Sims 3 expansions packs won't install on windows 8

I am aware that others have had the same problem that I'm having, but I can't seem to find a solution in their posts. If the answer is out there, could someone please direct me to it, thank you in advance.

My problem is that I can't install my expansion packs on my new laptop, which has the windows 8.1 operating system.  I have managed to install three expansions packs, but I'm not sure how I managed the first two, and the last one, I uninstalled the base game and reinstalled it.

The base game is installed, the game is up to date on all patches, the launcher activates and the game will load on command. Although, I noticed on create a sim, the clothes had an odd mask over them, soften the colours and making them appear washed out, but it doesn't seem to affect the sim. And all of my games are on disks.

Can I please have some advice?

Thank you in advance.