My game chashed while I was attempting to package a house. The only way I could get it to stop that awful sound (you all know that sound when the game chashes) was to actually turn the power off for my computer - I tried the other way. Anyway when I reinstalled the game I got an error message basically telling that all the neighborhoods couldn't be installed (problem transferring ... user0046package(I checked). Does this mean I have to buy a new game? I'll be on the site for awhile looking around.

if you do reinstall shouldnt you delete the my documents\the sims\ directory ?

Good question. I moved my Downloads to my desk top and renamed it just in case other wise when I uninstalled the game all my stuff would go with it

Well there are other things in the my sims folders like the characters/neighborhoods etc.. I would think you should wipe that out when reinstalling so it creates it fresh.

First thing you need to do is delete/uninstall the previous installation. If you are getting a "file transfer error", this might help..long..I know, but it solved the problem for my niece, who was receiving a file transfer error. Before you do any of this though, try cleaning the discs with a little water and a soft cloth. A transfer error usually means the disc is either scratched, or dirty.

Why is there a transfer or disk error during installation?

Question
Why is there a transfer or disk error during installation?


Answer
This is due to the CD-rom or DVD speed dipping below acceptable reading levels for the Install Shield software to read accurately.

Check to see if there are any scratches, fingerprints, or marks of any kind on the disk surface. Something even as small as a piece of hair or a very light scratch can cause this error. If you find any fingerprints or debris try cleaning the CD or DVD with a soft cotton cloth.


If you do not find any scratches, fingerprints, or marks of any kind on your CD, try renaming the InstallShield folder:
Double-click on the My Computer icon.
Double-Click on the C:
Double-Click on Program Files then on Common Files.
Right-Click on the InstallShield folder.
Select Rename.
Rename it to InstallShieldOld.
Start the installation again to reinstall the InstallShield components with the newest version.

If the above does not work, try these CD/DVD troubleshooting steps to prevent read errors.

Also, if you have any virus protection programs like Norton or McAfee, temporarily disable them by right clicking on the icon in your system tray in the lower right corner of the desktop and selecting "Disable" or "Exit". Also be sure to end all background programs before attempting installation.

If you have XP,2000 try running the installation for the game using the Program Compatibility Wizard.

If the previous steps did not work, and you have 6GB of harddrive space available, you can try copying the disk files to your harddrive and installing without the CDs. Make sure to follow the steps below exactly as they read, or else the install may not work.
For the DVD version:

Insert the DVD into the DVD-rom drive. Exit the startup menu when it comes up.
Double click My Computer, then right click on the DVD-rom drive with the game DVD in it and select Explore.
Hold the CTRL key and then hit A. That should select all the folders and files.
Then hold CTRL and hit C. This will not look like it does much, but it's preparing to copy the files.
Close that folder and go to your desktop. Right click anywhere BUT on an icon, and Select New, then Folder. Name the folder Sims2 DVD.
Then double-click that folder, and hit CTRL and V. This will begin copying the files from the DVD.
Once the files are copied, remove the disc from the drive.
Double-click on the Setup icon in the folder.
You may delete the Sims2 DVD folder once the installation is complete.

For the CD edition:

Make sure to follow the steps below exactly as they read, or else the install may not work.

Double-click My Computer.
Right-click on the Local Disk C and choose Open.
Right-click inside the window and select New, and then Folder.
Name the folder Disk Images it is important that the name has a space in it.
Double-Click the new Disk Images folder to open it.
Right-click inside the window and select New, and then Folder.
Name this folder Disk1.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 while substituting Disk1 for Disk2 and so on until there are 4 'Disk' folders followed by a number 1 through 4. it is important to note there must not be a space between "Disk" and the number.
Insert Disk 1 of The Sims 2 into your CD-Rom drive and if the autoplay starts, cancel it.
Double-click My Computer to open it.
Right-click on your CD-ROM drive and choose Open.
When you see the contents of the disk in the Window, click on Edit at the top of the window and choose Select All.
All the contents of the disk should now be highlighted, click on Edit at the top of the window again and choose Copy.
Open the Disk1 folder you created under C:\Disk Images; click on Edit at the top of the window and choose Paste. This will copy the contents of the CD into the Disk1 folder.
Repeat steps 9 through 14 for the remaining disks until you have copied each disk into its apropriate folder.
Once all the disks have been copied, remove ALL CDs from any drives.
Open the Disk1 folder under Disk Images and double-click on autorun.exe to start the installation.
To save disk space, you can delete the Disk Images folders after the installation has completed.

That's a lot of info. Thank you

Sorry so long...I didn't type all this info, by the way, i just copied and pasted it from an email i sent my niece. She was able to re-install the sims by simply renaming the Install shield folder. I hope it's that simple for you.

If your CD is scratched there are many CD repair kits (not cleaning kits) on the market today. Some work better than others but they do usually work. I saved my music colection with one I bought at wallmart. It's like a turntable you put the cd into, add this liquid and turn a crank. It fills the scratches with the liquid which hardens up and makes it so you can't see them at all. Stay away from the kind that the liquid "melts" the plastic smooth, in my experiance they sometimes ruin the CD to the point that the good kind won't fix. It should say on the packaging that it "fills" scratches. They work on computer CDs also

Thanks again. I thought I had a little success, Sims 2 finally installed but when I tried to install University I got an error message something about it couldn't do something regrading the updates. And yes my CD is scratched. I'll try that but at this point I'm almost to the point of just buying a new game and taking better precautions of how I handle it. Maybe I'll get both the new game and the kit. If the kit works I can take the game back to the store. Oh by the way it is normal the game to crash so often?