So you've made the decision to install The Neighborhood Handler? Well, first of all you must check that you meet the system requirements:
- A PC that can run The Sims
- The Sims must be installed on your PC
- Windows 98 (SE), ME, 2000 or XP (Windows 95/NT4 might work but is not supported)
- A screen resolution set to 800 by 600 pixels or higher (if you can run The Sims, you must be able to have this too)
- 7.5 Mb free hard disk space. Additional disk space is required for back-ups and neighborhoods (approximately 5 to 50 Mb per back-up or neighborhood - this varies per back-up or neighborhood. It also depends on the amount of expansion packs you have installed).
If you meet these requirements, then you can go and download the latest version from this page. If you've never used this program before, get the full version. Otherwise, get the upgrade version.
After downloading, you have to install the program. This is easy: just open the downloaded file, and it will extract automatically. Follow the instructions on your screen and TNHH will be installed where you want it to go. This does not have to be the same path as The Sims, but it can be if you want.
Once installed, you start the program by clicking the icon in
the start menu. By default you can find it in Start/Programs/The
Neighborhood Handler/The Neighborhood Handler (where the last
one is the actual icon). When you start it, you will see this
screen pop up:
If this window does not appear, but an error is shown instead, then make sure you have installed the program correctly and that all the DLL files are installed properly too. Normally, the program will be loaded in seconds, after which the main screen (Chapter 3) will show up. If it's the first time you launch the program, it will tell you to set the options first. This is necessary to make the program work correctly, so you will be taken to the Options Screen (Chapter 18) automatically.
If you want to reset the program, so it will load the options screen at start-up, you must use the -reset parameter. To do this, click with your right mouse button on the shortcut in the start menu. Click "Properties" in the menu, and in the "Target" field add ' -reset' (without quotation marks). Make sure that there's a space between the program name and the parameter! The final value of the field should be something similar to: "C:\Program Files\The Neighborhood Handler\The Neighborhood Handler.exe" -reset This will make the program reset the options every time you launch it. To stop that, edit the shortcut again and remove the -reset parameter.
Related Chapters: