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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 4:58 AM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life
Default Trying to use Double Deluxe and other expansion packs
I downloaded Double Deluxe and then University and Open for Business, but every time I try to open anything I get an error message, 'You are running the wrong version of Sims 2, run Double Deluxe Instead. There are about 4 exe files available, SP4, EP2, EP99 and Sims2.exe, tried them all and still says running wrong version. Any suggestions ? This is Windows 10.
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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#2 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 5:14 AM
Where did you download those from? This site only deals with the genuine game from EA. If yours are pirated you have to ask elsewhere. I would suggest looking on ebay and buying some gently used disks.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 2:06 PM
Default Double Deluxe
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Where did you download those from? This site only deals with the genuine game from EA. If yours are pirated you have to ask elsewhere. I would suggest looking on ebay and buying some gently used disks.


Not sure where I bought it, probably EBay, but it was a new disc when purchased and don't see what that has to do with all the different exe files.
Mad Poster
#4 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 5:53 PM
Double Deluxe should (according to the UC, anyway) have the basegame, EP2 (NL) and SP4 (Celebration stuff).

Not sure about EP99 (it's Store Stuff or some such - my version of the UC doesn't seem to have that one, but I think it was causing problems for Win10, so it's possible it was removed in an update. It could be causing problems for you, though - Store Stuff has been known to cause issues for a lot of people, alongside SecuRom and various other EA/Origin abominations...).

Open for Business in EP3. Technically the latest EP, but I'm not entirely sure if it counts, because EP99 and SP4 are possibly counted as newer, and DD may also be counted as newer as a whole. It's not the easiest pack to deal with.
Forum Resident
#5 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 8:37 PM
Apparently you need Pets or a higher EP to actually run the Store edition: https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_2_Store_Edition

Quote:
The Sims 2 Store Edition requires Pets to be installed. If other The Sims 2 games try to run, the user receives the error dialogue that he/she is running the wrong version of The Sims 2. The player is then prompted to start The Sims 2 Store Edition instead.


That sounds similar to your problem.

Unfortunately, the Store Edition is discontinued and no longer supported. I have absolutely no idea how you installed that in the first place, is it even on discs? Can you uninstall your game and not install the Store Edition?
Mad Poster
#6 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 8:56 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 13th Aug 2020 at 9:18 PM.
If the Store Edition comes on a separate disc you could try to uninstall just this - but I can't promise the rest of the game will run fine. Could be you need a full reinstall (maybe with registry edits) but skipping the Store Edition disc (that version is a bit of a problem).

There are actually two deluxe versions - There's "The Sims 2 Deluxe" without Celebrations from 2007, and "The Sims 2 Double Deluxe" with celebrations (and the Store Edition, apparently) from 2008.

Back in the days I bought packs as soon as they were out, and the stuff pack discs were often needed to run the game, so some definitely ran on updated game engines or some such, and the game would refuse to run with the previous EP discs. I'm not sure which game engine update Celebrations runs on, but time-wise it's post-Seasons (could also be running on Pets).
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#7 Old 13th Aug 2020 at 10:24 PM
You don't 'download' the disk, you simply run them and install what is on them. Might want to check you are using the correct terminology as it sounded extremely fishy.

I had a lot of issues when I set up my game on this pc and I had to remove all sims 2 in the registry. The fact that yours has been on and not been working may mean you have a similar issue and need all files wiped off before trying again.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#8 Old 14th Aug 2020 at 4:23 PM
Default Store Edition
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
If the Store Edition comes on a separate disc you could try to uninstall just this - but I can't promise the rest of the game will run fine. Could be you need a full reinstall (maybe with registry edits) but skipping the Store Edition disc (that version is a bit of a problem).

There are actually two deluxe versions - There's "The Sims 2 Deluxe" without Celebrations from 2007, and "The Sims 2 Double Deluxe" with celebrations (and the Store Edition, apparently) from 2008.

Back in the days I bought packs as soon as they were out, and the stuff pack discs were often needed to run the game, so some definitely ran on updated game engines or some such, and the game would refuse to run with the previous EP discs. I'm not sure which game engine update Celebrations runs on, but time-wise it's post-Seasons (could also be running on Pets).


My Double Deluxe says 3 Great Games, The Sims 2, Nightlife and Celebration Stuff. If I have Store Edition, I don't know where it came from. I have installed and uninstalled many times, mostly using the 4 disc version of Sims 2, and have almost everything except Pets thru Mansion and Garden Stuff EP9. In fact I have been messing with this so long I bought an old fashion 4 TB drive to work with because they say SSD will go bad if you erase and rewrite too often, my computer has a 1 TB SSD drive and running Windows 10 Pro. I'm thinking the error message 'You are running the wrong edition of Sims 2' is from some entry in my registry left from Double Deluxe when I'm back to trying the 4 disc install.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 14th Aug 2020 at 4:38 PM
Default install
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
You don't 'download' the disk, you simply run them and install what is on them. Might want to check you are using the correct terminology as it sounded extremely fishy.

