EP doesn't show Double Deluxe Neighborhoods in game

[ledzepgirl]

First of all I have been playing EP's with Double Deluxe game for 2 yrs with no problems.I just installed Bon Voyage and now only apartment Life will launch with only it's neighborhoods. This is what I have done so far. I backed up my game (Sims 2 and Double Deluxe file) I removed downloads folder. I uninstalled game and EP's which include Seasons, Free Time and Apartment life. I did this because I was told and have read that the EP's have to be installed in order of their release date. I followed instructions exactly to make sure everything was done correctly. I then installed Double Deluxe and ran game everything was fine. Then I installed Seasons, ran game, everything fine. Installed Bon Voyage and ran game, worked fine. Then I installed Free Time and launched again from Double Deluxe, all worked ok. Then I installed Apartment Life. Now I can only launch game using Apartment life disk. I have all the collections files, and the bar at the top of game to pick vacation destination, change seasons, ect, works fine but the only neighborhood available is the one that came with Apartment Life. I checked to see if the neighborhoods were in the files and they are. I've read about "bypass game launch" but didn't think that was the problem. Why can't I use my Double Deluxe disk to launch, it worked with all the other EP's. I have read about the lost neighborhoods but that really wasn't what my issue is, if I uninstall Apartment Life I can launch game from Double Deluxe. It doesn't make any sense to me. I did not put any custom neighborhoods or cc back in the game until I get this issue figured out.

[simsample]

It's correct that you should launch from the Apartment disc since that's the latest one. What I think has happened is that when you were launching from Double Deluxe it was using the Documents\ EA Games\ The Sims 2 Double Deluxe folder, whereas once you installed AL it began to use the Documents\ EA Games\ The Sims 2 folder. Could you perhaps check in your documents folder to see if you have those folders?

[ledzepgirl]

Thanks, I was researching more and saw that it is supposed to be launched with Apt life.... Duh.. Brain dead i guess. I was ready to turn myself into a sim and kick the crap out of the inside of my computer. Frustration to the max. Yes i do have those folders, I backed them up and just put it back in the current game. I'm getting ready to launch the game, so if I have any further problems I'll be back. Thanks so much, what you said about the sims 2 folder makes perfect sense.

[ledzepgirl]

Ok back again... I copied and pasted the Neighborhood file and Lot catalog from DD to Sims 2. All of the unoccupied houses are in the bin and playable, but i still can't get any of the other Neighborhoods to come up. Do you have any other ideas?? All of my families and houses I built are in the neighborhoods that don't show up.

[whiterider]

The entire Neighbourhoods folder? Not just individual N00x folders?

[ledzepgirl]

Yes, Whiterider, because I wanted to make sure I included the correct neighborhood file. When I launched the game the neighborhoods still weren't in the menu. So I tried the SimSimple disappearing neighborhood suggestion. " My Documents/ EA Games/ The Sims2/ Neighbourhoods and cut and paste the neighbourhoodManager.package file to your desktop. Now go to Program files/ EA Games/ The Sims2/ TS Data/ Res/ User Data/ Neighbourhoods and copy the neighbourhoodmanager.package file- paste it into your Documents folder where your old neighbourhoodmanager file was". Still didn't work. Don't know what else to do except uninstall and reinstall. What files does the override file in FreeTime and Apt. life overide?

[ledzepgirl]

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate everything all of you do for us simmers.

[simsample]

So I tried the SimSimple disappearing neighborhood suggestion.

That isn't relevant in this case.

Delete Documents\ EA Games\ The Sims 2\ Neighborhoods. Run the game. Exit the game. Open Documents\ EA Games\ The Sims 2\ Neighborhoods. Take a screenshot of that for us, or else tell us what the folders in there are called.

