Cannot Build in Sims 2

I've been playing the Sims 2 since it was released, mostly since I was still an industrial design student back then, however now that I've installed it both in my Vista computer and an XP laptop it doesn't work.

I then scoured forums to see just how many people are having the exact same problem and the numbers were dismal. Most of them are saying that the Sims creators assigned a bug in the executable file so that when a no-cd crack was used, the build mode would not work.

I completely agree that software which was created by people with their blood, sweat and tears should be properly compensated, however, only by the people who can. I am still not paying for a game which I can get for Php 100 on a market stand somewhere. Maybe I'll just download Call of Duty 5.