Hard copy Sims 3, digital expansions. Can't install expansions to base game.

[misscreakie]

hi!

i have a hard copy of the sims 3 installed on my computer. in my origin game library i have a registered base game and several expansion packs. whenever i attempt to download and install an expansion to my already installed (hard copy) game, origin wants to make me download/install the (digital copy) base game in my game library too. i don't want to uninstall my existing sims 3 base game just to reinstall a digital copy but i want access to my expansion packs. from my understanding i should be able to install the expansions to a hard copy base, i'm just not sure how to get around downloading the digital base because i'm not given an option to forego it

any help is appreciated 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@misscreakie  Origin is supposed to be able to handle a mix of disc and digital installs, but in practice it doesn't always work.  In this case, perhaps Origin isn't recognizing your disc install of the base game.  I don't know why this would be the case, but you could try clearing Origin's cache, or even uninstalling and reinstalling Origin only; this would not affect any installed games you already have.  If you're not already patched at least to 1.67, you can get there with the manual Super Patch that corresponds to your base game's region.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Don-t-know-how-to-clear-origin-cache-View-this/td-p/54997...

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

super patch download link:  http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/175477

You should know that however this plays out, if you install even one pack through Origin, you'll inevitably end up on patch 1.69.  There used to be a way to avoid it with a disc install of the base game, but that is no longer the case; Origin force-patches the game with any download.  So if you'd rather stay on 1.67, your only options are to buy hard copies of the packs you're missing, or buy everything on Steam.  (Or play on a mac, but you probably don't want to go that route.)

If you do end up uninstalling the disc version of the base game, you will need to clean your registry before installing the digital version.  You can do so with a tool such as Piriform's CCleaner (the free version is fine), or manually if you know where to look.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@misscreakie  Origin is supposed to be able to handle a mix of disc and digital installs, but in practice it doesn't always work.  In this case, perhaps Origin isn't recognizing your disc install of the base game.  I don't know why this would be the case, but you could try clearing Origin's cache, or even uninstalling and reinstalling Origin only; this would not affect any installed games you already have.  If you're not already patched at least to 1.67, you can get there with the manual Super Patch that corresponds to your base game's region.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Don-t-know-how-to-clear-origin-cache-View-this/td-p/54997...

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

super patch download link:  http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/175477

You should know that however this plays out, if you install even one pack through Origin, you'll inevitably end up on patch 1.69.  There used to be a way to avoid it with a disc install of the base game, but that is no longer the case; Origin force-patches the game with any download.  So if you'd rather stay on 1.67, your only options are to buy hard copies of the packs you're missing, or buy everything on Steam.  (Or play on a mac, but you probably don't want to go that route.)

If you do end up uninstalling the disc version of the base game, you will need to clean your registry before installing the digital version.  You can do so with a tool such as Piriform's CCleaner (the free version is fine), or manually if you know where to look.