I snark when I get snarked at. Your message consisted of saying, "HI, you are an idiot because I didn't read your other post all the way and therefore have the right to sneer at you."   

And you did not tell me to check my properties listing, you told me to do a search.  A search on the entire Fucking F: drive and another on the entire Fucking C: drive did not turn up those files the first three times I'd done it before I posted.

I ran a search on both drives before and again after I posted.  The only Mansion and garden files it came up with were something called Sims2 Mansion and Garden Stuff_code.exe and Sims2 Mansion and Garden Stuff_uninstall.exe  which were in the Support folder. NOTHING showed up on a search for EP9. The EP9.exe file is there now.  None of the rest showed up until just now.  I've run the game since the first post to double check that it was working.  All I can figure is that it generated this misplaced folder when I ran the game because it couldn't find the previous non-existant M&G folder.

I realize this is the board that jeered at, called names and made personal remarks about someone who posted a problem they had with their game on a mac.  When one of the competent technical people pointed out that the solution offered wouldn't work on a mac, half the people ignored it and continued the insults.  No one apologized.  I also note the fact that my problem was solved by someone who didn't get on and call me names.

So, yes, I erred.  I thought I could get a strange problem solved here.  I forgot that to 90% of the people here the only reason this board exists is to boost their egos by sneering at whoever looks vulnerable.  So, do, enjoy yourselves.  I'm sure you'll feel so proud.

Which gives me: "F:\Program Files\EAGames\TSBin\Sims2Launcher.exe"

OH, the Mansion and Garden uninstaller.exe is on there.  For all the other EPs and SPs it's in the folder. For M&G it's in the main Sims2 folder.  ANd there is an EP 9. exe it's in the TSbin in the EAgames folder  Apparently it has installed itself in the EAGames folder instead of Mansion and Garden Stuff Folder.

I was beginning to feel like someone who says their car is running fine only to discover that there's no engine under the hood.

Note: I know I did not tell it to install there. 

Yes I am.   And you've simplified the problem I had with installing, but that's ok, I'm used to it.  Junior High social dymanics rule here.

In this case I've run a search on both drives--no folder turns up on either the C: or F: drives.

FYI: the .exe file isn't in any of the folders on my HD for any EP or Stuff pack.  THey're on the CD unless you're using the no-CD crack.

So, does someone who actually has a CLUE have any suggestions. 

I just realized there's no Mansions and Garden Stuff folder in my EAGames folder, or anywhere on either of my hard drives.  Nor is there an EP9 folder.

It runs fine, finds everything as far as I can tell, but the folder just isn't there.  And I've got the show  hidden files option checked in my Control Panel File Options, so that's not the problem anyway.

I swear I've had more problems with this one stuff pack than I've had with all the rest of the game combined.   

Roomate has always shown in the "pets" panel and that's where it is if I use the boolprop  "make selectable" option.

Is this a folder under Progam Files/EAgames, like all the others?

If not something is seriously borked.  I just searched Mansions and couldn't find a folder that said that or EP9.

And, since someone will ask, no I am not now nor have I ever used the no-CD patch.

I'm having the same problem.  Using testingcheats and "makeselectable" put the roomates portrait back until I unselected him.

This was in vanilla--no stuff game.

OK I just tested this with no hacks,no CC--in fact the entire downloads folder was removed to make sure nothing had crept in under cover of hash numbers.  I have all EPs and all Stuff Packs.   I do not use the no CD patch.   I've only noticed it since M&G Stuff went in, but it may have manifested itself before without my realizing it.

I cannot place modular stairs next to a wall.  I can put the wall in afterwards, so it's not a totall disaster, but it's a nuisance. 

I've tested this in a house consisting of nothing but a two story cube with no other walls so I know there's nothing blocking it on the first story.

ANy ideas?

The problem turns out to be a weirdness in the location of where I had installed AL.  The full explanation is in the topic I started.  SuckyROM may be a problem, but it wasn't mine.

