Hello! I've noticed that there are a lot of methods for people getting the game to work with the Complete Edition or bundles - has anyone managed to get just the base game working on Windows 10? I was previously able to get this game working on my Windows XP computer, but this is now displaying the "The Sims has encountered an error and needs to close" error dialog upon attempting to open the game.
@danielr02 , I have helped a few people to reinstall their older games on their computers. Have you added any CC or mods lately? Please give me a few more details and we'll either get your game running again or installed on your main computer.
@danielr02 , sounds like the modified Sims.exe file is the reason the game is not running. Are you trying to run the game with the CD not in the drive? Just trying to get more information to see what the problem is.
@danielr02 , ok sounds like you'll need to reinstall the game. You may need a workaround as sometimes Windows isn't particularly helpful. Here are instructions on how to reinstall and make sure the game installs properly this time. Also make sure there are no residual The Sims left before reinstalling.
Please also make sure that if you have any saved games (usually found in the Documents folder) to move that folder to your Desktop for safekeeping so you can add them back in.
1) Insert your The Sims CD/DVD into your disk drive and open up your local hard drive.
2) Go to File, New Folder. Create a new folder and name this folder "Disk Images."
3) Go into the "Disk Images" folder and create another folder called "Disk1." If you're installing a version of The Sims or an expansion pack with multiple disks, create folders for each disk. Label them "Disk2," "Disk3" and "Disk4." *Note* It's important you do not put a space in between "Disk" and the number you use.
4) Open up "My Computer" and select your Sims CD. If the autorun comes up, cancel it as well as the installation.
5) Right-click The Sims CD. Click "Explore."
6) Click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window and choose "Select All." You can also press CTRL+A.
7) Click on the "Edit" tab again and select "Copy." CTRL+C also works.
8) Head into your "Disk1" folder. Go to the "Edit" tab and select "Paste." CTRL+V works as well. Continue until you've copied and pasted the information from all the disks into their appropriate folders.
9) Find the autorun file in the "Disk1" folder and double click it. This should install the game as normal. When you are finished, you can delete the "Disk Images" folder.
Tips
If you encounter any file transfer errors when copying and pasting, try cleaning your disk. If that fails, your disk is either scratched or corrupted.
It sounds like something either became corrupted or something "erased" the game which is weird. However, this should allow you to reinstall the game and be able to play again.
@Tremayne4260Thanks. I have done as listed, but setup.exe (the autorun file) does not appear to run correctly. When opening both setup.exe on the disk or the folder, it opens the file as a background process. I can't seem to figure out how to fix this: running it in compatibility mode doesn't work (not sure if that would anyway) and the icon does not appear on the taskbar.
@danielr02 are you running as Admin? When you try to install the game, make sure you remove the disk from the drive and run from the Disk Image. Just trying to think of things that may prevent the game from installing.
@Tremayne4260Yes, running the file with nothing in the disk drive and running as administrator. Tried disabling anti-virus and tried turning off all non-Microsoft services to no avail.
EDIT: Just restarted my PC - also received a Windows update. Installer is now working (from folder), but after getting stuck at 100% for a while, claims that the uninstallShield is open.
@danielr02 , Ok found this on the internet. Try this.