[ledzepgirl]

not sure how to do the snapshot thing so here is the list:
E001 F001 G001 N001 N002 N003 N004 N005 N006 N007 N008 Tutorial Neighborhood manager 23.2KB

[ledzepgirl]

Update:
I now have Belladona Cove, Desidera, Riverblossom Hills, Pleasantview, Strangetown, and Veronaville......still No custom neighborshoods.
I'm sure this is because I found a Neighborhood manager file that didn't transfer to the new game...it's 152 KB and all of these appeared after I added it to the DD neighborhood file. Guess I must have lost all my occupied houses.......I'm ok with losing the families, I can recreate them, but the houses wow, I've been working on them forever. I built about 40 houses that are very complex. I hate losing them!

[simsample]

So the game reads them all up to N003? Try dragging N004-N008 to the desktop one at a time to see if one of them is corrupt and preventing the others from loading.

To check, you have all EPs, Sps and patches that you had when those saves were created? If you have even missed one patch then the neighbourhoods won't show up.

[Mootilda]

It's possible that your neighborhoods conflict with each other. If you can see all of the shipped neighborhoods, Try moving the shipped neighborhoods away temporarily. Can you then see all of your custom neighborhoods? If so, then there are conflicts between the two sets of neighborhoods and there are several solutions available.

If worse comes to worse, you can always salvage your lots by copying the lot packages to your LotCatalog folder and then renaming each package to match the naming conventions in that folder.

[ledzepgirl]

I tried dragging the N004-N008 and that didn't work either. I think you've found the problem. I didn't have Bon Voyage when saved, I backed up all the others I listed above and then uninstalled DD and all EP's and then reinstalled DD, Seasons, Free time and Apt Life. Bon voyage is one I never had before. That's why I uninstalled so I could reinstall in the release date order. I didn't know that adding a new EP would cause neighborhoods to not be seen. Nothing I read on EA warned me that would happen and I followed the instructions exactly. I even did a live chat with Origin before I installed Bon Voyage. Wow so much for thinking I was doing things right. Thanks for all your suggestions and help.

[ledzepgirl]

Mootilda,

I tried moving the shipped neighborhoods out and I still can't see my custom neighborhoods. It doesn't make sense to me that I still have my occupied and unoccupied houses that I built and put in the house and lot bins from DD, and no neighborhoods but I'm sure that it is 2 completely different types of function. So if I were to uninstall Apartment Life, Free Time, and Bon Voyage but keep seasons because that has played off of Double Deluxe (( (in fact everything played off the DD DVD until I reinstalled them adding Bon Voyage))) then go to my neighborhood in DD and put my houses with families in the House and Lot bin do you think they might show up after I reinstall all the EP's I know I would loose items from my houses but at least the main structure would be there. I don't really care about the neighborhoods, I can recreate them, I just really want my houses. Thanks again for helping me with this issue.

[Mootilda]

Try each custom neighborhood individually. Do any of them appear when they are the only folder in the Neighborhoods folder?

[ledzepgirl]

None of the custom neighborhoods appear even when they are the only folder in the Neighborhood folder. It is so frustrating to have those files sitting right there and be totally useless. What rationale did EA have releasing an EP that isn't compatible with previous files. I realize some of these EP's are complex but you'd think they would make the EP's so you could build on the foundation of the base game instead of not recognizing the files. I don't know what else to do but thank you very much for the help you've given me.

[Mootilda]

Your old neighborhoods should work; neighborhoods should be forwards compatible.

Again, are you sure that you have at least the EPs and SPs that were installed when the neighborhoods were created? What about the Store Edition? Have the same patches been installed? Do you have the same custom content?

As far as I know, the Store Edition should be your latest EP. If you are running off of the Apartment Life DVD, that implies that the Store Edition is no longer recognized as your latest EP. This is OK as long as the Store Edition wasn't installed when you created the neighborhoods. However, if the Store Edition was installed, then you'll need it to use your neighborhoods.

You can use SimPE to check whether your neighborhood requires the Store Edition. Alternatively, zip and attach one of your neighborhood packages and someone else can check it for you.

[simsample]

The only time I've ever had old neighborhoods fail to show up is if I've forgotten to apply a patch.

