Restore games

[LoneRanger7445]

I have lost some of the Sims 3 DVDs, but have a backup of the x86 directory and I have the keys. Is there anyway to re-activate the games?

[LoneRanger7445 · Accepted solution]

@puzzlezaddict Yeah, I understand what you're saying. The games were purchased long before Origin and for whatever reason they aren't showing up there, but the base game and Ambitions is. World Adventures, Island Paradise, Master Suite, and Into the Future do not show up (never bought any other the other games). I'm not about to repay $20 for each one (average cost on Amazon), so I guess I'm basically out of luck. As far as registery hacks, I'm a retired IT guy, so that doesn't bother me one little bit.

[puzzlezaddict]

@LoneRanger7445  If you have the product keys, you can just register them in Origin and download them from there.  It's a lot simpler than trying to restore the installed files.

[LoneRanger7445]

Excellent idea, but unfortunately it's not work.  The games were originally purchased and installed before Origin and when I try to "redeem" the code, it says it has already been redeemed.

[puzzlezaddict]

@LoneRanger7445  If you've already redeemed the keys, they should be in the Origin game library of whatever account you used back then.  Even if you registered the keys on the old Sims 3 site, there should still be an Origin account tied to that same username and password.  Login, open your Origin game library, and if you see Sims 3, click on it and then check More > Expansion Packs (or Stuff Packs) for your content.

There isn't really anything you can do with the backup of the program files and the keys alone.  Sims 3 needs associated registry entries to work, and those entries contain the product keys but also additional information.  So even if you could import the keys to your registry, which is not a great idea (messing with the registry never is), your computer would still be missing some information necessary to run the game.

[LoneRanger7445 · Accepted solution]

@puzzlezaddict Yeah, I understand what you're saying. The games were purchased long before Origin and for whatever reason they aren't showing up there, but the base game and Ambitions is. World Adventures, Island Paradise, Master Suite, and Into the Future do not show up (never bought any other the other games). I'm not about to repay $20 for each one (average cost on Amazon), so I guess I'm basically out of luck. As far as registery hacks, I'm a retired IT guy, so that doesn't bother me one little bit.

[puzzlezaddict]

@LoneRanger7445  Keep an eye out for Steam sales.  There hasn't been one for Sims 3 in a while, but when there is, the base game and packs can be as low as $5 each.  You'd have to buy a copy of the base game too, but you'd still save a lot of money.  You could then register your codes in Origin and download from there, or just buy another copy of Ambitions and stay with Steam.