Problem with launching

[Bicardi]

I just picked this up last night and I went to play it and it keeps telling me

An App on your PC needs the following windows feature: .net Framework 3.5 (includes .net 2.0 and 3.0)
I then try to download it through the thing that pops up and it can't and the game won't launch if I skip the installation.

Any Help is greatly appreciated

[NetPCDoc]

This is a common issue with first time play on Windows 10!

.net Framework 3.5 is an optional windows feature, which (even when it is installed) Windows 10 defaults to leaving it turned off.

Try reading section 2.5 of the following guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=279488894

[yoshi bob]

well i left 3 days ago and it is saying i still have the app running

[cruinne]

Originally posted by THEDRUNKBARNEY:

well i left 3 days ago and it is saying i still have the app running

https://steamcommunity.com/app/47890/discussions/0/1734338354735495092/

If you have further issues, please post to a new thread of your own so we can help you without confusing the original poster in this thread.

[Bicardi]

Originally posted by NetPCDoc:

This is a common issue with first time play on Windows 10!

.net Framework 3.5 is an optional windows feature, which (even when it is installed) Windows 10 defaults to leaving it turned off.

Try reading section 2.5 of the following guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=279488894

I tried that, it then tries to download it again to no avail.

[marstinson]

We'll try the step-by-step thing, then.

First, since your earlier comment about the game still running three days later indicates that you do not shut down your computer, shut it down (as in completely powered off, not restart), give it a few seconds for the drive to spin down and then power it back up again.

If you tried to run the .NET executable that you downloaded, go into the control panel (Add/Remove Programs) and make sure that .NET 3.5 is not on the list of installed applications. If it is, uninstall it and ignore in-game instructions about downloading anything for Windows. The game was released in 2009 when XP/Vista were dominant, and Win7 hadn't been released yet (Sims 3: June 2009, Win7: October 2009). .NET was a separate download for all of those operating systems.

Run a registry cleaner to clear out any lingering junk that the installer might have put in there. I use CCleaner from Piriform (ccleaner.com). Get the free version unless you can't endure the incessant nagging about updates (no autoupdate in the free version) and let it do its thing. You'll want to hang onto it in case you decide to uninstall the game or any EPs (neither uninstalls cleanly).

Now Use your desktop search box to look for "turn windows features on and off". You'll get results that include a control panel applet whose name I can never remember, but click it. .NET 3.5 will be the first checkbox on that list. If it's enabled, click "OK" to get out of it and back to your desktop. If it's disabled (unchecked), enable it, click OK to get out of it and back to your desktop, then restart your computer. If it's enabled in the applet and you want to be double-sure that it's enabled, then disable it, click OK until you're back at your desktop, restart, go back in to enable it, click OK until you're back at the desktop, and restart again. Windows won't care much; it's all ones and zeroes as far as it is concerned.

Once you're sure that .NET is in, you should be able to launch the game. Use Steam's "Play" button on the Library page because there are redistributables that need to be installed that probably won't be installed if you use a different method of launching. After you have successfully launched, but before starting a new game, you'll want to manually run Windows Update. Your Internet Explorer, .NET, and the C++ redistributables probably don't need updating, but it never hurts to be sure. The Sims 3 uses IE regardless of what your default browser is. You might get errors in the launcher if Java, Adobe Flash, and Adobe Air are not installed and up-to-date, but this should not affect the game itself. It might affect the display of Store items for purchase in Buy Mode, though.

[Bicardi]

I go to enable it, I click OK, then the thing tries to download it and fails

[marstinson]

There is no downloading for Win10 - it's already installed, just not enabled. If it's trying to download, then something else is going on. Did you check the installed programs in the Control Panel and uninstall .NET 3.5 if it was there? Did you run the registry cleaner?

[Bicardi]

I checked it, wasn't there, I ran the cleaner.

[marstinson]

My initial thought, then, is that Windows has a group policy setting which allows updates only from a particular source. This is not an uncommon problem when your user account is completley or partially tied to an organization (I hit it occasionally since I use my university user account to validate my Office installation), but walking you through a fix is far outside my knowledge of Windows 10. Hopefully someone more technically savvy can step in and help.

[Bicardi]

Alright. Thanks for trying man!

[igazor]

Can we go back a step for a moment?

Where you were looking for .NET 3.5 to be present but not yet activated, was that on Programs and Features on the main list where all your other applications are found? It should (at least I think this is true of Win 10) be on a different list, under Switch Windows Features On or Off that is accessed by way of the left side panel from the Programs and Features interface, not on the main list. At least that's the way it's always been on prior versions of Windows.

[NetPCDoc]

Originally posted by igazor:

Can we go back a step for a moment?

Where you were looking for .NET 3.5 to be present but not yet activated, was that on Programs and Features on the main list where all your other applications are found? It should (at least I think this is true of Win 10) be on a different list, under Switch Windows Features On or Off that is accessed by way of the left side panel from the Programs and Features interface, not on the main list. At least that's the way it's always been on prior versions of Windows.

2.5 of cruinne's Troubleshooting guide, that I referenced above (in previous post), tells how to find the right place in Windows 10! ... I checked!

Bicardi, if you only read 2.5, you may want to read a bit more around 2.5 - as there are additional fixes (work arounds?) for known issues related to .Net Framework there-abouts. Of special concern are having your local steam files in one of the default Program Files folders and/or Administrative Authority.

[cruinne]

One other random thing to try: if you go into your Steam directory for the Sims 3, there is an executable there called "Dot Net Fix" that might be worth running (with administrative privileges).

Normally for Steam users you'd find this in: C > Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > The Sims 3 > install > dot net

[Bicardi]

I did try running the dot net fix found in the sims folder then it tried and failed to downlload it again