[ledzepgirl]

Yes I have all the EP's and Sp's when neighborhoods were created, but added Bon Voyage.
I'm not positive about the patches but I think they are the same
. I haven't added any new cc.
I still have store edition in my game from my backup and yes the houses were made with store edition installed.
I'm beginning to think maybe it has something to do with the patches.

[ledzepgirl]

The only time I've ever had old neighborhoods fail to show up is if I've forgotten to apply a patch.

Is there a way to check to see what patches I have?? I will search on the site to see if I can find info on that. That's probably exactly what happened..... Dang!! Live and Learn the hard way..... :(

[Mootilda]

Just reinstall all of the latest patches. There's no harm in patching again.

Do you know whether your Store Edition was updated from the version on your Double Deluxe DVD? I believe that the updates occur automatically by default.

[ledzepgirl]

Just reinstall all of the latest patches. There's no harm in patching again.

Do you know whether your Store Edition was updated from the version on your Double Deluxe DVD? I believe that the updates occur automatically by default.


I just completed reading the Sims 2 site and read what all the patches fixed and I have them all. Then I went into the .exe file of each update and looked at properties and they are all there.

[ledzepgirl]

Does Store Edition require EDAM to launch... I just noticed that my EDAM icon and app. is gone and Origin is now the app. in program files. I downloaded Bon Voyage from Origin. Does EDAM and Origin work the same?? The only thing that is different in my backup is that I didn't have Bon Voyage at the time. I will download all the patches again as you advised and use SimPE. If this doesn't fix things I will just zip my custom neighborhoods into another drive, cause if it's the patch issue, I know that if it's humanly possible the amazing creators at MTS will come up with a way to fix this issue. Thank you!

[Mootilda]

First, a caveat: I know nothing about EDAM or Origin, and very little about the Store Edition. Specifically, I don't know whether the Store Edition requires EDAM, or whether it's compatible with Origin.

As far as I know, EA moved its online stuff from EDAM to Origin. However, they basically took away the Store Edition when they removed the Sims Store, so there's no longer any way to download the latest version of the Store Edition. Different versions of the Store Edition shipped with each collection pack.

The Store Edition which shipped with Double Deluxe is probably not up-to-date with Apartment Life, which is why you need to run using the Apartment Life disk.

Although it should be unnecessary (if EA were a reasonable company), you may need to find a Store Edition which is compatible with Apartment Life. The best way to determine this is probably to check the version of your neighborhood using SimPE. I can do that for you, if you'll just zip and attach one of your neighborhood packages.

Perhaps it would be possible to adjust your neighborhood and lot versions so that they would be compatible. Certainly, the Store Edition which shipped with Double Deluxe should be compatible with the latest EP which was available when DD shipped.

Again, this is all speculation. At this point, we still don't know why Apartment Life is unwilling to view your neighborhoods. We're just theorizing and trying things to see whether we can understand the problem.



Some points of clarity:

Were your neighborhoods created using both Apartment Life and the Store Edition?

Did you uninstall everything, including the Store Edition, and then reinstall everything, including the Store Edition version which was shipped with the Double Deluxe pack?

If both of these are true, then I believe that my theory is correct. Your neighborhoods were created with a later version of the Store Edition that the version that you currently have installed. EA no longer provides free updates of the Store Edition. Therefore, your neighborhoods will be unavailable until you find a way to update your Store Edition to a version which is compatible with your neighborhoods.

[U]Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_2#Editions.2C_compilations.2C_and_add-ons
The Sims 2 Double Deluxe release date: April 15, 2008
Apartment Life release date: August 27, 2008

The store ran until March 31, 2011, but it's unclear when the latest version of the Store Edition was released.

[ledzepgirl]

:lol: ----don't get me started on EA and the last time I talked with Origin the guy was so rude. He basically told me it was my problem and not his.That's not why he's there to help people like me with this problem. Hmmmm-- game tech advisor. Guess I need a new dictionary. I won't tell you what I said to him.

