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All of The Sims Games Work on Windows 10

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WARNING – Back up all of your game saves prior to installing Windows 10 as an added precaution.

(I didn’t because I’m too impatient a person and I never said I was bright. Luckily my files were fine, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s will be. There’s a lot of file transferring involved in the upgrade installation process, so there’s countless ways things could go wrong. So in the words of Prince Royce – Baby back, back, back it up.)

10

The day has finally come for the new, shiny Windows 10 release. While most seemed to be undaunted by the update, simmers everywhere feared for their games. We’ve been through this many times before. A new operating system has every chance to break our beloved games. And how could we survive without the ability to go back and play The Sims, even though it was released over 15 years ago? It’s aged very well, might I add. So before everyone jumped on the opportunity to download the new OS at the first chance they got, many wavered for fear of losing their games forever.

But have no fear! I’m here to confirm that every game from The Sims Complete Collection to Sims 4 and everything in between (looking at you Medieval) runs just as well on Windows 10 as they did before the update.

NOTE: The following results are from my laptop specifically. Other’s results may vary. I have, however, seen several people across the web verify they work for them as well.

I assume it’s safe to say if the games work on your computer now, they’ll work the same after you install Windows 10 as well. Possibly even better than before.

Below is some information specific to running each series.

The Sims Complete Collection

Please be aware users have had difficult times installing The Sims games for many years now as technology continues to change and improve. Most of those issues, however, seem to stem from the original copies and not The Sims Complete Collection. The way they repackaged all of the games together for the collection must have changed the way the games install, so users have an easier and more successful time installing it compared to the individual games. Again, your results may vary depending on your rig.

One of the most common issues with The Sims, no matter what version you have, is the black box glitch. When you initially run the game in windowed mode, you’re graced with this wonderful black box that covers the game screen. It looks like below.

blackscreen

This box covers anything and everything on the screen, so even if you put a window over The Sims window, the black box will cover everything. The way to remove this box is to press CTRL + ALT + DEL on your keyboard. This will bring up a new window with several options. Don’t click any of them, exit the screen instead. Once you exit, the black box will be gone and you’ll see your game.

game

 

Sadly, without modding, the screen size is not adjustable and what you see is what you get. Modding is also not a perfect solution as it causes some wonky issues with the UI. Your other option is to play full screen, which also has a major con – when you get in game, you have to stay there. If you ALT + TAB to view a different window and then return to the game, it will completely freeze a few moments later and you’ll have to force close it.

So when playing The Sims, you have two choices: Play in the small windowed mode, or play full screen and make sure you never switch tabs.

The Sims 2

Freetime

The only issue I faced with Sims 2 Ultimate Collection on Windows 10 was that it reverted my custom GraphicsRules file, so I ran into the same graphics issues many people suffered on Windows 8.1. This was a quick fix as all I needed to do was remake the custom file using a program specifically built for that. It can be found HERE.

After reinstating that custom file, everything was smooth sailing. The game actually runs faster now than it did in Windows 8.1.

The Sims 3, The Sims Medieval,

The Sims 4

Island Paradise Screenshot-6 07-20-15_11-54 PM

Windows 10 doesn’t change anything about these games or what you need to do to play them flawlessly. They all more recent releases, so they play nicely with updated tech. If you run into any issues trying to play any of these, it’s most likely not a Windows 10 specific issue.

As usual, your results may vary, but like Sims 2, these games actually run faster and smoother for me on Windows 10 than they did on Windows 8.1.

I hope this has eased some of your uneasiness in deciding whether or not Windows 10 is for you.

 

About the author

Nate Alexander

I'm an aspiring indie screenwriter that can't stop simming long enough to be productive. Aside from sims, my hobbies include writing, eating, sleeping, not exercising, and loving turtles.

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Susan Cockrill
Susan Cockrill
7 years ago

Was thinking of buying a new computer. I have a dinosaur now still running windows xp LOL…my game with all expansions and mods keeps crashing after so long of playing. I have tried running it without mods and does the same thing. My question to you is what computer or laptop would you recommend to run TS2 with all expansions and mods smoothly without having to buy too many extra upgrades (ie: graphics cards, etc.) or is there even such a creature out there? Thanks!

gameplayerw10asus
gameplayerw10asus
8 years ago

on windows 10 when i run the sims 3 the game crashes after few minutes – its impassible for reason to be in my computer cuz its brand new – its i7 1tera disk and 16gb ram (asus)

Hi I neeed help with this
Hi I neeed help with this
8 years ago

I just bought this new acer laptop with windows 10 and everything went well until I tried to open the sims 2. There´s no problem with the graphics but when I try to open it, it only shows up for 2 seconds and then goes back to the desktop. The first time I tried to open it went well, but when I plugged my earphones it threw me to the desktop. From that it has not worked. Should I delete and download it ? I need help 🙁

Katie Copeland
Katie Copeland
7 years ago

hey if someone can contact me at gurlattitude77@yahoo.com plz asap bc I got the sims 3 and windows 10 and it isn’t working. I need some help!

Myself
Myself
7 years ago

For me, the sims 2 screen will flicker, the ground texture in neighbourhood view will be… messed(?), and win defender will block the launcher (found the solution for the launcher). 2008. Oh, and i cannot change anti aliasing.

solo simmer
solo simmer
7 years ago

google Carls the sims guides for whatever sims game specs and forums for troubleshooting. Carl is The Sims Guru!

TS2Addict
TS2Addict
7 years ago

I have all the discs for TS2, but skipped the install on my new Win10 computer, and opted to get the pre-packaged set online. It works, so I saved myself a lot of trouble. However, I cannot seem to run TS2 in windowed mode. I installed the Graphics adjuster program, but still no luck with windowed mode. I get a small box that is blanked out. Music plays, but beyond that, I can’t do or see anything. Any tips or help to get this to work? I need to multi-task, plain and simple, and I can’t without windowed mode.

Jessica
Jessica
7 years ago

I had just bought a windows 10 laptop and I installed the sims 2 DVD special edition but when I went to download the expansion packs it would get all the way to the end where Id have to put the DVD special edition back in and it was gonna see if the game was up to date. Well this box would pop up stating that the TS2UPD0.exe has stopped working so I clicked continue and it terminated the installation. Please is there any way around this? I can not download the Sims 2 the complete collection because I can not find a site I trust to not give me a virus. I ended up having to return my laptop because I was very close to a complete hard drive failure. I am thinking buying an older laptop that runs an older os so I can play my game and the expansions.

Susan Rosenthall
Susan Rosenthall
6 years ago

My daughter has a random handful of the original Sims games (Hot Date, Copter, Tower, Isle, etc), including the initial one, which she would like to be able to play on the new Windows 10 computer she just got. She tried installing the initial one (after doing the Windows 10 to Windows 7 conversion) and said that it wouldn’t even pop up.
She thinks that, even if she could install the first one, she will not be able to install the others because she does not have the others in the set, “in order.” Is that correct, or not?
And lastly, for overall functionality, maybe she would be better off just buying the new(er) complete set and not trying to deal with these random original SIMS games that we have?
many thanks in advance for your help

Allie Mordin
Allie Mordin
4 years ago

I’ve just bought Sims 2 and having no end of hassle with it. The base game is crashing and the expansion back Freetime won’t load. What am I doing wrong? I’ve got a 64bit Windows 10