OTOH, if the tech support people had actually asked a few questions about my installation the problem might have been solved faster and less painfully.

OK, I got it to install.  It took only the sacrifice of a couple of goats and sticking pins in a Mr. Humble Doll.

Actually the problem was on my end, and probably could have been solved without bloodshed if, on both of my phone calls, EAXIS had actually gotten details about my system and not pretended it knew the answer to the problem.  And I also admit that I'm probably the only person in the world who would have done this.

Shortly before AL came out we installed a second hard drive (F:) on my system and I reinstalled the Sims2, EPs and the Stuff packs to it.  I've been using computers since the long-ago era when putting a space in a file or folder name could cause problems, so I often leave the space out when naming them.  Consequently I had the Sims2 and all the EPs installed to F:My Documents\EAGames.  However, when I installed AL I apparently specified F:My DOcuments\EA Games and AL was installed there.  THe game found it with no problems, and I don't recall having any problems with patching it originally, though I'm not entirely sure.   (I know it wouldn't patch BV even though that was before the installation of the F: drive, so I may have decided it was just some sort of glitch I'd worry about later.)

I reinstalled it to the EAGames directory after I realized that it wasn't in the right folder.  This time it ran the patch and installed M&G with no problems at all.

So now I have mansard roofs, and three exciting kinds of pond scum. 

OK, the new roof slope tool is actually almost worth the trouble, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with the quarter space cheat.

There it is.  My mistake compounded by itiots at EA tech support.

I don't trust my button mashing skills.  Besides I'm paying for the tech support, I figure I'll use it.  I'm going to try the manual reinstall as soon as I've aborbed the proper amount of caffeine to jumpstart my three or four remaining braincells.

However, I'm in recovery having had to reinstall AL last night, and of course forgot to take out my DOwnloads folder.  I was able to stop it from deleting the entire folder, but everything in folders down to the middle of the H's is kaput.  Including all my Build Sets....

Apparently the first customer support guy I got was an idiot and simply said AL was incompatible with MG.  Actually it's incompatible on some systems.  Mine included.

Other information appears to point a finger at SecureRom.  This does not surprise me in the slightest.

It could be.  The most severe case was a lot on a location I'd tried numerous other houses on before putting that one in.  I just went in, removed the lot I thought was the problem and all the lots around it.  I used ModifyNeighborhood Terrain to level it and put the problem lot back in--no sinkage.  So, I guess, the street had gotten really badly distorted by trying all the other houses there, plus it ran parallel to a beach with an abrupt drop off.  (Note: it wasn't classified as an apartment at the time I first placed it)



However, the other house, the one I experimented on was on an otherwise level street and the lot had been flattened before I built on it.  I almost never leave a lot with bumps on it unless I'm trying to do something unusual, which I wasn't with this house:

BEFORE: You can see by the fact that the road dips from across the street to the house--which it didn't do before I placed the house--that the ground has "sunk". 



AFTER Changing Level and Moving:  THe house is on the other end of the same row of houses, two buildings down from where it was.  The house hasn't sunk.



Mootilda--I have all EPs and SPs--except MG which I can't get to install.    I don't use the no-CD crack. 
I'll try and get a copy of the house from one of my other neighborhoods where I haven't changed the level.

The second tech support guy asked for the name of the first one, which I didn't remember though I had the reference number.  Apparently the first guy was wrong when he stated that Al was not compatible with M&G.  What he should have said is that some people were having issues with AL and MG.  BTW the EA tech support center is on PST and both of them sounded like they were from the US.  THe only part of the process where English was an issue was the stupid "voice recognition" thing at the beginning.

Tip:  If you want to reach an actual person instead of being given a tech support recording speak gibberish when it asks you the name of the game you are having issues with.  After the third time the 'bot will apologize and send you to live tech support.  If you say something it understands--like Sims 2-- it will give you some options and then send you to ea.com.  Mansion and Gardens was apparently not a term it was programmed to understand.  Neither was Sims2 Mansions and Gardens or THE Sims2 Mansions and Gardens.  I figure if I'd answered "snerflerf" too it it would have had the same result.  Of course the first time I tried Sims 2 on it tried to tell me I'd just said Carl Madden Something or Other Sports Game....