1).. I created the neighborhood with DD(Store Edition) with Apt. Life installed and ran off the Double Deluxe DVD. I've never used the Apt Life DVD, only to install the game. That's why I was shocked when it said I was running the wrong disk. Use Apt Life.

2) Yes, I uninstalled Double Deluxe, Seasons, Free Time and Apt Life. The I re installed in this order. Double Deluxe (hard copy), Seasons (hard copy), Bon Voyage (Origin download), Free Time(Origin download) and Apt Life(hard copy). I launched the game after each installation to make sure everything worked before adding another. They all worked off of Double Deluxe but if I remember correctly after I installed Free Time and launched the custom neighborhoods didn't show up. I should have stopped then and posted on MTS for help before installing the Apt Life EP. Everything worked off Double Deluxe DVD until I reinstalled Apt Life.

So if Apt Life played off the Double Deluxe DVD what caused that to change??

Then again, what you are saying is that the update I took from The Sims2 Store would not have been in my backup so when I uninstalled, I lost the update for the Store? :cry:
:Pint:

[Mootilda]

I know that it's a bit confusing, so I'll try to explain again. This is just my theory, we haven't proven anything. However, my theory certainly fits what I know about the Store Edition, and it also fits what is happening in your game.

Originally, you had Double Deluxe, Apartment Life, and the Store Edition from DD which was automatically updated to the latest version (likely compatible with Mansion and Garden). Because the Store Edition was your latest EP (because it was updated), you would use your Double Deluxe disk to run the game.

When you uninstalled and reinstalled, you ended up with Double Deluxe, Apartment Life, and the Store Edition from DD which was never updated. Your Store Edition couldn't be updated because EA removed the Store Edition and all updates when it removed the Sims Store. Because the Store Edition was released in April 2008 and never updated, Apartment Life is now your latest EP and you had to use your Apartment Life disk to run the game. (Note that FreeTime was released February 26, 2008, which is why you were able to run FreeTime with your Double Deluxe disk.)

Unfortunately, your neighborhoods require the updated version of the Store Edition to run. Especially unfortunately, EA no longer gives you any way to update your version of the Store Edition.

Your mistake was uninstalling the Store Edition, since there was no way to get back the version that you were running. You could only install the earlier version of the Store Edition which came with Double Deluxe, and that version wasn't updated for Apartment Life.

So, the real question is: how do you solve this problem?

I hate to say this, but I would suggest that your best alternative is to ask EA to solve it for you. They should be willing to give you the update to the Store Edition for free. I've seen them give people extra EPs in a collection pack in order to solve this kind of problem. However, you will have to be calm and persistent to get to a person who is actually willing to help you. Firmly insist that this problem was caused by the removal of the Store Edition updates, and that you just want an updated Store Edition so that you can access your existing neighborhoods.

Another alternative which may work: Buy a collection pack which contains the latest Store Edition. Fun with Pets Collection (released January 12, 2010) would be your best bet.

I'm sorry that I don't have any other ideas. IF I am correct in my assessment of your problem, your neighborhood requires an EP which was released after Mansion and Garden, specifically, an updated version of the Store Edition.

what you are saying is that the update I took from The Sims2 Store would not have been in my backup so when I uninstalled, I lost the update for the Store?That's right. You only backed up your save game, not your game installation. Therefore, you did not backup the Store Edition update that you require.

[ledzepgirl]

I totally understand what you're saying, especially since I opened the Store Edition files and they were empty. I didn't know that they had another release with Store Edition. I will once again deal with the dreaded monster EA. Can never hurt to ask. My granddaughter has Pets so I'll check with her to see if it is included. She doesn't play it anymore cause she said it's too hard to take care of kids, work, and clean up after pets who pee all over. She's 14.... Welcome to the real world, sweetie! LOL! Thank you so much for all your help and quick responses. EA should take a human resources class from MTS moderators. If they tick me off too bad I might just tell them that. Kidding....I will be firm but patient...assertive but not aggressive. Thanks again, you are very much appreciated!!!