I had a lot of issues when I set up my game on this pc and I had to remove all sims 2 in the registry. The fact that yours has been on and not been working may mean you have a similar issue and need all files wiped off before trying again.


OK, if you want to know what I'm doing, I put the disc in my drive, use Auto Run, select language, enter the code, select drive D (4 TB external). When it finishes it usually says please Wait.....think you could wait forever, hit OK, put in whatever they ask for and do what they want. When finished I install the Patch in TS Bin. Oh, forgot, when it comes up asking what you want to do with disc after putting it in drive, I select look at files, select the exe file and check properties, then Compatibility, and change to XP Service Pack 2, then go to Autorun.exe. Not sure that is really necessary thou, have four other installations that run just fine and I didn't do it on those, Windows 7 and 10.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 14th Aug 2020 at 5:58 PM
Have you tried to install a later EP over the Double Deluxe, such as pretty much anything Seasons or after? That should take care of the issue of which disc to use (if M&G is the latest EP/SP, that's usually the disc the game will want to use).

For compatibility, have you tried running without changing the mode to XP? I have not had to run in any modes with the UC on Win10 (but I use the 4GB fix, where you're not supposed to use those modes).

Also, launching the game from the "Sims2EP(X).EXE" can help if the game refuses to launch, especially on Win10 (the default launcher on the disc version).

I found a guide somewhere on Tumblr highlighting problems with discs and Win10 and how to fix them, but I'm having some trouble with my linked favorites atm - I'll see if I can find the link later.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#11 Old 14th Aug 2020 at 8:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Have you tried to install a later EP over the Double Deluxe, such as pretty much anything Seasons or after? That should take care of the issue of which disc to use (if M&G is the latest EP/SP, that's usually the disc the game will want to use).

For compatibility, have you tried running without changing the mode to XP? I have not had to run in any modes with the UC on Win10 (but I use the 4GB fix, where you're not supposed to use those modes).

Also, launching the game from the "Sims2EP(X).EXE" can help if the game refuses to launch, especially on Win10 (the default launcher on the disc version).

I found a guide somewhere on Tumblr highlighting problems with discs and Win10 and how to fix them, but I'm having some trouble with my linked favorites atm - I'll see if I can find the link later.


Thanks for the comments...right now I'm trying something different, I installed the 4 disc version of The Sims 2, then Open for Business, then Seasons, then Bon Voyage, then Mansion and Garden Stuff couldn't get it to load so tried individual packs, Open for Business says Im running the wrong version of Sims 2, run r instead. Seasons opens up but only has River Blossom Hills and a Shopping Center. Bon Voyage opens with Riverblossom Hills, Shopping CTr and can get vacation place, Mansion and Gardens doesn't open says wrong version of Sims 2, run m instead. So one says run r and one says run m.....what are these. Guess something wrong with my Sims 2 also since don't have Pleasantview, Strangetown and Veronaville.
Mad Poster
#12 Old 14th Aug 2020 at 8:37 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 14th Aug 2020 at 8:50 PM.
Try to remove the contents of the "The Sims 2" folder in Documents, and run the game from the Mansion & Garden pack. This should regenerate new files if your game is working (and if not, your game is not functional, and something else is wrong somewhere).

Here's (I think? It's a different link) the "access denied" issue I was thinking of earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sf7jyo_2kQ - maybe see if that helps?

Also found this old topic with a similar problem to yours: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=622258

You may want to check if your antivirus is blocking and/or quarantining something without your knowledge. Some antiviruses are known to cause a lot of havoc to TS2 games, and if yours is one of those you'll maybe want to exclude the TS2 ProgramFiles files from the AV so it doesn't do any harm to the files, and perhaps not run scans while your game is running.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#13 Old 15th Aug 2020 at 6:08 PM
Default Install problems
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Try to remove the contents of the "The Sims 2" folder in Documents, and run the game from the Mansion & Garden pack. This should regenerate new files if your game is working (and if not, your game is not functional, and something else is wrong somewhere).

Here's (I think? It's a different link) the "access denied" issue I was thinking of earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sf7jyo_2kQ - maybe see if that helps?

Also found this old topic with a similar problem to yours: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=622258

You may want to check if your antivirus is blocking and/or quarantining something without your knowledge. Some antiviruses are known to cause a lot of havoc to TS2 games, and if yours is one of those you'll maybe want to exclude the TS2 ProgramFiles files from the AV so it doesn't do any harm to the files, and perhaps not run scans while your game is running.


