Hi There,
just been reading around online about Sims installation problems (mine doesnt 'quit unexpectedly' but stalls instead)
anyway, found this page which someone has written about a previous version of Sims, might be worth a try? (i haven't had a chance to test it out but i am close to wits end!)
anyway, noticed no one had given an answer so thought this could help.
Sam
p.s. the link :-P
http://www.giantmike.com/simsinstallfix.html