@MisterSidternay Did you transfer the game's program files from the old laptop? If so, it would be best to repair them. For a Steam install, the option is called "Verify integrity of the game files" and is somewhere under Properties. For a disc install, you'd need to run the EA-provided Super Patch:
http://akamai.cdn.ea.com/eadownloads/u/f/sims/sims3/patches/TS3_1.67.2.0240xx_update.exe
Either one would undo the effects of the Alder Lake patch, but the patch itself shouldn't be an issue because it only affects the game in the first few seconds of loading.
Aside from that, my original questions still stand.