Remember to BACKUP (need help search around)
if you don't then don't tell us we screwed up

Make sure you get the file that works with YOUR game meaning don't get NL if you don't have it.

Tired of trying to figure out how to install certain things? Scroll down to what Delphi and team made called X-press
Modthesims 2 X-press Installer
Read it here. Site is Here
Or go to Download For Dummies
To make sure you have Custom Content Enabled please see This Guide

You can add your own content to the game for skins, music, TV channels, video games, collections, neighborhood terrain, and neighborhood pictures.

First download the file somewhere (I like to use a folder called sims2 stuff on my desktop)
Find out what the file extensions is. Right click the file after you have downloaded and choose properties, this will tell us if it's .zip, .rar, .package, .sims2pack, etc. etc. Without this we don't know anything Also might help if you gave us the exact link/site you got this strange file at.


First of you might need to learn how to unzip the .zip or .rar Go here to learn
http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q108326
If you need a program try www.winrar.com or www.winzip.com Both are free for personal use.
If you use winrar please go here to learn how to extract the files. Just download one of the programs to the desktop. Double click it and keep ushing next then when it opens up click ok to make it default to zip/rar/tar/etc

Remember DO NOT put any of these files in the default setup of sims 2 meaning c:\program files\ea games\the sims 2 <- UNLESS otherwise.
If you have Night Life please check this out to see what's up with CC
Read this thenClick here
If you have the mac version of The sims 2 please read this
Here off of the TSR

If you need CEP then go here CEP download thread
Remember everything under THIS sentence goes into
My Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2
If you are having problems locating this folder paste it into start->run

If you don't see a "Downloads" folder then read This by nosnow halfway down.

For better finding things in your downloads folder it's wise to create sub folders inside of them. So you have a folder for skins, objects, food, mesh, etc that way you can debug your problems more easier.

If you just want a program to help install things such as that msg "double click content to install" and to "remove" certain hacks, etc then use Sims2CleanInstaller



Mesh
If you get an object or something that contains a mesh of a .package, it goes into My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\downloads folder.
This is required mainly for certain clothes, objects, terrian. If the site offers it, then it's wise to get it since "mesh" is a new thing that the game won't understand unless it has this to draw out the skeleton of the item.
This shows what exactly a mesh is
http://www.insimenator.net/showthread.php?t=6567

Skins:
To use a .sims2skin or .sims2pack file that someone has created using The Sims 2 Body Shop, just double-click the file. The file will install itself automatically no matter where it is located on your computer.

Music:
In order to play your own music in the game, just go to My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Music, and drop your .wav or .mp3 files in the appropriate folder. In game options it will show up with the name of the file tag. Some players said you must copy the file into the dir while others say you can make a shortcut as long as the folder has all right permssion.
If you are encoding from cd or converting try to use these bits

Also if you want more go here

TV channels:
To have your own movies played on the in-game TV channels, just go to My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Movies\ and place .avi files in the appropriate folder. Ideally, the files should have stereo sound, and be in a 128x128 pixel format, otherwise they will be stretched to fit.

Video games:
In order to have your own files played as video games, take any existing .avi file that you have. Then browse to one of the game subfolders under My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Movies\Games\ and place your files in the appropriate folder. Rename your movie as the exact name of one of the existing movie files (gamename_ATTRACT.avi, gamename_INTRO.avi, gamename_P1LOSE.avi, P1WIN.avi, gamename_P2LOSE.avi, or gamename_P2WIN.avi, where gamename=bus, ssx, or sc4). Then when you play the corresponding game segment in The Sims 2, your movie(s) will play on the screen instead.

Collection Objects
To use downloaded collections for your object simple put the .package into My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Collections. Please make sure it's only the .package file not any txt, nfo, etc extensions.

Custom Floors/Wallpaper
My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\downloads\floor
My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\downloads\wallpaper

Collection icons:
To use your own icon for a custom collection, simply drop any .tga, .jpg, .png, or .bmp file into My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Collections\Icons, and your picture will show up as an option when you create a new collection. Since pictures will be stretched to fit the format, they should be small and roughly square for best results.

Custom Neighborhoods Using SimCity 4 Terrain:
New custom neighborhoods for the Sims 2 can be created using SimCity 4 terraforming tools. First, only small cities can be imported into The Sims 2, so be sure not to start with a medium or large city. Make sure the city you use contains roads; otherwise you will not be able to place lots in your new neighborhood. Take the .sc4 file you wish to use, and place it in your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\SC4Terrains folder. When you go to the neighborhood creation screen in the game, your terrain will be available to use to create a new neighborhood.

Custom hackes/Objects
New hacked objects please drop the .package into your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\downloads folder. They will appear with alittle star icon in the all catageory unless it's a hacked mood, behavior, etc.

Clothing/Or anything related to CAS
New hacked objects please drop the .package into your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\downloads folder. Or make a CAS folder inside of downloads folder so if you have problems it's easier to figure out and fix.


Or just read what the author of the thingy wrote in their post where you are downloading the file.

Best way to keep everything in order is by having more then 1 folder in your downloads folder like one for modthesims2, beta's, yours, colors, wall, floor, etc BUT something your pc won't read the folders in that case just make sure you rename the .package to something you can understand

You can find this stuff in the help files if you look hard enough, but i figured people might find it helpful to have it on reference here.
Please make sure you enable custom content in your game options...


MOD EDIT: yaya I added even more and asked jj to move this here

Thanks MikeInside!! Toddles,

Mike, can you use the sim files made in Bodyshop and import them into CAS so I won't (or anyone else won't) have to redesign all the people and their faces, etc. again?

Otherwise, thanks for everything else!

yay! i knew we could add movies and to think they also added all this editing stuff in My Documents
great job Maxis!

thanks MikeInside for the info

the stuff u made in bodyshop automatically appears in the game!

YES!!! All that hard work was not for a waste.

Thanks, mike!

Thanx Mike for filling me in intime for the game

Cool thanks for the info!
That's so cool -

Cant wait for the game i might as well pee in my pants

I put my mp3's into C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Music\pop and nothing plays when i get into the game. Is there something else I should be doing?

did you turn on the radio and set it to the pop station?

Yes, im not that stupid. Im stumped!

youd be suprised how often its something that obvious

ummm so the other stations still play music, but pop is just quiet? make sure your files are the right format (Eg MP3 files, not WMA or any other)

You could try putting shortcuts to the files in there, instead of the actual files, thats what i did.

other than that, i dont know sorry.

thanks for the help. After a bit I finally got it to work.

Do you have to put the mp3's or shortcuts in the folders on there alreay? Or can you create another folder and it will make it another station?

u can use the MP3's OR the shortcuts to them.

You cannot create new stations.

If I wanted to put my favorite song on the game (Lean Back (remix)) I would type:
My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Music\Hip Hop\

right?

Dont type it, just goto the MyDocuments link on your desktop and navigate through the folders.

I'm having problems getting my music in game too... I tried both copying the mp3 file that I want to use to My Docs\etc\Music\Techno and I tried placing a shortcut to the mp3 in the folder. I went in TS2 and turned on my radio, set it to Techno, and flipped through every song, but it wasn't there and wouldn't play. Someone also said somewhere that you need to go into options/audio and enable the song by finding it's name where it's supposed to play, like for me it would be radio/techno and I should see the name of my mp3 there and be able to enable it or disable it if I wanted, but I still only see the names of the default songs and mine isn't there. I'm really stumped on what to do. Can someone who has figured this out, please give just simple step by step instructions to how you did it. I hate it when other people are like "oh, I figured it out" but then don't explain HOW they figured it out so that others that might have the same question will be able to try it too.