I'm reinstalling my game from my disks after a long time of not playing. I have the patches of OFB, Pets, SNS, BV, FT and AL on hand. Should I install the patches as I'm installing the game or should I skip it altogether? I remember patches creating more problems than it fixes but it's been a long time since I played the game so I don't quite remember what I should do.

Any ideas, guys?

So glad I'm gonna be playing a bit again

ALWAYS install the patches. They contain important fixes for the game. And install them after each new game or stuff pack. Sometimes you'll get a message that the game is already up to date. That's because the ep you just installed already contained the patches needed.

Thanks, that clears things up! I'm just going to install the patch of each EP after I install the EP then.

If you're missing any, there's a full set on the wiki.

The only patch that ever created more trouble than fixes was the first FreeTime patch which EA took down. They came out with a second and possibly even a third version- you need that patch as well.

The patches on this page are all of the latest patches to the game. Patches are a net positive since they fix more problems than they create, and while you can install them at any time in any order, you should install the patches after installing the game but before opening the game.

the patches Maxis/EA made can also be found through Wayback Machine version of the main site.

generally patch directly after installing the respective pack.

Thanks everyone, I got it all sorted out thank to you

mmwah! Good. I'm just always glad to be able to help (it's so rare).

Happy simming!