Hi all. I am currently having problems installing The Sims 2 Pets and The Sims 2 Glamour life stuff, that I hope you guys can help me to solve. Any help is appreciated. So, here is my problem:

Until Christmas day I had installed on my PC The Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for bussiness and the Christmas accesories (this year's edition). On Christmas day, I received as gifts TS2 Pets (DVD edition) and TS2 Glamour life stuff, and I tried to install them. The PC (appearantly) starts reading the cds (I have the same problem with both games) but then it stops and it does nothing, so I tried to start the installation manually, and when I clicked the "Autorun" file inside the cd, it happens the same, the PC starts reading it but then it stops, I can't even see the screen where I have to choose the language. It seemed like there was no cd in it. Then I tried the pc to read the holiday stuff pack (again, that I had installed one week and a half ago), and I could reinstall it if I wanted, because the screen that asks me for installing it appeared on the monitor. Then, I phoned today to the EA support 3 times and they told me everytime that the problem might be having installed the holyday pack before pets and glamour life stuff, so they advised me to uninstall the original game and its expansions. Then I made it, and when I tried to reinstall The Sims 2 original game, it happens the same that with the rest of the expansion I had had the problem with. I had of course made a security copy of my games, and the one thing I did was just restore my pc by the menu Start/All Programs/Accesories/Restore system (I don't know if those are the names for the files in english... I'm sorry), so it was like I hadn't done anything and I had the game installed again. Other important thing for you to know is maybe that I had followed the steps from here on mts2 to run the game in another user account, and I've been playing the game in other user account with no problems for a long time. I had never had the experience of a problem installing a sims 2 expansion pack... I don't know what I can do now, please help me.

Thanks in advance.

This sounds like an issue with the Safedisc protection on the games... do you have any emulation software, or any software designed to hide drives on your computer? What about the following- Daemon tools, Nero, Sonic video editing?

Mmmmm I'm not pretty sure what kind of programs you mean, but I know that I don't have any with the names you said. Could I have one even without knowing it? I looked for some information about what is Daemon Tools and I'm not sure of understanding what it is for... Anyway I think I don't have any. If I had one, how could I know it?

Edit Could one of those programs be the Cyberlink Power Director or the Digital Media Converter, or any other to change video formats?

It is possible- the only way that it was discovered that Sonic caused an issue was when someone uninstalled it and found that the game worked. The issue is that Glamour and Pets have a different security program on them to the older EPs, this could be why you are having the problem with these discs. If you could post a screenshot of your Control panel> Add/ remove programs list, we may be able to spot some more likely candidates... in the mean time I would suggest to uninstall any software you suspect, including the Cyberlink software, to test. Make sure you have means of reinstalling them first, and also be sure to back up any projects you are doing using those programs.

So, here are the screenshots. Thank you very much for your help! I hope you can see them clearly.

EDIT The names of most of programs doesn't change... But as you can see it is in spanish, if you have any question just ask me, please.

I would guess from that list that the Digital Media converter would be the most likely candidate; I can't see anything that jumps out at me. I reckon you'll have to experiment a little with this!

I have (maybe) good news... I found on my program files folder inside C:/ a folder called sonic, with some things in it... And then another folder (outside sonic) whose name is Virtual CD v4 SDK (I had read a little about Daemon tools and I remember I read something about virtual cds in relation with Daemon tools... I tried to delete the folder Virtual CD v4 SDK but I couldn't, it is like it was being used. What should I do?

EDIT I'm posting screenshots of what I'm telling you. The first one is the Program files folder with the two folders I told you about. The second one is the folder inside "Sonic" and the last one is the icons inside system, which is inside Virtual CD v4 SDK. Hope this helps.

On the last screenie it looks like you indeed have a virtual drive in use. Remove the virtual cd from that drive and then uninstall SDK. Also, limewire can cause this problem too. My niece had the same problem after a 'friend' installed limewire ( i tell you, 'friends' that install warez on your pc aren't friends...).

How do I "remove the virtual cd from that drive"? And how can I "uninstall SDK"? Sorry, I'm not that bad with computers... Is just I don't want to risk too much with this and do it properly. Yes, I've also been installed Limewire by a friend... I didn't know that, I'll uninstall it as soon as I finish writing this post, thank you very much for advising!

If you cannot uninstall through add/ remove programs, or through an uninstall option on the start menu, then your only options would be to manually uninstall. This would involve manually deleting the files and folders, and also manually deleting the remaining registry keys (although some programs can clean these out for you). I'm not sure how to get rid of that virtual drive; can you right click on it and disconnect/ eject?

