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I just bought the Sims 3 and when I try to press the install button it says there’s zero KB available so I deleted some of my stuff in my hard drive but it will not work. Please help me!

Minimum System Requirements

First of all, your computer needs to meet some specific hardware and software requirements in order to be able to support your new SIMS 3 game. You can consult your computer user’s manual to check the specifications.

If you are running a Macintosh:

• Leopard 10.5.7
• 2 GB RAM
• 6.1 GB free disk space
• Sims 3 is not compatible with either Intel GMA 950 class of integrated cards or Power PC processors 

If you are running Windows XP:

• Windows XP Service Pack 2
• 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 Processor, or similar
• 1 GB RAM
• Minimum 6.5 GB of hard drive space - plus an additional 1 GB for custom content

• 128 MB Video Card - with Pixel Shader 2.0 support

If you are running Windows Vista:

• Windows Vista Service Pack 1
• 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 Processor, or similar
• 1.5 GB RAM
• Minimum 6.5 GB of hard drive space - plus an additional 1 GB for custom content

• 128 MB Video Card - with Pixel Shader 2.0 support

If your computer uses a built in graphics set, you need to have at least:

• Intel Integrated Chipset GMA X3000 or higher
• 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo
• 0.5 GB extra RAM

SIMS 3 Compatible Video Card

You also need to consider your video card. If you are using a NVIDIA GeForce Series card the SIMS 3 game requires: FX 5900, FX 5950, 6200, 6500, 6600, 6800, 7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950, 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800, 9600, 9800, GTX 260, GTX 280.

If you are using an ATI Radeon Series card, you need: 9500, 9600, 9800, X300, X600, X700, X800, X850, X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, 2400, 2600, 2900, 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870, 4850, 4870. Or an Intel Extreme Graphics GMA X3×00.

You might not have removed enough data from your hard drive to make 6.5 GB of hard drive space. Here are steps to use Windows to check the available hard disk space.

1. Click the Start button
2. Choose My Computer, then choose Local Disk C:
3. You will see a chart displaying your hard drive used and available space

If you are still over the limit, you can either delete unwanted data, or you can use external devices like CDs, flash drives or an external hard drive to transfer material off your hard drive and freeing up space for your game.

Update your Software

Some users also report better SIMS results after upgrading their Internet Explorer installation. Getting the latest software is usually a good idea to keep your computer compatible. You might want to use Windows Update to get the latest updates. I hope this helps!

My Macbook Pro meets all the Sims 3 system requirements. However, the installation goes through the process and gets hung up on file 206 before locking up. I know it’s downloading something somewhere, because I went from having 60 GB free, to having 54.21 GB free after two install attempts. But no folder ever gets created, no files appear, I can’t find any trace of what it downloaded to erase it. My system is as follows: Leopard 10.5.7, Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM, Radeon X1600.

Mac Sims 3 Requirements

Let’s make sure that your computer meets all of the Sims 3 requirements. Leopard 10.5.7 is required, so that part of it looks fine. In addition, your computer must have at least 2GB of RAM and 6.1 GB free hard drive space as well as an additional 1GB for saving games and customizations. Computers running either Intel GMA 950 class of integrated cards or Power PC processors cannot run Sims 3. Electronic Arts has an online system requirements checker that you can run to be sure that your system is fully compatible. Once you’re sure that your computer has meets all requirements, let’s move on to the next steps.

Install from the Desktop

Since you have the CD, you can try to load it onto the desktop and install it from there. Insert the disk and right click on it to open it. A new window should pop up. Right click on Sims3 Installing and Show Content. Copy and paste the contents to the desktop. Open the contents folder on your desktop, go into the MacOS folder and install from there. Many people have found that the “hang” problem goes away - at the very least they can find out the reason for the corruption by using this method.

It’s also possible that you have a bad CD or something on your Macbook is interfering with the installation. For example, programs such as Roxio Creator and external devices like iPods and iPhones can interfere with disc authentication as can numerous CD emulator programs such as Daemon Tools, Clone CD, and Nero Image Drive. The Sim3 Support Web site details known software conflicts with the game. Try installing the program with all other applications shut down and all external devices disconnected.

Uninstallers for Mac

Do you have an uninstaller program for your Mac? You may need to remove the bad installation and try installing again. AppTrap is a free uninstaller tool for Macintosh. It may be able to remove your partial installation so that you can try again.

Other Tips and Workarounds Once Sims 3 is Installed

Other users have reported success with Sims 3 installations after renaming the Sims 3 folder and the application. By inserting an underscore (_) into the name, the program was able to be launched.

