More Awesome Than You!

so, I've decided to move my game to the desktop computer at long last; since I'm missing most of my disks I arr'd a "complete" torrent (through BV) and am then going to install Free Time over it so it runs off a real disk. What's the best method of installation when doing all at once? Do I need to install, patch, install, patch? Should I run the base game once before installing EPs (I recall something about scinarios being broken if you don't)? When I can find individual disks, should I use them instead of my torrent? (I know I have Seasons and BV and I think there was one other I managed to track down)... any tips would be nice.

When I am installing the entire series all at once (i.e., after a reformat) I usually install one after the other until I am done. Each time you install one EP it will check to see if you are "up to date" on its own. You shouldn't have to do anything.

Remember to never run the game from the disk from whichever stuff pack came right before BV on. The first time you run from the disk it will install all kinds of fun spyware onto your computer and then you will hate EA forever and we will all miss you when you are gone.

I don't think it makes any difference whether you use the disks or the torrent.

is Free Time ok in that regards? I know I'll probably have to remove suckmyballs-rom since I'm installing it from a legit disk, but the spyware is gone now, yes?

No. SecurRom is alive and well. Install from the disks, if you must, but do not start the game with the disks. Use a no-cd crack the first time and every time.

If you use the no-cd crack then you will not get securom problems. <Insert standard disclaimer here>

NO. If you are on Vista then first upgrade to XP and THEN install Sims. The game is just about unplayable on Vista.

I posted this in the Securom thread, but this seems to be the active one. 

I have a couple of questions.

I never bought Pets so BV was the first EP I had to worry about Securom.  I had read this thread before loading the game so have been running from a no CD hack.  Now I have purchased FreeTime and realize I need to make the game right before I load, but I'm not sure how to do that.  Do I change the Sims2EP6.bak back to Sims2EP6.exe and remove the crack from the TSBin folder?  Then after loading the new EP change the Sims2EP7.exe to .bak, right and load the new hack? 

Second question - I went to gameburnworld to get a No CD hack and picked up a No DVD hack.  Will this work if I bought the game on CD?  Somehow this seems like a simple question, but I really don't know the answer.

Thanks for your help. 

speedreader, ay? You may wish to speed read the search box and some of the threads that describe how to do the things you are asking.

It should work just fine.  It's only in the US (and maybe Canada) that EAxis distributes the games on two CDs -- the rest of the world gets them on one DVD. So the .exe should be identical for both.

I still haven't figured out why they don't do DVD releases for North America.  I don't think I've bought a computer in the last 5 years that didn't have at least one DVD drive of some sort.

Thanks.  I appreciate the explanation!

No fears, I have XP.

IS there a FT no-cd crack already?

Yup; been up on gamecopyworld a couple of days now.  I found it before I found the game in the store. :)