Community ManagerTry also installing IE9 as this can sometimes help.
If it does not, try Andromache's suggestion here: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/Error-code-5006-when-trying-to-update-Sims-3/m-p/1877181/highlight/true#M96257
I'm not ready to install a patch that users report is messing up their game. I'm just confused as to why there's no direct answer to a problem that is obviously affecting quite a few people. The game is not for me but a friend , so I won't keep trying desperate steps unless someones can tell me from their experience what has actually solved this problem before, as I cannot see anyone who has actually posted to say that a particular method worked...
There are certain errors that don't have one solutions that works for everyone cause on PC, everyone has a different setup.
What game version does the game currently have ?
It's version 1.0.631.00002, and another note is that it says there's a software update available when the game starts, but once I download the update it still says there's an update available. It's a 1.6Gb update.
Yeah, you do need a certain patch level to install generations while your game is unpatched.
Try downloading the patch manually here:
http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/FAQ-Patch-1-67/td-p/67858/
