Installing and Playing the Sims 3 if Your CD Doesn't Work

[The Illuminator]

Please note that this only works if you have the cd

A few times people have been looking for help because their driver doesn't read your Sims 3 cd. It's absolutely not necessary to buy a new cd! If you use the following method everything should be fine:

1. Insert the Sims 3 cd (WA, Ambitions, HELS etc. It depends on what you want to install or play)
2. Your E: (for some people their D:) may say something like 0mb of ...mb available.
3. Manually open (no autorun) the cd and copy (no cutting!) all files on the cd.
4. Paste the files in your C: drive. You may want to make a special folder for it.
5. Run setup from the C: drive and follow the instructions.
6. It may take a while before the setup starts. This does not mean it doesn't work!
7. If it doesn't come up you can try again. You can also press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and view the current processes to see if something like Sims 3 or EA is running.

If this method doesn't work or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me or someone else!

[wildredchild]

I set this as a topic sticky so it won't get lost.  Thank you for writing it up and posting.

[The Illuminator]

Thanks, wildredchild!

[Leto85]

Nice work Illuminator! You're so smart. Must have to do something with the fact you're Dutch.

[Edited for content.  -Pam]

[gerrr00]

I followed the instructions and I was able to install the game no problem.  Now I am wondering where do I go to play the game?  If I go through the game launcher, it informs me that I need the disc before proceeding.  Please enlighten me on which file I need to access.  Thanks!

[The Illuminator]

At the moment I have Sims 3 uninstalled because I want to install it on a new computer, but it should be autorun.exe or something else with the sims 3 logo. I'll give you more information as soon as possible.

If you're using Windows 7 or Vista make sure you are an administrator.

[gerrr00]

I discovered that if you have activate your game with the game code in the EA Download Manager then that makes a digital copy of the game accessible to you.  So, it takes forever to download the game, but you don't need the disc.  I already had all the Sims3 game installed on my computer but not the Sims2.  I clicked start, waited the 2 hours for it to download and then was able to install and play it no problem.  No CD required for installation or game play!

[Gheez]

I discovered that if you have activate your game with the game code in the EA Download Manager then that makes a digital copy of the game accessible to you.  So, it takes forever to download the game, but you don't need the disc.  I already had all the Sims3 game installed on my computer but not the Sims2.  I clicked start, waited the 2 hours for it to download and then was able to install and play it no problem.  No CD required for installation or game play!

Just a heads up in case any of you are struggling to obtain a digital copy of the Pets expansion pack.

Origin (the new EA download manager) did not like the product code for Pets, it referred me to the EA Sims 3 website.  In order to enter the code and obtain a digital copy of Pets I had to enter the code on this website:  https://activate.ea.com/applyentitlement.do  using the email address and password that I use on the Sims 3 site and have set up in Origin.

Please note: it may be that you can only obtain a digital copy of Pets if you have not already installed the game using the dvd.

I also entered the code for Generations but saw no option to download it, I wondered if this was because it was already installed on my laptop though I didn't uninstall Generations to test this hypothesis.

[LadyRam14]

I don't understand how you copy from D: if it won't recognize the disk.  That's the whole problem.  I tried to copy from D: but all it said was insert disk even though the sims 3 CD was in there.

[Pam]

Welcome to our Forum, LadyRam.

I think we need to back up a little to find out exactly what your problem is.  What exactly happens when you have the game CD in the computer and you try to launch the game?

[KJSinclair]

First thing to check and this may just be a wording issue, but if you are inserting a DVD (sims3 is a DVD not CD) into a CD drive then it wouldn't be able to read it.

This sounds to me like a hardware problem (assuming it is a DVD drive after all) try inserting another DVD and seeing if it will play that and also try putting your game disk into another computer with a DVD drive. That will at the very least give you an idea where the issue lies.

Kindest Regards
KJ

[Frey]

I discovered that if you have activate your game with the game code in the EA Download Manager then that makes a digital copy of the game accessible to you.  So, it takes forever to download the game, but you don't need the disc.  I already had all the Sims3 game installed on my computer but not the Sims2.  I clicked start, waited the 2 hours for it to download and then was able to install and play it no problem.  No CD required for installation or game play!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  My Ambitions CD got scratched somehow and I really thought I would have to forget about that EP or buy a new CD... but I'm downloading it right now through Origin  Now I only have to wait forever for it to download, but that's just a small price!

[Gameactive]

I discovered that if you have activate your game with the game code in the EA Download Manager then that makes a digital copy of the game accessible to you.  So, it takes forever to download the game, but you don't need the disc.  I already had all the Sims3 game installed on my computer but not the Sims2.  I clicked start, waited the 2 hours for it to download and then was able to install and play it no problem.  No CD required for installation or game play!

Hey! If you can do that, then maybe I can register my steam copies of The Sims 3 and download direct from Origin! That could solve a problem I've had with the steam version not accepting store content

[Hosfac]

If you have valid codes, you could probably download them directly from Origin.  Not sure how it works, but you may have to register the codes on the official site if you haven't done so already.

I got a question:  I've got almost all the expansions on DVD, but since I use my computer quite often to watch movies I find it somewhat bothersome to have to constantly swap discs.  I know I could download them digitally, but the problem is the time it takes to download them.  Two hours per expansion when you've got 5 expansions is 10 hours worth of download time.  Honestly, I'd rather not spend that much time downloading when I know I have the discs in my drawer right next to me lol.

Could I use the discs to install all of the expansions with the exception of the most recent one I have and then digitally install that one to get away with not having to use a disc to run the game?

[Saltypaws]

I believe I read somewhere, as long as it is installed on your hard drive, you can do it that way.  Alot of people are going that way.

[Hosfac]

I believe I read somewhere, as long as it is installed on your hard drive, you can do it that way.  Alot of people are going that way.

I can confirm that this does, in fact, work.  I tested by installing everything up to Outdoor Living Stuff by using the discs, and downloading the stuff pack digitally (since those only take about 2 minutes).  I can run the game with no disc required.  This saved a tremendous amount of time after a full uninstall/re-install.  I can now download Pets while I sleep and wake up to a fully re-installed game.

I would highly recommend doing this to anyone who has the physical discs.  Download the last one and put them all away, and you'll never again have to wonder what you did with your disc after using your DVD-ROM for something else lol.

[Frey]

Did I understand that right? downloading Pets from Origin will avoid using the CD to run the game?  I should absolutely try it if it's so, because my DVD-ROM isn't working very well and it takes me 10 to 30 minutes just to get my computer to read the disk  .

[Leto85]

Did I understand that right? downloading Pets from Origin will avoid using the CD to run the game?  I should absolutely try it if it's so, because my DVD-ROM isn't working very well and it takes me 10 to 30 minutes just to get my computer to read the disk  .

Yep, totally right what you've read. I can confirm that at least Pets and Showtime work perfectly without DVD after buying online. It's very awesome to play the game without DVD and if you get a better PC you can simply reinstall your game from your old computer and install it on the newest. I can also confirm that.