If you want to save yourself from hours of hair pulling and pain, dont install the patch.   I have a legit copy, so I attempted an update. The patch borks in the middle of the install, and then the game will not load , saying i dont have the CD in ( I tried this with and without the 3booter and the 'disable check cd' ) I removed all mods, still wont complete patch or load.  SO I go to uninstall - and get an error there too....so after manually uninstalling, reinstalling a fresh, pristine copy, updating (mistakenly thinking this was a good idea) THEN adding back in my custom content and mods..... My sims have turned into idiots.  I get route errors for EVERYTHING , even if they are standing directly in front of what ive told them to do with nothing in the way. They wont eat, go to bed, get in the car to go to work, pick up their screaming baby larva, etc..... Seems they'd rather starve / sleep on the floor / get fired than walk in a straight line.

Meanwhile, my husband says he is compiling a bill to send to EA for when I drop-kick my computer down the stairs....