Every Sims 2 product has the same basic directory structure for its installation: CSBin contains content creation set binaries, TSBin contains game binaries, TSData contains game data, and Support contains a bunch of boring stuff about how to contact the useless serfs that EA calls 'tech support'. The Compressorizer is somewhat slow, but it has never been observed to damage anything. The solution to this is to only download hacks from people smart enough to Compressorize anything they post. Be warned that the Compressorizer will reset file modification times, so if you like me rely on them to manage your hack versions, you will be in trouble. It is quite safe to just run the Compressorizer on your whole EA Games folder and let it sort out what it can and can't compress. Custom content, neighborhoods, downloads, everything. If space is a priority for you, Compressorize everything. You can compress custom content with the aptly-named Compressorizer. Most of this guide will be about compressing your actual installation directories, not your custom content. Once more: if you follow these instructions and break shit, you are on your own. If you break something and reinstalling can't fix it, you didn't follow my instructions. Which is bad, but not the end of the world. None of these steps will destroy user data at worst you'll have to reinstall.

If you break something, you don't get to bitch at me, because you broke it and it is your fault that you were too stupid to realize that what you were doing would destroy your installation. I've tested these tricks on my own installation, and haven't noticed anything terribly bad happening, but your results might be different.

This is good, since it means idiots will not even be able to start following these instructions, which are most decidedly not for idiots. I'm going to go against my worse nature and try to keep it brief this means among other things that things will not be explained in detail. I didn't look around for other such guides, but I'm going to guess no one has gone to the same lengths I have and so I'm just going to post this anyway.

This is a brief guide to some ways you can reduce the size of your Sims 2 installation.

Sims 2 package files