Thanks for the reply.
I'm sure I'll do the first thing you suggested, but if I use Delphy's installer, do you think I can skip the steps in the link?

I've just come back from a long break from sims 3...and I'm reading about the recent patch that came out. I only have the base game installed, and I'm hearing that the 1.8 has problems. Apparently it disables your custom content from working. I'm a huge CC junkie, so I can't live without it.

Can someone clarify this for me?
Also, can anyone enlighten me to which patch is safe to download? As in up to what version. I would very much appreciate it, thank you.

Here's my story:
I'm using a crack and I installed the patch with the launcher.
Luckily for me, I saved the original sims 3 exe. So I don't know if it matters, but I renamed my crack exe something else and reused the original's exe.
Opened the launcher, I have the US version so...yeah.
I didn't have to register, and I didn't.
Installed patch, and closed everything. Reused the crack exe, and my game is up and running.
And I have the awesome mod installed, and it still works. Tested by using maxmotives.