Where do you want me to right click? I mean... Where is the virtual drive? Do you mean I have to right click the virtual drive to eject or stop it? I tried removing the files manually, but I could just delete three of them, one stays there like it was being used. On the other hand... That virtual drive should appear in the screenshot I'm attaching?

By the way, on the second screenshot I've drawn a circle in the only file I can't delete. All of them are just application files, they're not programs.

Try starting in safe mode to delete it; also is there anything in the system tray to indicate this is running?

Ok, I'm trying as soon as I finish replying this. No, there's nothing in the system tray that indicates it is running, but when I try to delete "vcssecs" I get this message (I'm translating it from spanish, but I hope you can understand what I mean): "vcssecs can't be deleted. The access has been denied. Check the drive/disk is no full nor protected against writing and that the file isn't currently being used".

I could delete it in safe mode but I'm still unable to install pets and glamour life stuff pack

There must be still something pertaining to that software left on your hard drive then. Perhaps an easy way to do this would be to try to reinstall this software correctly- then there should be a 'clean' way to uninstall it:
http://www.virtualcd-online.com/vcd...upport.cfm?lg=0
This site also has a support forum.

I downloaded virtual cd from that website, installed it and reinstalled and no results. Maybe that's not the program or application causing my problem, since I found googling somebody who had the same application because he/she had the same PC as me, a Packard Bell. I remember I read that it comes with the pc, and I had never had problems with installing sims 2 expansions before. I also saw in my pc that the last modification date of the program was 2004, the year I bought this pc, so I don't think that's causing my problem. I just don't know what I can do now... I think I'll ask anyway about it in the forum you told me, and also about the problem in general with the drive in a spanish forum... I don't know if they will be able to help me, since I only have this problem with the sims games, even with the sims 2 cds, and all expansions except for Holiday Stuff pack. Oh, just one more thing: could my problem be caused by Microsoft Office? I'm asking this because the last expansion I installed was the sims 2 open for business, and I think I installed Microsoft Office in this pc later. I am also asking this because in the folder "Autorun (inside the Glamour life stuff cd)" I have another file called autorun that appearantly should get opened with... Microsoft Outlook? Is that normal? You can see what I mean in the screenshot I will attach.
I'll tell here what I will be answered in the other forums so I can help future problems like mine. Simsample, if you or anyone has more ideas of what I can do please tell me, thanks.

I don't think installing office could affect this- it's unlikely, anyway. I think that the reason that you are only just having this problem is because GLS and Pets seem to use a newer version of the Safedisc protection, so many people are having these glitches. Please do let us know how you get on, short of telling you to uninstall every other piece of software from your computer I'm at a bit of a loss now!

I have had a similar thing, but think it happened before I installed Pets. (Have already got Uni, Nightlife and Open for Business). I stopped playing for a couple of months and when I went back to it, it loads about 3 times and then doesn't start any more, like there is no disc. I have to save everything, uninstall and re-install to get it back again and then the same thing happens about the 4th time I start the game. Whilst I was not playing the Sims for those few months, Microsoft Office was installed on my computer and I saw what you said about you had it too and wonder if it could be something to do with this? I am not good at computers, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

From what I saw you have your C drive, your A drive (floppy), and two DVD drives.

Do those exist physically?

Yes, they do, I have one dvd and one dvd and dvd-rw.

Try deleting the cache files:
http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?p=1110082

I'm also having this problem...but my game isn't a DVD version.

I've tried lots of things, but it doesn't do anything. I click "autorun.exe", nothing happens. I click "eauninstall.exe", nothing happens. It registers the disk...but it's almost like it's not there.

When I made a shortcut to the desktop and tried that, I got this message:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b...ng?t=1167617902

I'm really upset and annoyed. I bought this game for Christmas...and it's a "no-return" so...I hope there's a way to fix this, and to see if anyone else has the "AutorunGUI.DLL" problem.

-SoapBubbles

Just checking the obvious- you have a DVD drive, right? The shortcut is incorrect- do you have any software likely to hide drives, as I mentioned above?

Yes, I do have a DVD drive, and I don't have any programs to hide drives, or at least I'm unaware of that I have any.

SoapBubbles- apologies, in my last post I misread you and thought you wrote you did have the DVD version! Duh.
Anyway, perhaps you could post screenshots of your installed programs as Bloobrey did in post #7.
Bloobrey, have you had any luck yet?