I downloaded and installed the UC, thinking that it would be good to have a back-up in case of whatever. Then I tried to play my cd. Didn't work. I said okay, never mind. I un-installed the UC and Origin and went to go and play my cd again. My computer wants me to re-install the game. All of my cds (minus M&G) are on the other side of the country, at my parents' house, where I won't be for another month at least. Having them shipped out to me is not an option.


The ONLY solution I see is re-download Origin and play Sims 2 via UC...and hope that my neighborhoods will transfer back over. No thanks, if at all possible. Please help!

Did this remove the Sims 2 folder in Documents as well, along with everything in it? Do you have a back up? (Installing both the UC and the CD version of Sims 2 is installing the same game twice at once and bound to screw things up).

If having the disks shipped is not an option, then your only options, at this point, is either to A) Get a new copy of all the disks somehow or B) Ultimate Collection, which should work just fine with your existing saves or C) Not play TS2 for another month. Your mistake was installing the UC rather than just registering for it - you didn't have to download/install it to have it just in case. But now you're stuck, and unfortunately, your options are pretty limited.

*flails arms wildly* If I had realized this, I would have simply downloaded the game and not installed it. #^(! Terrible, horrid mistake...


Luckily, the Sims 2 folder seems to be intact....If I was to re-download the Ultimate Collection and use that, can my downloads/mods/hoods transfer over? Is there a handy "How-To" guide out there that I can follow instead of making more crucial mistakes?

Copy your Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 folder somewhere else, install UC, copy it back to the original location (note that is copy, not cut/paste - copying keeps an extra duplicate of it around just in case).

Oh god I hope you made a copy before you uninstalled everything in the first place cos otherwise it's possible you already lost it all when uninstalling...

"Downloading" The Ultimate Collection is the same as "installing" it, since Origin is acting as both the medium of the source files (like the DVD) and the management of your Game Library (like Steam or your shelf housing the disc casings).

But it installs into its own folder, right? The shortcut icon to your original non-UC install is still intact?
Have you launched the Ultimate Collection? Is that why starting the game from the old shortcut no longer works because the user folders in Document\EA Games were over-written?

I'm checking and it all seems to be here...I have some older back-ups I could rely on as well. I worry more about the downloads than the neighborhoods, as most were new anyways.

I'm making new copies of the folder before I give the UC a try. Keeping this thread up to date. Thank you for your help so far! (And incidentally, how does one go about being a world reknowned whogivesafuckologist?)


EDIT, because I didn't see the new post.




I never launched the Ultimate Collection, only installed and then went to play my regular game nonchalantly, without a care in the world. It did install a separate folder, so hopefully my original game can be saved somehow.

I'm not downloading it at all, just leaving it on my Origin dash, it will stay there and not disappear if I do that, right?

Okay, still waiting for my folders to copy....


Taking a post to reflect that if the worst that comes out of this is a few moments of panic and the need to buy the Holiday stuff pack so I can transfer my hoods back later, then all's well that ends well. Which leads to the question - will I be able to move my neighborhoods back once I am home and can re-install my cds? Presumably yes, if I were to copy the hoods and then paste them into the folder once I have everything properly un/re-installed.

I remember reading you had until July 31st to get it. Weather that means just registering it on your Origin account, or needing to install it too, I have no idea.

Holiday Stuff is included in the Collection, Store Stuff is not.


Do you mean your game CDs or a backup CD? You would have no need to install a game CD, as it would just conflict with the Ultimate Collection, unless you install to a different drive.

I have no desire to be dependent on Origin - so while I would use it as a short-term measure, I intend to get back to my cd game as soon as I can. But since I don't have the Holiday Stuff pack, I will order it just so I can move my hoods back once I have this all straightened out.

Have you considered using Windows System Restore to restore your computer to a time before you installed UC? It varies between Windows versions, but it's been around for a while now. If you have Windows Update turned on, System Restore will have been creating frequent Restore Points, and you should use the last one before you installed UC. Personally I strongly recommend creating a Restore Point manually just before installing any new software. Doing that has rescued my computer a few times.

...that might do the trick. I'll save what files I've edited since the last system restore earlier this week and I'll give it a try! :D

Sure...I guess so? You have more faith in EA than I do. I immediately copy the stuff dumped into the Origin Games install folder into my Archives as an .iso. Haven't tested it yet though (if the .iso works). I guess I better schedule to do it before Jul 31st...

System Restore is not for Programs though. Just Windows stuff. It is quite unreliable for restoring the Program Files folder (it need to be setup, didn't it? I can't remember), and not even possible if one uses custom install for one's games (like I do). And that is even if one remembers to create a Restore point in the first place. If someone don't remember to do a backup, they would hardly think to create a Restore Point when messing with installs and uninstalls.

Nope, System Restore didn't work.

As I understand it System Restore puts your Program Files back as they were at the time of the Restore Point, uninstalls programs installed since that time, and reinstalls any that have been uninstalled or removed. It doesn't touch anything in My Documents, but (at least in Windows 7) you can use the related Previous Versions feature for that. Some well-written install programs automatically create a restore point before they install the software. And, even if you don't create restore points manually, Windows Update creates them fairly frequently. (For example the last one on my computer was on 10th July.) So it can certainly help to rescue a computer even if the user has given no thought to the matter. As far as I can make out, it's enabled by default in modern mainstream Windows versions, so you don't have to set it up.

Although I'm good at backing up my Sims game, I'm not nearly as good at backing up other (arguably more important) stuff, in part because I've never been able to get my computer to recognise my external DVD drive as a backup device, so System Restore has been my main line of defence for everything except The Sims! It's always worked for me (though of course it wouldn't save me from a hard disk crash).

[EDIT]

Sorry! It was worth a try.

If UC is like regular Origin games, then all you have to do is register it, and it will stay on your account indefinitely. Of course, EA might decide to pull it, in which case you'd probably be stuffed even if you had installed it.

That's what I was thinking, it's that 'until July 31st' thing that is a slight worry. I only got it as a backup in case the disk copy stops working due to Window advancements, but I doubt it comes with any kind of guarantee of that either. Right now I have all EP and SP's and AGS, so I won't be changing any time soon.

I'm sure that the 31st of July is just how long the code is good for - if you've already redeemed the code by the 31st, you'll have the game until EA decide (separately) to pull it.

I decided to test my restraint and NOT install the Ultimate Collection - I still have it downloaded on Origin, just not installed. After seeing all the other issues it's causing and since I don't want to risk losing my neighborhoods again...I'm going to just do a lot of posting here and reading all the sim stories that I can find.

It's going to be a very long three weeks. But since I already ordered the Holiday Stuff pack (free shipping! Fairly cheap!), I'm going to call it my Christmas present to myself for screwing up my game so spectacularly.