How to Manually Install The Sims 2

You're not alone! Installing The Sims 2 and some of its expansion sets can be frustrating. If you receive an error message telling you "there was a problem installing file X," your system thinks it's incompatible. But fear not! Follow these steps for the alternative installation you'll need.

Insert your Sims 2 CD/DVD into your disk drive.

Open up your local hard drive.

Go to File, New, Folder.

Name this folder "Disk Images."

Go into the "Disk Images" folder and create another folder called "Disk1." If you're installing a version of The Sims 2 or an expansion with multiple disks, create folders for each disk. Label them "Disk2," "Disk3" and "Disk4." It's important you don't put a space in between "Disk" and the number you use.

Open up "My Computer" and select your Sims 2 CD. If the autorun comes up, cancel it as well as the installation.

Right-click The Sims 2 CD. Click "Explore."

Click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window and choose "Select All." You can also press CTRL+A.

Click on the "Edit" tab again and select "Copy." CTRL+C also works.

Head into your "Disk1" folder. Go to the "Edit" tab and select "Paste." CTRL+V works as well. Continue until you've copied and pasted the information from all the disks into their appropriate folders.

Find the autorun file in the "Disk1" folder and double click it. This should install the game as normal. When you are finished, you can delete the "Disk Images" folder.