[Mootilda]

The Pets EP doesn't include the Store Edition. The "Fun with Pets Collection" pack does. Fun with Pets was released January 12, 2010 and contains:
Pets, Family Fun Stuff, and Mansion & Garden Stuff, plus the Store Edition.

Oh, and I'm not a moderator. Just a person who plays the game and likes to help people who are having problems.

[ledzepgirl]

The Pets EP doesn't include the Store Edition. The "Fun with Pets Collection" pack does. Fun with Pets was released January 12, 2010 and contains:
Pets, Family Fun Stuff, and Mansion & Garden Stuff, plus the Store Edition.

Oh, and I'm not a moderator. Just a person who plays the game and likes to help people who are having problems.

Oh ok, sorry, Well u r very helpful!!! Yes, that's the one she has. I do remember that she told me she had to run it from Apt. Life and she can't find her Apt life cd. I'm gonna check with her before I contact EA... Thanks again for all the info! :)

[ledzepgirl]

Mootilda,

Wanted to let you know that Origin provided me with the download for Fun with Pets!! If you want I can let you know how it worked. Thank you again for your help!!

[Mootilda]

Yes, please let us know. This could explain some other people's problems, so it's nice to know whether my "solution" actually worked.

[ledzepgirl]

ok I will let you know if it works but first I have a couple of questions. I can't find where it should be in the install order. Do I need to remove any parts of Double Deluxe ie the Sstore edition? I tried installing Fun with Pets and it says i have an invalid code. I have done 3 chats with 3 different game advisors and each gave me a new code and none work. So I wonder if I'm doing something wrong since Double Deluxe had the Store Edition. I know you can't uninstall DD and then reinstall choosing what you want, but I could remove manually if that's the problem. Thanks

[Mootilda]

Could you give us the exact error message? Perhaps even a screenshot?

Install order really doesn't matter that much. However, here is EA's official post (which no longer seems to be available):

From: http://support.ea.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2229/kw/installation%20order%20for%20sims%202/showhome/true
Here is the order that The Sims 2 should be installed in:

* The Sims 2™ (or Sims 2 Deluxe, Sims 2 Double Deluxe or Sims 2 Holiday Edition, whichever you have)
* University (or University Life Collection)
* Nightlife (disregard if you have Sims 2 Deluxe or Double Deluxe)
* Christmas Party Pack (US) OR Holiday Party Pack (UK)
* Open for Business or Best of Business Collection
* Family Fun Stuff or Fun with Pets Collection
* Glamour Life Stuff
* Pets (disregard if you have Fun with Pets Collection)
* Happy Holiday Stuff (Disregard if you have Sims 2 Holiday Edition)
* Seasons
* Celebration Stuff (disregard if you have Double Deluxe)
* H&M Fashion Stuff (disregard if you have Best of Business Collection)
* Bon Voyage
* Teen Style Stuff (disregard if you have University Life Collection)
* FreeTime
* Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (disregard if you have Best of Business Collection)
* IKEA Home Stuff (disregard if you have University Life Collection)
* Apartment Life
* Mansion & Garden Stuff (disregard if you have Fun with Pets Collection)

Also, be sure to patch whenever you are prompted by the game to do so.I notice that they don't mention updating the Store Edition at all. ;)

[Update:]
The new link seems to be:
https://help.ea.com/article/RN2229

[ledzepgirl]

Could you give us the exact error message? Perhaps even a screenshot?

Install order really doesn't matter that much. However, here is EA's official post (which no longer seems to be available):

From: http://support.ea.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2229/kw/installation%20order%20for%20sims%202/showhome/true
I notice that they don't mention updating the Store Edition at all. ;)

[Update:]
The new link seems to be:
https://help.ea.com/article/RN2229

Could you give us the exact error message? Perhaps even a screenshot?

