Starting from scratch. Sims 2

[mizmudgie]

Since my game crashes horribly and my download file is bulging and I can't enter some lots...I (in a hissy fit) unloaded the whole mess.  How do I go about setting up the perfect game?  I have all expansion packs and some stuff packs(sims2 deluxe and best of business included).  Do I use all the patches that EA has up?
What hacks are essential without ruining the experience (somehow got rid of the burglar last time)?  Any tricks to a smooth running game?

[zammy]

Well, in my experience, make sure you meticulously organize EVERYTHING. For example, my downloads folder has a bodyshop folder in it, in that it's separated into hair, eyes, clothes, skins, accessories, face defaults, stuff for my werewolf sims, and others. Within the clothes, there's EM and EM (elder male and female), AF and AM, TF and TM, CF and CM, ToF and ToM. Some of those even have subcategories. I'm working on doing that for my items folder, mods, etc. That will ensure you know exactly what is where and don't have to search too much. And do that as soon as you download something. Makes your life much easier when creators don't name their items well.

As for patches, I have all the patches installed as they update every single time I installed a new game. I'd recommend it just to sort out the bugs.

For mods I can't live without, there's inTeen (unsupported here at inSim) which I feel adds realism to the game, inSim for photos, and little fixes such as a fix so people don't keep messing with babies and toddlers once they're in the freetime cribs (Maxis mess ups and all).

If there's anything I missed, just let me know ^_^ Good luck restarting your game.

[Theraven]

While we're on subfoldering and such - since you're starting over it's much easier to keep to maximum two subfolders deep (maybe like this: Downloads --> AM --> "creator" --> [files]). This will speed up the loading time much more than having several layers of subfoldering on everything. Keep defaults and hacks in separate folders.

Also, try to keep track of what is new and old, maybe have a folder named "test" that you run the game through at least once before you move them to the proper place. Much easier to figure out "do I want to keep this" or "is this making trouble in my game".

[caffeinated.joy]

If you are going to have subfolders, whatever you do, there are two you should definitely have, without question. One subfolder for new items, which you keep in there at least a couple of weeks before moving out, and another for all mods/hacks.

I keep new content in my "new" subfolder for that long because it gives me a chance to really play with them and make sure a) they work without trouble and b) I want to keep it.

If anything goes wrong, chances are it's from something new or a conflicting mod, and it's easier to pull those two files out rather than trying to immediately weed through your entire downloads folder.

As for mods, you'll find a lot of discussion about what people can/can't live without. Believe it or not, I have very few mods. The one I have, without fail, is the pregnancy wear anything mod by Squinge.

Patches: Yes, do patch. Install, patch your game, install EP, patch your game, Install next EP patch your game, etc.    

ETA: Forgot one subfolder which I find is a "must have". Default replacements. Having them separate will let you find them easily if you ever need to pull one out in favor of another.