# Sims 3 installer problems



## Abraneb (Jun 10, 2009)

I just got myself a copy of The Sims 3, and lo and behold, it doesn't work. I put in the disk, click on the installer, and after a second or two, it just says "The Sims 3 Installer quit unexpectedly". I've tried relaunching countless times, rebooting, rebooting in safe mode, re-downloading and installing OSX updates...nothing works. And yes, I've got the specs to run the game.

I can't get a hold of EA till tomorrow (and let's be honest, even then I can't be sure..!), any ideas?

I'm trying to keep my cool, but EA is really testing my temper with this game...


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jun 10, 2009)

Try creating a new user account, logging in under the new user account, then trying to run the Sims 3 installer.

This will tell us whether the problem is system-wide, or just relegated to a specific user account.


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## Abraneb (Jun 10, 2009)

Ok, I tried another account and I get the same problem... there doesn't seem to be any specific error code that I can see (but then, I'm not particularly computer code literate), although the error report begins with:

Process:         tgInstall [233]
Path:            /Volumes/Sims3/The SIMS(tm) 3 Install.app/Contents/MacOS/tgInstall
Identifier:      com.transgaming.tginstall-sims3-sku2
Version:         ??? (1.0)
Code Type:       X86 (Native)
Parent Process:  launchd [181]

and this seems to crop up a couple of times:

Application Specific Information:
*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '*** -[NSCFString replaceOccurrencesOfString:withStringptions:range:]: nil argument'


I don't know if that helps, I certainly don't know what to do with it..! Tried running it on my boyfriend's Mac, which has the same specs as mine, no problems there.


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## nixgeek (Jun 10, 2009)

There was a thread recently about this issue (or a similar one).  Do a search for "Sims 3" on the forum and you should be able to find it.


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## Kate727 (Jun 11, 2009)

I have the exact same problem. A few seconds after I click the Sims 3 installer, I get the error message.

I can't seem to figure out what to do.

It's my birthday today, and this was a birthday present, so I'm kind of bummed


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## Abraneb (Jun 12, 2009)

I know the feeling, Kate - I've searched every forum I can find for info on this error, to no avail. It seems people are busy worrying about some of the more common of the (many!) errors the game is loaded with! 

Still, no one here with any ideas? Kate, you getting the same error log? Maybe we can figure out if we've got some faulty program in common, see if it's related to that. If you find a solution or even any info on the problem, PLEASE be sure to post here, I'd love to figure this out and get to playing this game!

Oh, and happy birthday


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## Kate727 (Jun 12, 2009)

Here's what mine says:

Process:         tgInstall [237]
Path:            /Volumes/Sims3/The SIMS(tm) 3 Install.app/Contents/MacOS/tgInstall
Identifier:      com.transgaming.tginstall-sims3-sku2
Version:         ??? (1.0)
Code Type:       X86 (Native)
Parent Process:  launchd [72]

Exception Type:  EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread:  0

Application Specific Information:
*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '*** -[NSCFString replaceOccurrencesOfString:withStringptions:range:]: nil argument'

I don't really know much about this stuff so I don't know what of that is important.


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## Kate727 (Jun 16, 2009)

Still nothing....


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## Kate727 (Jun 19, 2009)

Anyone found anything yet?


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## nixgeek (Jun 19, 2009)

I found this thread in the Apple Discussion boards.  The last post claims that turning off Time Machine in Leopard might be a workaround.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9611674

I checked the EA and Sims 3 websites and I could not find a patch to download, but I assume from the support sections on those sites that the patch is downloaded and applied from the launcher itself.


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## Kate727 (Jun 20, 2009)

I checked that but my time machine is already off and it's still not working


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## vince_13 (Jun 28, 2009)

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  http://www.giantmike.com/simsinstallfix.html


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## Abraneb (Jun 29, 2009)

Finally! After rummaging around the Sims forums every day for ages, I have finally found something that works! 

Kate, if you haven't already gotten a solution, check this out: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/38896.page

In case the link is being anal - you never know - here's what they say:


We are now aware of a Mac OSX problem reported on Mac forums where user's hard drives somehow become hidden on their computers. This makes it impossible to install The Sims 3 and possibly other application to that hard drive. A solution that has worked is make your hard drive visible again following these steps:

0. Take any CD's / USB drives / iPods / connected disks out of the machine.

1. open Terminal (Applications/Utilities/...)

2. make sure you are using an Administrator account and have the password

3. type the following:
ls -lOd /
(That's lowercase ell, lowercase ess, space, minus, lowercase ell, capital oh, lowercase dee, space, forward slash)

4. You should get something like this:
hostname:~ username$ ls -lOd /
drwxrwxr-t@ 32 root admin hidden 1156 Feb 8 20:35 /
(note it says "hidden" instead of "-")

5. To fix this, type:
sudo chflags nohidden /

6. Type in your password when prompted.

You should now be able to install to that hard drive. If you have partitions on your machine, you will need to unhide all the drives using:
sudo chflags nohidden /Volumes/* 



Be sure to post if it works for you, too!


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## zottigirl (Nov 13, 2010)

OMG thankyou so much i have been searching everywhere for a solution to this problem.... And EA Tech support didnt help me at all, told me to run things like system updates... But this works and im installing the game as a type this.
THANK YOU SO MUCH


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## zottigirl (Nov 13, 2010)

ok so i spoke too soon, 
Both the original Sims 3 disk and the Ambitions expansion installed fine after i took your advice, however, 
Now they will not run the game. I clip the icon for it nothing happens, sometimes the icon appears on my doc for a second. like it is running, then goes away... 
i tried re-installing it, still the same problem. any help or tips would be awesome, thanks


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## Martin Walker (Nov 22, 2010)

I've exact the same problem. When i click the Sims 3 then suddenly a error message occurs. Then what can i do...??
my lead system pro


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