Unable to install Sims 3 packs through Origin

@KNKV10  You're right, you don't need the Starter Pack to download and install your other packs.  I think the reason Origin says this is that it doesn't sell the standalone base game anymore; the Starter Pack is the only product that contains the base game, so it's the only one Origin can link to when it's telling you to purchase something else.

If you go to your game library and click on the Sims 3 icon, you should see dropdown menus at the bottom of the screen.  Select More > Expansion Packs, and you should see a Download button under University Life.  If clicking the button doesn't do anything, and the workarounds I posted don't help either, then there are a few more approaches you could try:

• Right-click on the TS3 icon in your game library and select Repair Game.
• Go to Application Settings > Application, turn on automatic game updates, quit Origin and sign back in, and try Repair Game again.
• Run Origin as an admin
• Temporarily disable your antivirus or firewall program
• Enable Safe Mode downloading (in Application Settings > Diagnostics)
• Clear Origin's cache again, and then retry these steps.

So far, we don't know for sure that any of these approaches work reliably.  If one of them helps you, please post back and let us know so that we can start recommending it to all the other players with this issue.

@puzzlezaddict

So I tried out the new steps you gave.

• The first one you gave me was repairing the game which didn't work. Though I did have hope for it as it did show University Life in the Download Manager (picture below).
• The second one was to turn off automatic game updates, quit Origin and sigh back in and then click Repair Game again. That didn't work as well. Then I tried opening the game and for a split second it showed University Life under the packs.
• Running Origin as admin did nothing as well.
• Temporarily disabling my anitvirus or firewall program didn't work either. 
• Enabling Safe Mode Downloading didn't work too, but I did discover something else while doing this. In Origin looking through the expansion packs I saw that it didn't display the Seasons pack as downloaded when in game it displayed it as downloaded. I then thought about checking what expansion packs did it even display when looking through them in game. I then discovered a new thing. This time the other way around. In Origin the Pets expansion pack was downloaded, but in game it was not displayed.

I'm going to sleep for now, but I'll clear Origin's cache and retry these steps when I wake up.

@XxTheHolyBiblexX @aridridge @KNKV10 @BoredNeko19  There may be a workaround for this issue.

When you open Origin, hover over your username and select Application Settings.  Under Application (the first tab), turn on automatic game updates.  Then go to your game library, right-click on the Sims 3 icon, and select Repair Game.  When it's done, exit Origin and launch it again.  After you sign in, any packs you haven't installed should start downloading automatically.

If this doesn't work, turn off automatic game updates, quit, turn on the updates again, and then do the Repair Game.

Hopefully, this will work for you, and you'll be able to install your missing packs.  Either way, please let us know how it wemt.

@KNKV10  I'm sorry to hear that.  So even when the game appears in the download cache, it never starts to download?  What if you cancel all the other downloads in line?  Or was that previous screenshot just of the Repair Cache queue?  Because the only packs that get repaired are the ones that are already installed.

If UL is already installed (whether that install is functional or not),you may have a folder for the pack inside Program Files.  On a 64-bit system, it'll be in Program Files (x86)\Origin Games.  You should have a key for it in your registry.  Messing with the registry is serious business, and I wouldn't suggest deleting anything unless you're comfortable with what you're doing.  But you can certainly look for your TS3 keys:

Hit Windows key-R and type regedit into the box.  Then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SOFTWARE, then Wow6432Node (64-bit only), then Sims.  Is there an entry for UL?  Then close the Sims folder and expand Microsoft, then Windows, then CurrentVersion, then Uninstall.  You'll see a series of keys labeled {C05D8CDB-417D-4335-A38C-A0659EDFD6B8}.  Hover over each of them to see which packs they correspond to.  (The one without a suffix is for the base game.)

If there are entries for UL, you might need to clean your registry.  It's best to do so with a tool like Piriform's CCleaner (free download), unless you're confident you can handle it yourself.  Then you can clear Origin's cache and try to download UL again.

I normally play on my desktop but I don't have access to that right now so decided to download the game onto my Alienware 15R3 laptop. Three expansions and one stuff pack won't show as downloaded. You can see in the attached picture that they are listed as complete, yet Origin doesn't recognize they are there. I cleared the cache, ran in administrator, manually uninstalled, everything I've found as a suggestion for this issue and nothing has changed. 

In case the picture doesn't load or something the packs I'm having trouble with are Pets, University Life, Seasons, and 70's, 80's & 90's Stuff. I own all the expansions and stuff packs other than Fast Lane and Diesel. The ones not working are normal versions, not limited edition.

@frozenorangejuic  I've moved your post to this thread because it's more recent, and more relevant—there's a potential workaround for this issue.

Specifically, in Origin, go to Application Settings > Application, disable automatic game updates, and quit.  (I'm not sure this first step matters, but Origin can be fussy, and I don't want to give it excuses to act up.)  Then launch Origin again, enable automatic game updates, go to your game library, click on the TS3 icon, and select Repair Game.  Exit Origin again, launch it, and you should be offered the missing downloads automatically.

If this doesn't work, maybe you somehow have an incomplete install, or at least a couple of extraneous files.  Are the missing packs listed when you run the Repair Game?  If so, Origin thinks they're already installed.  You may need to uninstall them before repeating the above process.  Before reinstalling, be sure to clean the registry, either manually or with a tool like Piriform's CCleaner.

I've actually already tried that. Yes they are listed when repairing. I haven't cleaned the registery but I haven't played it either. After installing this game three times already in the past two days I'm hesitant to give that a try since I don't see how it would be necessary.

@puzzlezaddict Tried all of that too. Didnt work

@frozenorangejuic and @KNKV10  Honestly, I'm not sure what else to suggest.  I borrowed someone else's computer a week ago and was able to reproduce the error, and then I consistently fixed it with the workaround I described.  But of course there could be more than one cause of the issue.  The laptop I was using had never had a TS3 install, and there were no extra game files or registry entries (and I checked for both when I was done as well).  I did clear Origin's cache once, before I figured out how to force the broken downloads.  But I didn't have to fiddle with the other Origin options (like safe mode downloads or a metered connection), or any other approach besides the ones I've mentioned.

It's not that I expect any of that to help; it's just a long way of saying that I don't know what else to do, either.  This issue has been around for months, and a couple of approaches have worked temporarily, but (as you've seen) there's no true fix yet.  Until EA offers one, we're stuck trying whatever we can think of and hoping we stumble on something that helps.

I want you to know that I've been sending this information along to the CMs, not that they're the ones who would be able to fix the issue.  But I'll continue to bug whoever I can find until there's a fix.  I'm sorry I can't do more, and I wish I had some better ideas to pass along.  I appreciate your reporting back that nothing has worked, and I want to especially thank @KNKV10 for your persistence and willingness to try every potential workaround I've suggested.  I do believe it's helpful, although of course I won't know until there's an official fix.

Anyway, I really wish I could help more, and as soon as I have anything, I'll be sure to let you know.