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Anonymous's avatar
Anonymous
8 years ago

Uninstall Sims 3 and expansions without the uninstall program of Sims 3

Hello,

I'm sorry for my English, I'm from Belgium and my English isn't that great.

I have troubles with mij last expansion pack (Sims 3 Pets). It keeps saying I have to insert the game-disk before playing. But my disk is inserted! When I opened the game with Origin, the error came at the start program. When I insert the disk, the error shows up after the game launched. 

I've called with the EA-help service for a solution. The only thing they said is that I have to delete all of my games including accessories and expansion packs of the Sims 3 along with Origin. Then I had to install everything again, but only with Origin, not with the disks. If someone has another solution, please feel free to shout it out! :-)

My problem is now that:

1. I can't use the uninstall program of the Sims 3 to delete all my games. It shows an error saying: "This program cannot be opened, because it is damaged or incomplete." How can I delete the Sims 3 and all the packages without the official uninstalling program? I've heard that dragging the icons of the games into the trash bag is not an option, because that's the wrong way to delete them and it could cause problems when reinstalling them.

2. I bought soms of the accessories and expansions packs second hand. When I want to put them in to Origin, it says the codes all already in use. Can I do something about it? Can the seller delete those codes from his account so I can put them in mine? The seller is willing to help me though. I only have two expansion pack of my own (World adventures and Pets, so also not the base game Sims 3). 

I'm playing on a MacBook Pro that normally can run the Sims 3. I have played the Sims 3 for 2 hours before it closed itself and said the disk was not found.

Please can someone help me? 

pc
technical issues

1 Reply

  • roberta591's avatar
    roberta591
    Hero (Retired)
    8 years ago

    @JPotje  Once a user has activated the game/pack with the code, that code is locked to the account in use to activate the game. When the game was released in 2009 the DRM used was SecuROM and SafeDisc. Both Windows and OS X no longer support SecuROM and SafeDisc. In 2012 EA created Origin as the current DRM for this game. Prior to Origin the DRM was very loose. Now with Origin games that have had the codes used before, those codes can not be activated again and can not be user deleted. Once you have the game (and packs) in Origin you will no longer have an install limit and you will not require a disc to play. There are a couple of issues here. Sometimes the optical drive can not read the special data for SafeDisc as it is created on the disc in a special way. If the system detects that the code already exists the system may deny running of the software. This game is very complex and involves many different systems and it may take some time to realize there are two codes the same in two different accounts. The first thing you have to do is get your base game in Origin along with all the packs. This means redeeming the codes in Origin. As the software on the discs is dated I recommend uninstalling your games (you may have to manually uninstall them) and reinstall getting the digital download version through Origin as that is the current DRM. Your game would have continued to work as it was until you tried to install any new DLC (PETS?). As the expansion packs have been updated for the new DRM (Origin) they will not work with the old DRM (SecuROM). As SecuROM was considered a rootkit (security issue), I'd rather have Origin (a Steam like DRM). This isn't what you probably want to hear but the TOS (terms of service) hasn't really changed that much since the game was released. When you buy the game you do not own the game, what you are paying for is a license to use the software according to the TOS. The licensing for this game is much like the licensing for the Windows operating system and other Microsoft products. If you have troubles with the game there is a sims mac forum that can better help you.

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