Here it is... Oh and more good news, I zipped my downloads folder and when I opened it all the packages were empty! I needed to clean house but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. They must be buried in my hard drive somewhere. I have a friend who can find anything so I'll see if he can help me out.

[Mootilda]

At this point, I just don't know how to help. It's absurd that EA would give you the download without giving you a valid code. Unfortunately, only EA can help you to get the downloaded Fun with Pets installed on your computer.

Perhaps it's time to contact your granddaughter and see whether you can install from her DVD? However, I find it odd that she said that she was running from the Apartment Life DVD. If she has the updated Store Edition, that doesn't make sense. Do you know whether she actually installed the updated Store Edition? Some people install the Collection Packs without installing the Store Edition, which would certainly explain why she need the AL DVD.

[ledzepgirl]

At this point, I just don't know how to help. It's absurd that EA would give you the download without giving you a valid code. Unfortunately, only EA can help you to get the downloaded Fun with Pets installed on your computer.

Perhaps it's time to contact your granddaughter and see whether you can install from her DVD? However, I find it odd that she said that she was running from the Apartment Life DVD. If she has the updated Store Edition, that doesn't make sense. Do you know whether she actually installed the updated Store Edition? Some people install the Collection Packs without installing the Store Edition, which would certainly explain why she need the AL DVD.


No, I don't know what she installed and she had her computer cleaned of a bunch of stuff (viruses) and all her games so I can't even look at any files to see. Of course she can't find her dvd.... frustration here. Actually she said they all came up missing when she had friends over, so who knows. She probably just put them somewhere and doesn't remember cause her friends aren't like that. I just got off another chat and was told to uninstall all games and reinstall.....how many times do they want me to do this...it's insane....so the answer I get-- someone from the team will contact me via email soon. Whatever soon means to them...My sims and I will both be dead :rofl: There's a lot I could tell you about what they have said but I don't want to on a thread. Let's just say some of them could use some retraining... I knew more than they did and that's scary!! So thank you for all your help, and when everything gets up and running, is it ok if I pm you with the info? In the meantime I will start downloading my CC again... oh heavens I really had over 7000 CC's. Glad I have the organizer!!Need to cut that way way down...!!! I'm a cc fanatic I guess.

[Mootilda]

when everything gets up and running, is it ok if I pm you with the info?I have no problem with you sending me a PM with the information. However, it's usually better to post things publicly, so that people have a chance to find the answers via google.

[ledzepgirl]

I have no problem with you sending me a PM with the information. However, it's usually better to post things publicly, so that people have a chance to find the answers via google.


I agree, I also wanted others to have a chance to see this information, but I wasn't sure if this thread would still be here by the time everything is running properly again. I'll look here first. I'm at the mercy of EA/Origin to get the Fun with Pets Collection installed and we all know how long that can take. :turtle: Til then thank you so much for all your help, you have no idea how much I appreciate it!! I'll look at the bright side, even if for some reason I don't recover my custom neighborhoods, I at least gained another EP ! :D


Update: I just had to come back for a sec to tell you I was able to recover all my downloads from the hard drive, oh my gosh, I am so happy!!! Just wanted to share that with you Mootilda!!! :)

[Mootilda]

I believe that the moderators will keep this thread open until we hear back from you. If you have problems finding the thread, you can find all threads that you started on your profile page.

[ledzepgirl]

I have another question. When reinstalling Double Deluxe I have the choice whether to add the Store Edition. Since I have the updated Store Edition on Fun With Pets Collection should I just add the Store Edition from this and not Double Deluxe? When I put my backed up game files in do I put all the double Deluxe files in since that's where all the downloads go? Sometimes I'm not sure what files go where because double deluxe is different than just the Sims 2 (as far as custom content}. I messed with this so much I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. I am logging everything I do so that someone will never have to go thru this crazy mess again... bottom line is don't ever uninstall Double Deluxe if you want to play the same neighborhoods again.

