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Test Subject
Original Poster
#26 Old 10th Nov 2006 at 12:50 PM
The program looks in your computer's registry and pulls out any keys that it finds in there. The Sims 2 disk is not required for my program to work - since there are no serial keys stored on the Sims 2 disk.

When you try and install the game, and it asks you to enter the serial key, it actually stores that key in your computer's registry, and it is free to be looked at by any passing person or program.
However, depending on the uninstallation method used, the key may be removed, so my program won't always find it if the game has been uninstalled.

My program just takes out the leg work of manually navigating through your registry with RegEdit - plus it lets you print them all off easily too.

Since your serial key doesn't seem to in your registry, I'd try this guide from SimSample on recovery your serial key
http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=176239

Good luck.
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Test Subject
#27 Old 11th Nov 2006 at 6:07 PM
Thank You
you have saved me! thanks for making this
Test Subject
#28 Old 21st Nov 2006 at 3:53 AM
Thank-you SO much for this!!
Test Subject
#29 Old 1st Dec 2006 at 8:43 PM
You are a god among men . . . thank you, because crusing the internet for a week hadn't turned up the code . . . now I don't need to worry anymore! I can do my uninstall/reinstall and play again!!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#30 Old 2nd Dec 2006 at 12:09 PM
Thanks again for feedback. :-)

Just updated the first post to point you to the new .NET Framework that was released a while back.

My program only needs v2, so there is no need to upgrade for the sake of my program alone.

The next program update will probably be slightly before or after the next true expansion or stuff pack release.
Test Subject
#31 Old 13th Dec 2006 at 10:02 PM
Default Thanx anyway
i just rebought OFB coz my dog eat the manual :D
thanx for saving me from the next such issue :D
Lab Assistant
#32 Old 30th Dec 2006 at 8:41 AM
thanks much for this....i needed it badly! :D

"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on. But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm."

-Vicki Hearne
Test Subject
#33 Old 31st Dec 2006 at 5:06 AM
I have the Sims pet I have never previously installed it or anything it just didn't come with a code so will this program work or not?

I tried but it will never pull it up can you help me????
Part-time Hermit
#34 Old 31st Dec 2006 at 11:04 AM
stvn310, all expansion packs that are purchased should come with a code. If yours did not, you should contact the place where you bought it from.
Lab Assistant
#35 Old 6th Jan 2007 at 7:19 PM
Thank you so much, I lost my Nightlife manual and when I got Windows Vista I thought I was utterly screwed.

You are the awesomes.
Lab Assistant
#36 Old 7th Jan 2007 at 5:06 PM
this is FANTASTIC!!!!! thankyou so much!!!! keep up the good work

Life is waste of time. Time is a waste of life. Get wasted all the time, and you'll have the time of your life!
Lab Assistant
#37 Old 22nd Jan 2007 at 3:11 AM
OMG! You just saved us a ton of time. We have the original game and all the expansions. I have to reinstall everything but couldn't find the slip of paper that comes with the DVD cases, the one that has the serial code on it. I figured I'd give this site a try since I am a loyal fan and visit daily. To my surprise, some very smart person wrote exactly the program we were in dire need of......THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
Test Subject
#38 Old 23rd Jan 2007 at 7:06 PM
Wow, thanks so useful. =]

[:

Happy Simming!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#39 Old 28th Jan 2007 at 12:41 AM
Default The Seasons are coming
It's great to see my program being used and being found by the people that need it!

I've done the work on the program ready for Seasons, and I'll be uploading to the website and here once I hear people are opening up their pre-orders.