Is it at all possible that the program is installing but you can’t find it? If so, the next time you try an installation, change the installation directory to the desktop. Then you can search for “Sims” in Spotlight to show the icon and launch the game.

Something may be missing in the Sims 3.app folder structure. We suspect that this is preventing Sims3 from running. If Sims 3 is on your system, try this: Right-click “The Sims 3″ (under Applications) to Show Package Contents. Now, go to Contents and MacOS. Double-clicking the word “cider” should open a Terminal.app window where you can then launch Sims 3.

Because this is a new launch with some bugs in it, the Sims3 MacForum might be a good resource as things pop up. Hopefully, one of these solutions worked for you, but let us know if you’re still having problems.

If you think you have a defective disc, you can contact Electronic Arts for a replacement.

A friend loaded Sims 3 on an external hard drive. I have no idea how to load it on the computer he said something about a virtual CD. Please help.

Okay, sounds like you need some basic information to understand what’s going on here. I’ll go over just exactly what a virtual CD is, why you might need one, and how you can use one.

What is Sims 3?

Sims 3 is the third version of the original Sims game. This video game offers life simulation play in a fun and enjoyable setting. As a player you get to control a family and its family members’ lives in every aspect from the house they live in to the jobs they have and more.

Make sure your registry isnt corrupted, loads of problems with running Sims 3 and other online games are caused by missing, corrupt, duplicates or empty file references. Heres a free 2 min registry scanner to check for problems

What is a Virtual CD?

A virtual CD is one that can be used in place of a physical CD on a computer. Generally, people like to create virtual CDs of their physical disks so that they can use them on more than one computer, laptop, notebook, or netbook without the need to purchase a portable CD drive if they don’t have one. Virtual CDs are image formats of the physical disks and are often referred to as ISO files.

Opening a Virtual CD

Physical CDs and virtual CDs contain the same basic information on them. The difference is that you cannot simply open a virtual CD because you want to use it. In the same way that you need a particular type of program to open a DVD, pictures, documents, Zip files, etc, you also need a particular type of program to open a virtual CD.

How to Run Sims 3 from External Drive

Running Sims 3 from an external drive means that you have a virtual CD and need a special application or utility to open it. Basically, you need a player that will act like a CD drive so that you can open the ISO file of Sims 3 that you have. Since you don’t have the physical CD, you need to trick the computer with the tool or player to think the CD is in the CD drive (even though it isn’t.)

You will still need to install Sims 3 after you download it to your hard drive. Therefore, you need to make sure that you have enough memory on the machine (netbook, laptop, etc) that you are using to play Sims 3.

Tools to Open a Virtual CD

In order to open a virtual CD, you need to download an optical media emulator.

I just bought the Sims 3 for Mac; both EA and Apple tech support are closed, so I thought I’d try here. The game will not install; I bought Leopard (10.5.6) and got the update (10.5.7) to meet system requirements, but I get an X over the install icon and an error saying “the architecture is not supported.” EA tech support said that there was some patch I must be missing. What could it be?

I’m glad you decided to ask us here at Filetonic. I hope the information I found can help you solve this problem even if EA and Apple don’t offer solutions that will help at this point.

If misery loves company, then you must be feeling pretty good right now. A quick look around found a lot of Mac users who are having trouble installing and running Sims 3, but some people have proposed workaround solutions that have worked for them.

Sims 3 Requirements for Mac

First off, are you sure you meet all of the requirements? You do need Leopard 10.5.7, so it was a good move to get that. You also need 2GB of RAM and 6.1 GB free hard drive space and at least 1GB of additional space so that you can save games and have space for customizations. Sims 3 won’t run on systems that are using Power PC processors or Intel GMA 950 class of integrated cards. If you have all of the right components and you still can use Sims 3, then look below and see if any of this applies.

Rename

One user says that he had success by simply renaming the Sims 3 folder as well as the application. He inserted “_” into the name (without the quote marks) and was able to launch the program.

Workaround

It is also suspected that there is something missing in the Sims 3.app folder structure that is stopping the program from running. Try this workaround. Go to Applications and find “The Sims 3″. Right click on it and select Show Package Contents. From here, you should be able to go to Contents and MacOS. Double click on “cider”. A Terminal.app window should open and launch the game from here. Apparently this is the only way around the problem at the moment until the publisher of the game issues a fix.

This is such a new launch that there are bound to be issues, but I can see how frustrating this would be for you. I hope that one of these tips is your “aha” moment and you can install and play the game. Let us know how it goes, and if EA or Apple offered any other ideas.