anything you should select befor you run it? Am I doing something wrong perhaps?
@Linkan1973KPBG Your photo of your computer screen is too blurry for me to read. You can take a screenshot directly by clicking Windows key-shift-S and dragging your cursor over the section of screen you want to capture. Then open Paint or another image editing app, and crtl-V to paste the image.
The point of CCleaner is to remove all Sims 3-related entries from your computer's registry. The registry entries are different for disc and Origin installs, and it may be that a leftover Origin-related entry is causing the problem. I suppose if you had previously installed the EA Download Manager and hadn't effectively removed it, that could be the cause as well. But I don't know how the EADM works, or how you would go about removing it.
In case you're wondering what entries I'm talking about, the guide below lists them, in the last section (check both the disc and Origin entries). It's dicey to mess with the registry if you don't know what you're doing though, which is why a cleaner app is the usual recommendation.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-3/manually-uninstalling-the-sims-3/
Regardless, at this point, I'd use CCleaner, or maybe another tool like Revo Uninstaller, to remove all traces of Sims 3, and "EA Download Manager" or "EADM" if you can find any, and Origin as well. Then restart your computer and see how it goes.
By the way, I couldn't see the date on the back of your CD case either, with the photo being blurry, but I was guessing it said 2012. Still, the case looks like the older ones.
I have tried with everything now and we can´t install it withoute Origin, we also had a chatt with EA who could not help us. Many thanks for taking your time to try to help me!
@willowface While Steam keys can be registered and used in Origin, the opposite doesn't work—there's no way to add disc or Origin codes to Steam. If you want to play though Steam, you need to buy there as well.
I agree that a Steam install has its advantages though. For example, I don't know if you're aware, but you don't have to have Steam open to play TS3—you can open the launcher or launch the game directly through Sims3LauncherW.exe and TS3W.exe, respectively, both in the game's program files (...\The Sims 3\Game\Bin).
