Help with installing BV.

[oliveoil]

I'm a long-time lurker here, with a copy of BV that I bought when it was first released. I had it installed on my old PC, but I then found out about securom and all the damage it can cause. I have a new computer and up until now I've resisted installing BV because of securom. I'm not much of a gamer and I only play TS2, so until I started looking on this site I had no idea that no-CD cracks existed. (Yes, I am that out of touch with technology)

I have already had a read through the remove securom thread but there is so much different information in there that I'd just like to clear a coople of things up first before I mess with my computer.

Is anybody willing to help me with a dummy's guide to it? It's just that I have this vision of doing something wrong and missing out a step, securom being installed anyway and the computer being ruined. I really cant risk anything bad happening to this PC, it's important as I use it for work. At the same time, I might as well get BV set up, I did pay for it after all. It seems a shame to waste it.
How will I know for sure that securom hasn't been installed? and where I do I find a safe no-cd crack to download? If anyone here could point me in the right direction to one that they are using that would be great.

Also, I did search for information about this and I read that since BV all official patches contain securom, and I know from when I played BV before there is a problem with tour guide spawning, so would it be alright to not patch the game at all but to just use the anti redundancy from this site? I wouldn't need anything else installed would I?

[Zazazu]

There is a dummy's guide. You did not read well enough.

From the very first post:

4. To not get it again, you need to start loading from a no-CD crack. I get mine at gamecopyworld.com. I recommend any versions by Fairlight. Make sure that, if you have patched your game, you get the patched version of the crack. Go to "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 LAST EP\TSBin" and change the name of the crack to whatever you like. Then place the crack in the same folder. Make a shortcut to this on your desktop, and run the game from this new shortcut.

I haven't yet installed one of those SecuROM EPs. How do I make sure I never have to deal with this?
Simple. Follow #4. Get a no-cd crack. Use it and never use the game's included Sims2EP#.exe (where # is the number of your last EP), which is the file that contains SecuRom.

[jolrei]

But just in case, here's the Dummies Guide for Dummies:

1) back up your neighbourhoods
2) take out your Downloads folder and save it to a safe location.
3) Install BV in the normal manner - you should be on an administrator (full rights) account, if your PC has several.  If you are the only one using your computer, you likely only have an admin account.
4) Do not run the game yet.  Download the no-cd crack from Gamecopyworld.  Make sure you get the one for BV.
5) Place the No-cd crack in the TSbin folder for your BV game in the Program Files directory (not the one in "My Documents/EAGames).  If you check the "properties" section of your BV desktop start icon, it will have the filepath for the correct TSBin folder)
6) Update your desktop start icon to point to the no-cd crack (so that the game will load from the no-cd rather than the original .exe or the stupid launcher).
7) Run game - you will NOT have securom since it won't load if you never use the original .exe
Test.  If okay, quit game.
9) Replace Downloads folder.  Delete all old hacks.  Put BV versions of Awesome hacks into your Downloads folder.
10) Test game again.

That should do it.

[mildlydisguised]

You also have two choices where patching is concerned.  Either patch it and use the no cd crack for the patched version or don't patch it and use the no cd crack for the non-patched version.

[oliveoil]

Thanks jolrei. That's a lot clearer. The only thing that I'm not sure of is step 6. How do I update the desktop start icon?

Also, Do I delete the original .exe that would be in the Program files from BV first? or do I need to move it somewhere else in my computer? Sorry if that's a real noob thing to ask, I'm just making sure before I do anything to the files.

EDIT: I just checked gamecopyworld, and found one called "The Sims 2: Bon Voyage v1.0 [MULTI16] No-CD/Fixed EXE" by FairLight. Is this the right one I need to download if I am not patching the game?

But just in case, here's the Dummies Guide for Dummies:

1) back up your neighbourhoods
2) take out your Downloads folder and save it to a safe location.
3) Install BV in the normal manner - you should be on an administrator (full rights) account, if your PC has several.  If you are the only one using your computer, you likely only have an admin account.
4) Do not run the game yet.  Download the no-cd crack from Gamecopyworld.  Make sure you get the one for BV.
5) Place the No-cd crack in the TSbin folder for your BV game in the Program Files directory (not the one in "My Documents/EAGames).  If you check the "properties" section of your BV desktop start icon, it will have the filepath for the correct TSBin folder)
6) Update your desktop start icon to point to the no-cd crack (so that the game will load from the no-cd rather than the original .exe or the stupid launcher).
7) Run game - you will NOT have securom since it won't load if you never use the original .exe
Test.  If okay, quit game.
9) Replace Downloads folder.  Delete all old hacks.  Put BV versions of Awesome hacks into your Downloads folder.
10) Test game again.

That should do it.

[oliveoil]

mildlydisguised, Thanks for pointing it out about the patch. I'm still not sure I trust it though. I don't have a lot of faith in EA/Maxis anymore since the securom issue, so I'll probably not patch it and just use the hacks from here instead.

Zazazu, I did read that but I just wanted a little more detail. I am still a beginner at this and didnt want to risk doing something wrong and still ending up with securom after all of it.

[jolrei]

The only thing that I'm not sure of is step 6. How do I update the desktop start icon?

I see; this is basic.  Simplest thing is to go to "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Bon Voyage\TSBin" and rename your original Sims2EP6.exe as "Sims2EP6-exe.old" and then rename the no-cd crack "Sims2EP6.exe".  Do not delete the original .exe; you will need it if you ever have to install a new EP.

Also, remember these steps, because you'll need to do them all again the next time you load an EP (like Freetime, and don't swear you won't).

[Zazazu]

You can also just keep the no-cd with a different name, wrong-click (uh...right?) on it, and choose to create a shortcut. Drag and drop to desktop. Run game from that.

Anyways, version 1.0 is the unpatched crack. I'd patch, though. It doesn't matter that it also updates SecuRom, as you'll be castrating it with the crack. Install game, patch, then apply patched crack (which will be the crack with the highest version number and, typically, the latest release date.

[oliveoil]

I see; this is basic.  Simplest thing is to go to "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Bon Voyage\TSBin" and rename your original Sims2EP6.exe as "Sims2EP6-exe.old" and then rename the no-cd crack "Sims2EP6.exe".  Do not delete the original .exe; you will need it if you ever have to install a new EP.

Also, remember these steps, because you'll need to do them all again the next time you load an EP (like Freetime, and don't swear you won't).

Ok, I wont delete it. Would it be worth moving the original exe out and keeping it in my external hard drive instead? That way I wouldn't confuse it with the crack. I'm paranoid I will get them both mixed up.

Oh yeah, I've been there with swearing not to buy any more. Free Time doesn't bother me too much but I'll probably get Apartment Life when it's been out a while and I know there's not any giant bugs in it first, so I'll keep the original exe handy.

You can also just keep the no-cd with a different name, wrong-click (uh...right?) on it, and choose to create a shortcut. Drag and drop to desktop. Run game from that.

Anyways, version 1.0 is the unpatched crack. I'd patch, though. It doesn't matter that it also updates SecuRom, as you'll be castrating it with the crack. Install game, patch, then apply patched crack (which will be the crack with the highest version number and, typically, the latest release date.

I'll go back to the site and look for the patched crack. I've now got a problem with the my game which I just posted about, so I think all this is going to have to wait until I see if that can be fixed first.

Thanks to you all for the help though, now I know what to do as soon as I've sorted the glitch out.