Thanks, Senor Pescado! I spewed my drink out my nose. *Dabs keyboard*

On another note, I had a sim with a bicycle stuck through him. He couldn't go anywhere/do anything without it, but it made it awfully hard for him to go into the house and shower, etc. I separated him from the bike and he simply froze while he stank and starved until I figured out the resetsim command. It was hilarious for a while, though.

Get rid of all the stuff you have downloaded (either put it somewhere else, or delete it) and start fresh. Go back and download the Helper Monkey at MTS. Install it per instructions located on that site.

In Vista, when you download AwesomeMod it will save the file in your downloads. Open the downloads file and drag and drop the AwesomeMod file onto your desktop. Right click on the zip, rar, or whatever other file compressor you are using. It will ask questions like "extract to..."

Select "here". This extracts the file onto your desktop. If you have properly installed the Helper Monkey, you can now simply double left click on the extracted Awesome file (it will have the little monkey face) and it WILL install to the proper directory. You will also have to download and install the configuration tool so you can set the options you want the mod to do in your game. You will also note there is another text file called RTFM. Do it.

Did you download and set the configuration tool? Go back to the AwesomeMod page and get that, then read the rest of the thread to see how the mod works and what it does. Then go read the bug thread, then read everything else pertaining to the particular problem you are having. Use the search function to get more specifics. Play a little. Have a cool beverage. Take your time.

After you have done all those things, come back with proper capitalization, spelling, grammar and punctuation. Have a nice day.

Legal copy. I fiddled with the game afterward until it stopped spazzing out, when I realized I had not purged the cache files. Took out AwesomeMod, deleted caches, reinstalled the updated AwesomeMod.  When I opened a game it all worked fine, if a little choppier than originally, but as I played it seemed to level out.

I noticed that after the patch, my normally fine Sim couldn't manage to navigate her own house. She did the "something's in my way" gesture while standing by the bookcase, right next to the door to her room. So I did the "go here" command to her room, and she went in. She is suddenly demented and utterly stupid. When she was in the red zone for tiredness and I sent her to bed, she got in bed, stayed for a half second, jumped up out of bed and passed out on the floor.

Dumb, just dumb.

This discussion is very helpful for me as well. My computer has just blown itself up after a protracted illness with worrisome symptoms. Having educated myself a bit through lots of reading (here and elsewhere) I realize that even if you order a computer from a big company to your specifications, it is probably not going to be as good as if you do it yourself or have a knowledgeable shop put one together for you.  Although Gateway (ahem) will have to fix this one due to the warranty, the pain of waiting for them to fix it is a pain. I am writing from a six year old Gateway computer (a back-up) that actually works, and always has. It isn't fancy, hence my desire to get the newer one with some shiny, i.e., moar power, moar ramz, moar graphics, etc. HaH! The old nag is far better at reliability, though my game suffers its slower pace.

My next computer, some monies away, will likely be one I build. Between now and then, I intend to learn and grow. At the moment, i don't have the knowledge, confidence or money to start from scratch, but I sure wish I did. I thank the folks at MATY for their shared knowledge and opinions. I've learned heaps here.

I'll have my computer fixed by Gateway, use the crap out of it until the warranty is near expiration, learn, then dump the corporations. Get a geek or be one.

Will Page Up/Down work for the ones who don't have a wheel? El Presidente, will it also work for your application?

You can also try Delphy's Download Organizer http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=227925 to sort out orphans and duplicate files.

And just when I was going to tell her to give birth to a pineapple backwards.

That was the funniest!! Thanks for makin' my day.

I use Vista. It stores things differently than XP, but once I got used to it, it isn't so bad, other then it is a resource hog, kind of like a certain game I know....Taps foot and stares at the sky.

One thing I did notice is that I had no luck re-installing my old Sims 2 game into the new computer. Had to go and buy one that said "Vista". That said, most, if not all, of the EPs are Vista compatible now. During my less-than-awesome experience with a new operating system and the game itself, everything installed correctly and I now play on a fine new machine complete with resource hog feeding hardware.

Wiping and reinstalling an OS is a pain in the ass and takes eons.

What you may end up doing is starting your game over if you can't figure out where it is or if it is incompatible with Vista. I know, i know, no one wants to hear, much less DO that, but for me, well it worked way better than trying to figure out all the transition awfulness. After tussling with trying to transition, I threw up my hands and submitted to the OK I'll bend over now - and started over. I still had all my downloads - I hope you saved them - and simply created a new game using Vista. I've been playing on Vista for a year now with the new machine. The new computer renders terrific graphics.

If you can't find your downloads, get the game going first, with all the patches, EPs etc. Play it a little while without CC, then start incorporating your download folder )or if you still can't find it) downloading again. Organize your files whatever way works for you, and pay attention to download the ones that are associated with whatever EPs and stuff packs you have.

Stop trying to force the XP version on your Vista computer. It ain't gonna work. As for the remarks about Vista, all I can say is I distinctly remember similar remarks about XP until Microsoft fixed its bugs. Change is uncomfortable.