sims3 won't play

by yermomohsnap
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sims3 won't play

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this is gonna be long... i bought the Sims3 back when it fist came out, almost 10 years ago. I still have the same computer I used to play it on. After a couple years of not playing I decided I want to get into it again. When I tried to play from the disk, it kept saying the registration code is invalid. So I contacted EA help and spent many hours uninstalling, reinstalling, uninstalling, installing Origen, downloading, reinstalling... AND IT STILL SAYS THE REGISTRATION CODE IS INVALID! what the hell?! Origen is supposed to not need a registration code, but when I click play, it says "launching from external application" and keeps asking me for the registration code over and over. i'm ready to give up on EA completely. Please Help!

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Re: sims3 won't play

@yermomohsnap  Origin does need to have a registration code on your account, but you're right, it's supposed to know that you have one and automaticlly authenticate your install.  The issue might be though that you have some remnant of your previous disc install; the typical uninstall process wouldn't have removed everything.

 

Please manually uninstall your newest pack by the date EA released it.  (So for example, if you own Into the Future, uninstall that one.)  It's not enough to uninstall via Origin or the uninstaller that comes with TS3; you'll need to remove the registry entry associated with that pack.  (This might have been the missing step.)  Scroll down to "I'm having problems with my game," and follow the directions to delete the relevant registry key:

 

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-3/manually-uninstalling-the-sims-3/

 

Or, if you're not comfortable with these directions, use a tool like Piriform's CCleaner (the free version is fine) to remove all traces of the pack from your computer.

 

Then you can reinstall the pack through Origin.  If this doesn't help though, please let me know what methods you used to uninstall (did you do the regular version or did you clean the registry as described above), and how you installed the game again most recently.  I don't want to repeat any advice you've already received.

 

It would also be helpful if you could take a screenshot of the error message you're getting.  Hit Windows key-shift-S and drag your cursor over the part of the screen you want to capture.  Then open Paint or another image editing app, and crtl-V to paste the image.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
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