My game is patched.  Both patches, in fact.  NOw BV wouldn't patch the first time, but did the last time I reinstalled.

OK, I called tech support again, and got told first that they had a "work around" but he needed to find out what it was.  I suggested a manual install for reasons I'll explain in a minute and he said I could do that but he wanted to check about the workaround since I was the first person he'd spoken to with the problem.    He came back and said his supervisor had said they weren't using the workaround explained that it's a problem with some systems and not others and had me give him some of the specs on my machine--processor, graphics card, RAM, gc ram.   He also said there should be a patch next week.

I posted on the board and received this reply from IAmMAMAINRED:

Make sure all your games are patched.
Then re-boot the PC & manually install it.
It is not the game keeping it from installing, it is
a SecuROM issue for most.
http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=10875&p_created=1127328997&p_s
It also needs a gig is RAM, so if your specs are at min level, it will not install.

I'm not sure I want to try a manual install at this point, but I know as soon as this gets straightend out and there's a no-CD patch for MG Secure ROm goes bye-bye.


Edited for spelling and a wetware memory error.

Just to add confusion to this whole mess, I'm seeing reports on the official BBS and N99 that other people have had no trouble running MG with AL.  However, I am really reporting what the tech support guy told me, and what happened when I tried to install it.

The problem may, indeed, be with the patch(es). 

It looks like I don't have to reinstall and I'm trying to decide if reinstalling 8 EPs and Iforgethowmany stuff packs is worth it just now.

I don't use the no-CD crack yet.  I don't feel like futzing with having to update it every time EAXIS puts out something new, and since the End is Near, I decided to just wait.

My copy has patch 1 and 2.  According to the tech support guy, MG just doesn't recognize AL.

rufio:  I have no idea. This should be interesting.

OH, and it looks like I get to spend the night doing a complete reinstall.

signed

Unhappy Camper

When I tried to install M&G it would install, check for updates to SIms2 and then AL.  It would then announce that it could not complete the update of AL and remove the installation.

After 3 tries I called tech support and was told by the rather nice young man that:

THERE IS A BUG. M&G IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH AL!   THERE WILL BE A PATCH SOON!

The frigging IDIOTS at EA forgot about an entire EP!!!  The latest EP!!!

I've had teenagers age up "normally" and even though I have picked an aspiration they haven't gotten a lifetime want until I saved and left the lot and went back in.  Likewise I've had toddlers aged up from babies who had lifetime wants despite having no aspiration.  It went away after a while.  Not sure what causes it, but I know I didn't use cheats to age them, because I only do that on townies and these were playables.

Thanks, but I think the 4+ hour commute each way would be a tad wearing. 

I think I'll start making Sims2 crap and selling it online.  Then I'll get rich.   

And you ever saw the stuff I make you'd understand that I do mean crap.

Yeah, except that it divides the Sims up into categories--townies, downtownies, jocks, techies, etc. which drives me nuts.  I never have any idea what group most NPCs belong to. 

I dunno, Inge, talk to James.  Maybe you two can do a collaboration.  You can add the stuff your teleporter does to the way his works.....

Sorry two issues here.  I know this won't fix the underwater problem.

THe problem I tried to fix, the one that sort of works, occurs when you have built a house on a lot, even a flat lot, in a neighborhood at a given level.  Then when the house is put in the bin--sans residents--and used in a neighborhood that is at a higher or lower level than the one in which the house was originally built.

This means that 1. It's a lot harder to place the house.  2. When you can it makes weird level changes to the road, 3. It looks like sh#t.  I'll try to get some pictures of what I'm talking about, but they're all in my non-vanilla neighborhood which I'm not using until after I've vetted M&G today.