This page contains troubleshooting for installing The Sims 3 from a disc. We also have instructions for installing The Sims 3 on a Mac and for installing The Sims 3 through Origin.

We have prepared a video to guide you through the process of installing The Sims 3. Give it a spin, or scroll down for written instructions.

If you are having trouble installing The Sims 3 from an install disk, follow the steps below.

Cover the basics

• Make sure you have a a DVD drive, and not a CD drive.
• Furthermore, make sure your DVD drive can read Dual-Layer DVDs.

Determining if you have a faulty disk

• Make a note of the exact file that is causing the installation to crash (you should be able to see what file is being installed in the installation progress bar).
• Try installing your game again. If your installation comes to a stop when the disk tries to install the same file as before, then you most likely have a faulty disk.

How to solve the problem

• If you discover you have a DVD drive that does not read Dual-Layer DVDs, you might want to opt for a digital version of Sims 3.
• If you have a faulty disk and fall under our 90-day warranty period, you may return it under certain criteria.

If you're on Windows 8

Some parts of Windows have been rearranged between Windows 7 and 8 so you might be confused when looking around or listening to the video instructions.

For quick reference:

• Windows 8 players can find the Control Panel under their Settings menu. You can get to the Settings menu by swiping in from the right edge of the screen and selecting Settings.
  • You can also find the Control Panel by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping search, typing Control Panel, and then selecting its search result.
• Instead of My Computer, Windows 8 players should look for the This PC menu. To find your This PC menu, open File Explorer by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, clicking search, and then typing File Explorer and selecting its search result.
• Similarly, you can find your My Documents folder by openning File Explorer by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, clicking Search, then typing My Documents and selecting its search result.