Don't know how to thank you enough, I used the method in the You Tube thing I think, where you unzip a file into the Program Files x86 where you have Sims 2, and then install all expansion packs in same folder and all are Up to date. Not sure Im saying this right but anyway, I did and now have 7 expansion packs and 5 stuff packs installed and everything is working fine. All I want to do now is move my Game files, hoods and downloads etc from C drive to an external drive. Ive been messing with this for almost a week, loading and unloading and get all thru and very little was working. Anyway, thanks again.
Mad Poster
#14 Old 15th Aug 2020 at 6:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by SilverFox30
All I want to do now is move my Game files, hoods and downloads etc from C drive to an external drive. Ive been messing with this for almost a week, loading and unloading and get all thru and very little was working.


Maybe not the best idea if you've been struggling so much with getting your game to work?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#15 Old 15th Aug 2020 at 10:37 PM
Default External Drive
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Maybe not the best idea if you've been struggling so much with getting your game to work?


My internal is 1 TB with lots of room but it is SSD and I understand that erasing and rewriting will cause it to fail fairly early. I will be going to each of my hoods and completely redoing the interior which means a lot of erasing, that is my concern. Also changing the looks of my Sims and their clothes etc.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#16 Old 15th Aug 2020 at 10:59 PM
Quote: Originally posted by SilverFox30
OK, if you want to know what I'm doing, I put the disc in my drive, use Auto Run, select language, enter the code, select drive D (4 TB external). When it finishes it usually says please Wait.....think you could wait forever, hit OK, put in whatever they ask for and do what they want. When finished I install the Patch in TS Bin. Oh, forgot, when it comes up asking what you want to do with disc after putting it in drive, I select look at files, select the exe file and check properties, then Compatibility, and change to XP Service Pack 2, then go to Autorun.exe. Not sure that is really necessary thou, have four other installations that run just fine and I didn't do it on those, Windows 7 and 10.


"install patch in TS Bin". You don't install patches to anywhere you simply run them. Have you downloaded all the patches you need from MTS? https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?ti...elp:TS2_Patches Some are for CD and some DVD versions so be sure to download the correct ones. Just save them to a folder and keep them.

Next if you are using the 4 GB patch don't use compatibility mode, it removes the patch.

But like I said I am pretty sure you will need to clean the registry. Even a normal install and uninstall can leave entries behind in the registry which then messes any new install. So first make sure there is not a single file hiding anywere. I was lucky and a tech friend walked me through the registry but without her help I would have had to take it in to someone.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Forum Resident
#17 Old 16th Aug 2020 at 8:21 AM
Quote: Originally posted by SilverFox30
My internal is 1 TB with lots of room but it is SSD and I understand that erasing and rewriting will cause it to fail fairly early. I will be going to each of my hoods and completely redoing the interior which means a lot of erasing, that is my concern. Also changing the looks of my Sims and their clothes etc.

From what I gather, the SSD life cycle isn't that punishing that you'd need to worry about ten reinstalls screwing you over. The numbers I've found were along the lines of 5000-10000 cycles. And that doesn't mean 5000 times changing clothes on your sims, since the drive won't overwrite the same bit every time. Realistically, by the time your SSD needs replacing due to this, the rest of your hardware will also be falling apart. The Sims 2 is way more unforgiving on your graphic card. And even if it doesn't, the hard drive is the cheapest component to replace anyway.
Mad Poster
#18 Old 16th Aug 2020 at 5:50 PM
Make sure you backup your harddrive regularly (everything you don't want to lose), and it's not going to be a problem. If you have a backup of your files and the SSD decides to take an early leave (probably not likely, they can handle more than you give them credit for), it will be possible to restore what you had on it.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#19 Old 16th Aug 2020 at 5:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
"install patch in TS Bin". You don't install patches to anywhere you simply run them. Have you downloaded all the patches you need from MTS? https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?ti...elp:TS2_Patches Some are for CD and some DVD versions so be sure to download the correct ones. Just save them to a folder and keep them.

Next if you are using the 4 GB patch don't use compatibility mode, it removes the patch.

But like I said I am pretty sure you will need to clean the registry. Even a normal install and uninstall can leave entries behind in the registry which then messes any new install. So first make sure there is not a single file hiding anywere. I was lucky and a tech friend walked me through the registry but without her help I would have had to take it in to someone.


I didn't use any patches, no 4 GB thing, no compatability changes but did use the you tube thing on the TS2upd.exe Error, and it worked great, all packs showed up to date and everything works great, 14 expansion and stuff packs....no problems.
Forum Resident
#20 Old 17th Aug 2020 at 5:40 AM
Your number of expansion packs seems to be increasing exponentially.
Mad Poster
#21 Old 17th Aug 2020 at 4:01 PM
TS2 has 8 EPs and 8 regular SPs (plus the two holiday packs that I'm guessing count as one since M&G is SP9). A few more to go, then?
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