What happens if I have Custom Content?
As with other expansions there is a possibility that any custom content you have in your Downloads folder may interfere with the installation of Open For Business. These problem files may not necessarily be limited to hacked objects but could also include new meshes or even some recolours. Many players find that they have no problem keeping their downloads in place during installation, but to be sure that you are not one of the few that do, it is advisable to completely remove your Downloads folder before you install The Sims 2 Open For Business.
Removing Custom Content/Downloads
To remove your custom content from your game:
- Find the following location on your hard drive: My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2.
- Left click on the folder called 'Downloads' and drag it completely to your desktop.
- Now install Sims 2 Open For Business.
Although it is possible to disable individual files with the Content Manager Tool, or even all your downloads during start up if you have later expansions already, the files will still be in the Downloads folder and there still remains a possibility that they could interfere with the installation process, therefore removing the Downloads folder first is probably the best way to be 100% sure that they cannot interfere.
Returning Custom Content After Install
Once Open For Business is installed, I'd recommend that you start it up before you return your Downloads folder, just to be sure that everything went ok during install. If your game seems alright you can shut it down again ready to return your downloads. To return your downloads:
- Find the following location on your hard drive: My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 and keep the window open.
- Find your Downloads folder on your desktop.
- Left click on your Downloads folder and drag it into your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2 folder.
- Restart The Sims 2.
If your game won't start up now, problems occur when loading a neighbourhood, problems occur when loading a lot or you have loaded a lot and have noticed problems with it that were not there before installing Open for Business, you may have something in your Downloads folder that is now incompatible with the Open For Business expansion.
The first step to try is using the
Content Manager Tool to disable or delete the more obvious target files as they will appear in red, then restart the game again and check if the problem has been resolved, if it has then you will need to reactivate each of the disabled files one by one, restarting the game in between until you find the problem file and remove it. If disabling the more obvious targets didn't solve the problem then you will need to disable all the files and repeat the procedure until you find the problem files, which may take quite a while if you have lots of them.
If you prefer or if you have trouble running the Content Manager Tool, you can search for the problem files manually. The first step is to shut down your game and remove your Downloads folder again (see Custom Content/Downloads section above). After this create yourself a new Downloads folder and start returning your files one by one. If you know the names of the hacks or new mesh files then you could start with these as they are more likely to be the problem, restarting the game again to check if the problem has been resolved.
It's probably unlikely that you will have to perform this time consuming procedure as most files should be compatible with open For Business, but if you are unlucky enough to experience this then it may be the only way of finding the problem files.