I might as well try the patch seeing as I already have suck-Rom. Altough, why are we all complaining about what the patch doesn't have, seeing as it's EA we're talking about. Since when did they actually manage to do anything properly?

It appears my virus software (AVG 8.0) was causing the problems with simPE. At any rate, it works fine with the virus software uninstalled. Sorry for bothering you.

I remember reading somwhere that you get better work done by gardeners/butlers/nannies and the like if you increase your relationship with them (tipping being one way of doing this). I've never actually tried it though, but it wouldn't do any harm to try, seeing as making friends with a service npc still counts towards the friends count for work.

Top of my wishlist has to be a program/hack that allows you to rearrange/delete sim memories and change the colour. I'm fed up of getting bad memories for family sims marrying/becoming a werewolf and a few others. I used to use simPE for this, but with the new version it just takes far too long to load neighbourhoods.

I'm still having problems. Despite doing everything correctly, simPE (version 0_72_00) works at a snail's pace. Any suggestions? Given that the previous edition for ikea stuff worked at a sensible pace, I hope it's not the computer specs that are at fault.

Unfortunately I don't have a file called simPE.exe after un7zing it. There is a file called simPE but this opens the new version of the program then crashes. I also got a more technologically able friend to assist and they agreed with me.

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer. Both 0.71.26 AND 0.72.0 crashed.

However, I think I'm maybe installing it wrongly.

EDIT: I've found out I was making  stupid mistake. However, I seem to be lacking the correct file to install it. Am I meant to be installign from  a file called SimPE.exe? If so, I don't seem to have downloaded that particular file. Please don't anyone laugh too loudly at my lack of computer expertise.

I would like to help test if the latest version of simPE works, but it might kill my laptop: so far it's taken over fifteen minutes to load and works very slowly, one out of three times and doesn't work the rest of the time. That is, it starts loading then freezes and I have to restart the laptop. Previous vrsions of simPE have worked at a reasonable rate on the same laptop, for comparison.

It's worked! Thanks everyone, that house has been annoying me for ages, as I reallly like it, but want to make it a little bigger. Unlike EAxis, I like to be able to get a double bed in at least one of the bedrooms. Now I can finally get the house I wanted.

What is the stuck object remover? Although, it might not work if it does what it's name suggests. You can remove the stairs easily enough, and replace them with other stairs, you just can't replace the area with carpeting. It'd still be worth a try though.

There is a slight problem with 95 Brad Boulevard in my game, which appears to be a glitch from the game developers (thank you folks,I just love buying games that don't work properly). To demonstrate:

1). Open the lot
2). Delete the stairs inside the house.
3). Now add carpeting to the area where the stairs used to be on the second level of the house
4). Curse EA when you discover it doesn't work.

I have two questions:

1). Is it just my game or do other people have the same problem? (I've had this problem since the day I bought holiday edition of sims 2).
2). Please, if anyone has a  proplerly working version, please could you send me, a copy of the lot to see if that would work instead?

Oh and is it just me or do EA get worse with every expansion pack? Or are they just incapable of making games that work without problems?

Thanks

I hate mentioning this idea *shudders*but there is another option. Copy EAxis and build a foundation, place the firplace, build walls on the foudation and totally hide the original fireplace. Goodness knows why this doesn't cause a fire when you light the fireplace though. I can't stand using this idea, but it does at least give you a recolourable fireplace. And Emma, please don't sharpen your spork, *meows quietly while moving tail from side to side* after all, I think the RSPCA might object to you attacking cats.

Emma, your idea won't really work, as the foundation is bigger than the fireplace, so it wouldn't look right. Mind you, it'd look less wrong than the original. Would there be anyway of getting the AL fireplace's foundation underneath the BV firplace?

Interestingly, kitchen and bathroom stuff and IKEA also seem to have the same effect, even if freetime isn't installed. However, all children and teen outfits are still available. Very strange indeed. What on earth have EA done this time?

Also, a related question: is there any way to transfer the contents of a family's wardrobe from one household to another. So far all I've worked out is adding the new family to the old and killing off the unwanted sims. This won't work for transferring wardrobes from normal neighbourhoods to uni households though. Does anyone know a different way?

Edit: I have made two families, one normal, and one uni and given them all the clothes I unlocked from he base game (basically everything other than grim reaper, fried and invisible outfits). To save time, I've given them quite a few other outfits as well and I'm going to add all my families to a copy of them then kill off the extra sims. Would anyone be interested in getting a copy of these two lots? They require every ep including holiday stuff up to bon voyage, although the normal one doesn't require h&m.

I've been using sims 2 on a laptop for a couple of years and I only have problems if there's something actually seriously wrong with the laptop (for example, my virus software was slowing it to a crawl at one poitn due to a conflict with another program). As for overheating, just keep the area besides the fan free of stuff and you'll be fine. (Tip: fans make good areas to store hot drinks besides as they'll stay hot for longer, just keep anything else well away for it's sake, not the laptop's). And don't use the laptop for sims on your lap, like others have said: you'll hurt your back, get an overheated laptop and you can't always see the screen too well.

You do need a mouse though, although if you memorise every keyboard shortcut you can manage without if you don't mind pausing every few minutes to avoid clicking on the wrong thing.

This is really weird. I've just uninstalled freetime. Therefore, the basegame outfits I unlocked should be showing (they showed up in CAS before I first installed freetime, and I haven't changed the  files since. However, they're not. Is it possible that a freetime patch replaced the skins file in the base game with a slightly changed version, while trying to destroy the keeping career outfits in the wardrobe function?

Up until I installed the second freetime patch, I  unlocked the hidden outfits (career outfits, maid, gardener and so on) by altering the value for flags in the property set files using simPE. However, since the patch, this no longer works for any outfits in the base game. Is there a better way of doing this, preferably without custom asterisks appearing everywhere? Unfortunately, my knowledge of simPE isn't great.