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I have no idea what to do - & I have pested my IT rep at the office for the last 2 days.  My computer is XP - and meets all the requirements to run the game & then some I have all the extension packs - including SEASONS - and everything has been great - BUT - BV will not run by AUTORUN - or by doing the manual load - I have done everything I could think of and everything my Computer Guy at my office suggested.  Has anyone else had a problem with the AUTORUN not working?  I am two steps away from giving up - or buying a new PC - but I DON'T want WINDOWS VISTA (or whatever its called) because I have heard from everyone it is nothing but trouble - & all the PCs at Best Buy come with WINDOWS VISTA pre-loaded.  Please tell me someone out there has had this problem & found a way to fix it!

1st this is the wrong section for this post ;) it should go in the BV help section. I reported it so it should be moved soonly. you will get more help there then here.
 
2nd. have you taken the disks back to the store and got a new one?
 
I know that when i 1st got sims 2 I had to take it back 2 times before i got one that would run. try that step before you toss your PC ;)

Fratbrat, FYI, Vista is not a problem. My PC is new and bought at Best Buy. As much as I feared Vista I find it very user friendly.

That said, listen to Nova. Try exchanging your BV for a new one. The solution may be as simple as that.

I too will tell you Vista and the Sims 2 play very nicely together. Have you patched Seasons? If the latest install has a patch available and it has not been installed you will run into problems. So if you have not patched with the revised seasons patch, do so.

If you have any of those NO-CD or copy utilities like Daemon Tools, Nero, or Alcohol 120%, the installer may not run.  Disable these tools before installing.  Probably a good idea to disable any AV software while you're at (just remember to turn it back on when you're done).

You can also try copying the setup files manually from the CD to a folder on your hard disk and running the setup program from there.

I am having this issue too, going to take back disks tomm, but I am getting an error almost as soon as autorun starts kicking in. I even got it from putting in disk 2 first. Something is not liking my computer and I closed all applications that I could and still get this.

I have XP 2.4 duo 2 gigs mem , 512 mem vid card. I dont use any cd/dvd software altho it is on pc.

But the drive doesnt even run long before I get the error message. I have never had any problems with any game before until this one.

what error are you getting?

Well its those exception errors that you send to microsoft, and was able to get it to pop up an install window in laptop so thinking something is conflicting with my pc but no clue as to what

The error reads "Error message reads:  Electronic Arts AutoRUN has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience." and then ends with the EA games logo.

Are you sure you have enough available disc space to install the game

Well I have about 100 gigs left, and its not even getting to start a setup it basically hits that error 5 seconds after put disk in drive.

Even trying to manually setup from cd will have same results. I have ticket in to EA but wonder how long thats gonna be before get it to work.

Maybe try disenabling your anti-virus. Sometimes this gets in the way of an installation.

I haven't played yet but I installed the game without a hitch. Who knows what evil now lies in store for me when I try and play.

tried that , hasnt worked for me, but thanks wasnt something I thought tot try.
So far EA support just keeps sending me the standard info to make sure this and that is done.

I dont even think he's read my error logs or dxdiag yet.

I think you should return your EP as damaged and exchange for a new one.

I returned my EP to the store - the new one works no better then the old one.  I'm just going to give up - enjoy the game I got - hopefully the other new stuff - like the HIGH SCHOOL STUFF that will be coming out wont cause the same problems.  And when I'm ready to update my PC I'll try loading BV again.  But I am just so dissapointed.

I had a similar problem when I loaded Seasons. I ran my cd cleaner thru it and it worked fine afterwards.

It was weird, it would still play my previous game, but not the new one.

Ok I finally got it to work after all weekend going back and forth with EA tech support.

Basically what I had to do was just make a new user account under my XP and give it administrator rights and it seemed to install. Apparently its a windows configuration conflict.

What I havent tested is if I will get to work while back on old logon name. And wether I can ever find the conflict.

Lochar, could you explain that to me.  What do you mean "Basically what I had to do was just make a new user account under my XP and give it administrator rights and it seemed to install"???  How do I do that - I am an idiot with computers so if you could give me "Forest Gump" directions I'd like to give it a try.  I'll try KIMMYFRMTX's suggestion first - but if it doesn't work...

I will copy and paste the word for word info that EA sent me when home. I believe tho if goto control panel there should be a user account option, under this is a choice to setup new account and will have a check to have admin rights. Then logon to the new name.

You can install the game on the new Id but if you want to play the old saved stuff you need to logon back to original user. Otherwise it will be a fresh game with no settings or download folder setup.

here is exceprt from EA, hopefully this will explain better than me..:)

Hello!

There might be a possibility that you have a conflicting window setting.
You can try running the game using a new Administrator account. You can do this in the User Accounts interface.

1. Click on the Start button.
2. Click on Control Panel.
3. Locate the small Control Panel sub-window at the top left of the window.
- If it says Switch to Category View, you are in the correct viewing mode.
- If it says Switch to Classic View, click on the text to switch to the correct view.
4. Double-click on the User Accounts icon.
5. Click on the Add button.
6. Choose a user name and password.
7. Make sure to give the account full Administrator abilities.
8. Once the account is created, you will be able to restart and log in with the new Administrator account.

Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts games in the future please visit our website and review our extensive Self Help knowledgebase (http://support.ea.com).