[Mootilda]

I would think that installing the Store Edition from the Fun with Pets Collection would be adequate; you probably don't need to install it from Double Deluxe too.

Uninstalling and reinstalling all of your games is a last resort solution. Most people don't have any problems installing things out of order. Unfortunately, there was no way to know that you were going to run into this problem with the Store Edition.

The bottom line is: don't uninstall the Store Edition, since EA doesn't provide the update for it anymore.

[ledzepgirl]

I would think that installing the Store Edition from the Fun with Pets Collection would be adequate; you probably don't need to install it from Double Deluxe too.

Uninstalling and reinstalling all of your games is a last resort solution. Most people don't have any problems installing things out of order. Unfortunately, there was no way to know that you were going to run into this problem with the Store Edition.

The bottom line is: don't uninstall the Store Edition, since EA doesn't provide the update for it anymore.

The bottom line is: don't uninstall the Store Edition

Exactly, see I can't even say what I mean anymore, I have no idea why I uninstalled any of Double Deluxe since it was released before any other of my EP's. Stupid move on my part and the only reason I uninstalled anything was I was following EA tutorial. :faceslap:

Do I put my backed-up sims 2 folder AND Double Deluxe folder back into the reinstall. If I remember correctly that is what I did the first time when only part of the shipped hoods showed in the menu. Then I deleted the neighborhood folder in Sims 2 folder as advised and then they appeared again.

Thanks for the help! :)

[Mootilda]

I don't have Double Deluxe and I really don't know anything about the file structure used, so I can't help you. Just remember to keep a backup until you get things working.

[ledzepgirl]

Still trying to figure this all out. I have Fun with Pets installed with the store edition but -store edition is not showing up at all. I ended up getting my granddaughters cd. I'm not sure why but now only 3 neighborhoods show up and I did delete the neighborhood file in Sims 2 as instructed earlier. So obviously something isn't right, because when I deleted the neighborhood file in the sims 2 folder before all the shipped neighborhoods appears. Why does EA have to make this so difficult??? I didn't install the store edition from the double deluxe dvd and it won't let me install it now, so I will have to uninstall everything and then reinstall. I attempted to just uninstall Double Deluxe but a box popped up on the screen and said i had to uninstall all the EP's. So for the 15th time, I will start the process over again. Still haven't gotten a response from the "experts" at Origin, in fact they had me uninstall fun with Pets so many times that I got an error message that license limit expired and the only ones who can fix that are the "experts" ...Que sera, sera!!!

[Mootilda]

I'm really sorry to hear that you're still having problems. If I understand you correctly, you're saying that you can't see the Store Edition from Fun with Pets? That's really odd. Does it normally show up as a separate icon in the game, or are you looking at the launcher? Since I've never had the Store Edition installed on my machine, I'm not really familiar with how it appears in-game.

Have you tried copying your backed up neighborhoods into the Neighborhoods folder, to see whether you can see your custom neighborhoods? Just be sure not to overwrite or remove your backup.

It's clear that EA didn't think the Store Edition through very well. None of the other EPs have these kinds of problems.

[ledzepgirl]

I'm really sorry to hear that you're still having problems. If I understand you correctly, you're saying that you can't see the Store Edition from Fun with Pets? That's really odd. Does it normally show up as a separate icon in the game, or are you looking at the launcher? Since I've never had the Store Edition installed on my machine, I'm not really familiar with how it appears in-game.

Have you tried copying your backed up neighborhoods into the Neighborhoods folder, to see whether you can see your custom neighborhoods? Just be sure not to overwrite or remove your backup.

It's clear that EA didn't think the Store Edition through very well. None of the other EPs have these kinds of problems.