If I have time, I may even give the website a proper update!
Don't hold your breath though.
Test Subject
#40 Old 1st Feb 2007 at 11:00 PM
This is wonderful! I don't understand how it works and probably wouldn't if you told me, but I do know this is one of the most universally useful tools made for the Sims ever. Thank you so much.
Instructor
#41 Old 6th Feb 2007 at 7:11 PM
Thanks ever so much.. now I just have to stick it on my boyfriends laptop (where I had previously kept all the games) and recover my pets code.. For now I will Just put the ones I do have in a .doc file..
Thank You!
Lab Assistant
#42 Old 10th Feb 2007 at 6:12 PM
you're my hero!
Lab Assistant
#43 Old 10th Feb 2007 at 9:36 PM
I have a small question I have all 4 EPs and GL installed on my computer and have never uninstalled any of them, why does the key printer not show the serial code for my copy of university? it shows all the others thanx S2P

Life is waste of time. Time is a waste of life. Get wasted all the time, and you'll have the time of your life!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#44 Old 11th Feb 2007 at 1:07 PM
You could try finding the key manually - to see if its there at all:
http://www.modthesims2.com/article.php?t=176239

If the serial is where it is meant to be, I'm not sure why it would just be University that it fails to pick up.
That said, the part of the installation procedure that deals with the serial key when installing the game is totally separate from the main installer.
If for some reason that program has been run again, it would have cleared your key, yet Uni would still work.
Lab Assistant
#45 Old 19th Feb 2007 at 10:15 PM
I tried that process and all it showed was an empty registry for all 5 games!! Where else would the program be getting the codes from so I can check the university files? thanx S2P

Life is waste of time. Time is a waste of life. Get wasted all the time, and you'll have the time of your life!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#46 Old 27th Feb 2007 at 12:17 PM
The program doesn't look anywhere else - so I have no idea where its picking it up from then - other than the places in that article.

I can only imagine there is some oddness happening between the .NET Framework and permissions - and that your Uni key has simply winked out of existence at some point!

I've just updated the program to pick up Seasons (or at least look where I assume Seasons will be found) so it'd be interesting to see if it picks that up.
Instructor
#47 Old 7th Mar 2007 at 7:13 PM
well i just tryed it with seasons an i have them all an it worked thanks

The Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision. - L. Lavner
Test Subject
#48 Old 9th Mar 2007 at 10:55 PM
External Hard Drive and this Program
My computer died on me and so I bought a new computer. I was able to load up The Sims 2 and all the EPs except for Nightlife since I couldn't find the booklet for it. I have salvaged the hard drive from my old computer and put it in an external drive. Is there any way to get your key program to work on it? Or any way to run Regedit on the external drive? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. I tried the program on my new computer and it works like a charm (except for the sad greyed out icon for Nightlife).
Test Subject
Original Poster
#49 Old 10th Mar 2007 at 12:11 PM Last edited by OtherworldBob : 10th Mar 2007 at 12:54 PM.
Indeed you can run RegEdit on an external registry files - can be a little tricky though.

I haven't personally tried this, so no idea if it'll work or not, but playing around in the registry can seriously kill your Windows install, so make sure you backup everything you need before attempting this - who knows what it may do!

Fire up RegEdit, highlight one of the first main folders on the left.
From the File drop-down menu, hit "Load Hive"
Point it at your external hard drive:\WINDOWS\System32\Config\software
(I think it's the one without a file extension you want, maybe not, experiment if you dare)
Load that in, giving it an unusual name, so you don't overwrite anything in your current one.
Then you should be able to browse through it manually, as you would your own registry proper, though everything will appear under the name you gave it.
With any luck, you'll find your key in there.
Once found, or you've given up, don't forget to unload the hive too, just highlight the name you gave it on the left, and unload hive from the File drop down menu.

Good luck with that - but be careful, I really have no idea what those instructions I gave you will actually do, only what I think they do.

And a thanks to Knightguy82 for letting me know Seasons support works.
Test Subject
#50 Old 24th Mar 2007 at 1:34 PM
Great!! Now the "Lost Manual Syndrome" it's gone (only for Sims 2).
Now that I have this tool, I can save the serial numbers from my lost serials (from the Sims 2 and nightlife) in a file and print them.
Thank you.
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