Old laptop started overheating when I'd play the sims. So, I opened it up and cleaned it... but I couldn't get these strange little connectors back together. :-/ Bitterness followed. Nothing was said about these weird connectors going together in the how to clean video.

So, I had to buy a new computer. $$. And delivery was delayed twice, where I stayed home waiting for that "next day delivery" for 4 days.

New computer has windows 10, but I did a 100% Origin install since this new laptop has no DVD drive! Okay, that worked. So did all my Sims 3 store CC. I think I may have enough speed to run NRAAS Story Progression now. The down side is that my old computer died so suddenly that I didn't uninstall the Sims (or anything else) so I may have used up one of my 6 installs.

Based on our previous discussions, I'm surprised you didn't get a MacBook Pro.

I'm not sure that install limit applies to Origin installed and authorized games. But even if you did get into trouble there, sometime in the future presumably, EA Customer Support (unlike Tech Support they really aren't that bad) should be able to reset something on their end.

I think your old laptop didn't technically died, I think the connector you're talking about was the LCD monitor, you might be able to fix it with no cost if you can reconnect it, as long as its circuit didn't get shorted.. I think it will run again, if you don't know or not sure how to do it, just go to youtube and search for your laptop model for how to disassembly or repair guide/tutorial, there are lots of them in youtube..

But if its really dead, you still can saved all the things you have in your old HDD from your old laptop, you can even put its HDD in your new laptop and try to run its Windows OS, and then make backup image if you want to restore it somewhere later or maybe to make transfer files (including TS3 files) to your new Win 10 computer, once you done that you can delete everything in there and make it as an external HDD with buying an external 2.5" HDD case so you have a backup or additional storage to your new laptop, and for the rest of your old laptop, your can part them out and sell them as for parts replacement, you still can make money by selling the good parts on ebay like the processor, rams, dvd, motherboard, its case, even its LCD if its not dead..

Edited; oops.. sorry.. I didn't notice if it was a Mac as Igazor mentioned it, I don't know anything about Mac, I was assuming your old laptop was Windows, but technically.. it shouldn't be much difference in steps how to save your old files you might need to your new Win10 computer

@PapaEmy - Sorry, that was a joke. I am certain that neither of the OP's computers are Macs. He has claimed to have for decades hated them with a burning passion rarely seen on this planet. Or something like that. But admittedly he may have been saying that at the time just to annoy me.

I salvaged the old laptop's hard drive with windows 7, and my intent was to not run windows 10 at all for religious reasons. But... windows 7 has no drivers for this new laptop. I don't think Grub and windows 10 get along (correct me if I'm wrong) because of some new secure boot thing of Windows 10.

My old computer got so hot it would stop suddenly which is kinda bad for the hard drive so I couldn't abide it. And always it would overheat with the sims, which made it worthless to me.

Besides, this new one has a built in graphics card, so now I can play Fallout 4. Which sucks, because I was killed by a giant mutant cockroach right off the bat.