Yes, the Store Edition is a separate icon in the game and it's not showing up from Fun with Pets. I did put the backed up neighborhoods into the neighborhood folder. What's confusing is that in Double Deluxe downloads and everything are saved in the Double Deluxe folder instead of the Sims 2 folder. So I wasn't sure what, if anything I needed to put in the Sims 2 folder. I'm just playing around with it. I have my back up on a flash drive to keep it safe. Life is much simpler if you don't have digital downloaded games. I will be getting rid of those as soon as I can find hard copies of Free Time and Bon Voyage. I want to be able to have complete control of my games. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

[Mootilda]

I just learned something very sad. You are not the only one having problems installing the Store Edition that came with the Fun with Pets Collection.
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=473407

This is so frustrating. Have you tried installing just the Store Edition from Fun with Pets, without uninstalling any of the other EPs or SPs? I'm thinking that perhaps the Store Edition will install correctly if everything else is installed and running, and you are only asking to install the Store Edition and nothing else.

[ledzepgirl]

I just learned something very sad. You are not the only one having problems installing the Store Edition that came with the Fun with Pets Collection.
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=473407

This is so frustrating. Have you tried installing just the Store Edition from Fun with Pets, without uninstalling any of the other EPs or SPs? I'm thinking that perhaps the Store Edition will install correctly if everything else is installed and running, and you are only asking to install the Store Edition and nothing else.

It will work if you follow this installation. Both Store Editions have to be installed, Store Edition without update must be installed with whatever EP that includes Sims2, I've only had Double Deluxe so I think you would install Sims 2 then the first Store Edition.
I messed with these files for hours upon hours. If you install EP's according to EA list it won't work. This is how I installed my EP's to get things to work. Double Deluxe with Store Edition, Seasons, Free Time, Apartment Life, Bon Voyage, and Fun with Pets including Store Edition. I found that you have to install Fun with Pets with update Store Edition last, if you don't Free Time and Bon Voyage will overwrite/cancel out the Store Edition on Fun with Pets.

I did get some of my neighborhoods back. :) They were the ones I created last. I truly believe that SimSample was right-"if you missed even one update" you lose your neighborhoods. The neighborhoods I lost were the ones that I created before I updated the EP's. I lost three neighborhoods, but I was able to get four created neighborhoods back. One problem I am having right now is that the shipped houses in Fun with Pets are not showing up in the menu. I have no idea why they aren't. I'm working on that now, if I get it figured out I will post that info. Everything else plays perfectly. :bunny: I have to launch with Fun with Pets. This is the crazy thing about origin that sorta freaked me out. I was not connected to internet when I installed the DVD Fun with Pets, BUT it installed without me putting in the key code and when I did go to internet, it was the key code that was on the Origin game that I couldn't download. Obviously, Securom is monitoring something.

[Mootilda]

Sounds like you are making major progress. It also sounds like my theory was correct: you needed the updated Store Edition to access your existing neighborhoods.

[ledzepgirl]

Sounds like you are making major progress. It also sounds like my theory was correct: you needed the updated Store Edition to access your existing neighborhoods.


You were exactly right Mootilda, without the updated Store Edition you can kiss those neighborhoods goodbye. I'm so happy and thankful that you had the perfect theory.... Way to go!!

[ledzepgirl]

I have everything up and running now minus the three created neighborhoods probably lost with update. After carefully going thru all the files in the Double Deluxe folder I found the Neighborhood folder had some extra folders in it that shouldn't have been there. It probably happened with all the uninstallations and reinstallations I had to do to get the correct EP sequence figured out. Thank you Mootilda for all your help!! Without your help none of this would have been possible.

[Mootilda]

You're very welcome. I wish that it hadn't been such a complicated and unpleasant procedure. I'm also sorry that you lost some of your hoods.

Hopefully, your experience will make this much easier for the next person.

[ledzepgirl]

You're very welcome. I wish that it hadn't been such a complicated and unpleasant procedure. I'm also sorry that you lost some of your hoods.

Hopefully, your experience will make this much easier for the next person.



Well, with your expertise at least I was able to save some of them :) It was a great experience and I learned a lot from this EA Store Edition catastrophe! I really do hope that anyone having a problem with Store Edition does find this helpful..... and if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to help with whatever I can! Thanks again Mootilda!!