Note: This guide is based upon installing The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection via Origin.
Even now, in twenty-twenty one, The Sims 2 is still hugely popular within The Sims community and a question that gets asked often is “how do I install The Sims 2 on Windows 10?”
Firstly, you’ll need to locate The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection in your Origin Game Library. Once you have found it, click on the game box art and then hit download.
You’ll then be presented with a series of pop-up boxes. These will ask you to check which language you wish the game to install in and where on your PC/Mac you would like the game to install.
Once you’ve gone through the pop-ups, you’re game will start to download and install.
Now that your game is installed, there’s a few things to keep in mind. The Sims 2 was not designed to run on current generation technology, so it requires a few quick and easy tweaks to help fix and improve the graphics as well as the overall experience of the game.
A video that you will find handy to walk you through the different fixes is one from XUbranSimsX. In this video, Jenn talks about the different fixes that helped fix her game, as well as many players within the community. This is also the same guide that I used myself when reinstalling The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection recently, and my game works brilliantly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BRX0JlN8lM
Jenn also has a Fix Checklist that has all the links that you need and use alongside her video. You can find the Fix Checklist here.
While there is a chance you could run into a few glitches or technical issues once you have installed the game, the Fix Checklists will take you through how to troubleshoot different issues, including issues where the game will present you with purple/pink flashes and texture issues as well as how to get The Sims 2 working on modern hardware and Windows 10. Again, you can check the guide out here.
If you are still having problems with improving your graphics or the random black shadow boxes, you can check out our handy guide here.
Another helpful guide by Captain Nikki on Tumblr as has references to a selection of mods for The Sims 2 and cheat codes for the game. You can find Captain Nikki’s guide here.
Again, this guide is based on The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection that was released as a limited time promotion via Origin. The promotion ended in late 2018 which you can read more about it here. This article will also be useful if you are reinstalling the game by using the physical disks.
