Sims 2 Compatibility with Windows 8

Hello,
So I had a similar problem. I recently acquired a computer with Windows 8 pre-installed, and during the installation of the game, I couldn't get past the update stage. The game wouldn't launch properly, and I couldn't install any expansion packs correctly. EA Games' response was that indeed, The Sims 2 is incompatible with Windows 8 (the pre-installed versions; upgrades are fine).

After three weeks of struggling, I finally found a solution that works perfectly. But you need to have the game files already installed correctly under an earlier version of Windows (7 or Vista or another). Personally, I had kept them on my old computer. Here’s what I did:
1. I installed the base game normally (without using compatibility options)
2. I went to my old computer and retrieved all the files in the following directory:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2"
I copied the entire "The Sims 2" folder
3. I pasted it into the "C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES" on Windows 8, asking it to replace all files.
4. As a verification, I clicked on the files TS2UPD.exe and TS2UPD0.exe located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\TSBin"; the following message appeared: "The version of The Sims 2 is already up to date"
5. I was able to install all my expansion packs normally
6. Everything works :-) :-)

Here’s the link to the forum that gave me the solution:
http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-2/The-Sims-2-COMPATIBILITY-WITH-WINDOWS-8/td-p/227016