#gaming on linux

ok I need to document this because I’ve just fixed something that refused to work on the SAME machine under Windows 11 😭

Sims 2 custom videos (black screen / not showing) on Linux Mint – FIX

I was having the classic issue:

custom AVIs not showing on computer screens / TVs

black screen or nothing happens

files work fine in VLC so it makes no sense

this is NOT a mod issue. it’s a codec problem.

what’s actually wrong

Sims 2 uses an old video system (DirectShow + VP6 codec)

Linux doesn’t include that properly in Wine by default, so the game literally can’t read the video even though the file exists.

how I fixed it (Lutris method)

open Lutris

select The Sims 2 in your library

at the bottom of the window, next to the Play button, click the small arrow (▲)

click Winetricks

you’ll get a window asking what to do:

👉 choose “Select the default wineprefix” → OK

next screen: 👉 choose “Install a Windows DLL or component”

install these:

quartz

wmp9

lavfilters

let everything install, close Winetricks, then launch the game

result

custom computer screen videos → WORKING

custom TV videos → WORKING

no black screens anymore

important note

if you copied your Sims 2 install from another OS before, don’t overwrite the VP6 folders inside the game files. those are OS-specific and can break video playback.

honestly???

this worked better on Linux Mint than it EVER did on my Windows 11 setup 💀

if your Sims 2 videos are broken and you’re on Linux, try this before doing anything else.

Problem with Bazzite is that being immutable you have KDE or Gnome options, but can't get rid of them and use LXQT or other lightweight option, short of creating your own spin.

[edit]

I formatted the big hard drive as NTFS. Why did I do that. It has to be FAT.

sigh. now I have to download BG3. Again. I have downloaded this game so many times. It takes hours.

ok I have to document this because I spent way too long figuring it out 😭

If you’re using Linux Mint, Lutris, The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection and Sims2Pack Clean Installer, you might find that Clean Installer launches perfectly, but double-clicking a .Sims2Pack file either does nothing or crashes.

Turns out Clean Installer itself wasn’t the problem.

the problem

Linux passes the file to Clean Installer as a normal Linux path, for example:

$HOME/Downloads/120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack

But Clean Installer is a Windows program running through Wine, so it expects a Windows-style path.

Instead of understanding the Linux path, it may try to read it as something like:

C:\home\username\Downloads\120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack

That path does not exist inside the Wine prefix, so Clean Installer crashes with an error like:

System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException Could not find a part of the path C:\home\username\Downloads\120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack

The fix is to convert the Linux path into a Wine-compatible Windows path before opening the file.

first, check your Sims 2 Wine prefix

This guide assumes your Sims 2 Wine prefix is located here:

$HOME/Games/the-sims-2

This is a common location for the osab Ultimate Collection installer, but your own installation may be somewhere else.

If your prefix is in a different location, replace:

$HOME/Games/the-sims-2

with the correct path for your own setup.

check where Clean Installer is installed

This guide assumes the Clean Installer executable is located here:

$HOME/Games/the-sims-2/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/CleanInstaller/Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe

If yours is somewhere else, update that path in the commands below.

check the Wine path for a Sims2Pack file

Open Terminal and run:

WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/the-sims-2" winepath -w \ "$HOME/Downloads/120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack"

Replace the example filename with the name of a real Sims2Pack file in your Downloads folder.

On my setup, the command returned:

S:\Downloads\120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack

Your result may be different.

Some Wine prefixes may return something beginning with:

Z:\home\username\...

That is fine. The important thing is that winepath converts the Linux path into a path that Wine can understand.

test Clean Installer manually

Before creating the double-click launcher, test that Clean Installer can open a Sims2Pack file when it is given the correct Wine path.

Run:

WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/the-sims-2" wine \ "$HOME/Games/the-sims-2/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/CleanInstaller/Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe" \ "S:\Downloads\120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack"

Replace the final path with the result you received from the winepath command.

If Clean Installer opens and displays the contents of the Sims2Pack file, the program itself is working correctly.

create a launcher script

The launcher script will automatically convert whichever Sims2Pack file you double-click into a Wine-compatible path.

Open Terminal and run:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin nano ~/.local/bin/sims2pack-cleaninstaller

Paste this into the file:

#!/bin/bash export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/Games/the-sims-2" PACKAGE="$(winepath -w "$1")" wine \ "$HOME/Games/the-sims-2/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/CleanInstaller/Sims2Pack Clean Installer.exe" \ "$PACKAGE"

Save the file by pressing:

Ctrl + O

Press Enter, then exit Nano by pressing:

Ctrl + X

Now make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/sims2pack-cleaninstaller

create the Linux application entry

Now create a desktop application entry so Linux Mint can display Clean Installer in the Open With menu.

Run:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications nano ~/.local/share/applications/sims2pack-cleaninstaller.desktop

Paste this:

[Desktop Entry] Type=Application Name=Sims2Pack Clean Installer Comment=Install The Sims 2 Sims2Pack files Exec=/bin/bash -c '"$HOME/.local/bin/sims2pack-cleaninstaller" "$1"' dummy %f Terminal=false NoDisplay=false MimeType=application/x-sims2pack;application/octet-stream; Categories=Utility;

Save it with Ctrl + O, press Enter, then exit with Ctrl + X.

Refresh the desktop application database:

update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications

check how Linux identifies Sims2Pack files

Run:

xdg-mime query filetype \ "$HOME/Downloads/120 Via Veronaville.Sims2Pack"

Again, replace the example filename with a real Sims2Pack file.

If the command returns:

application/x-sims2pack

run:

xdg-mime default sims2pack-cleaninstaller.desktop application/x-sims2pack

If it returns:

application/octet-stream

run:

xdg-mime default sims2pack-cleaninstaller.desktop application/octet-stream

set it through the file manager

You can also set the default application manually:

Right-click a .Sims2Pack file.

Choose Open With.

Select Sims2Pack Clean Installer.

Set it as the default application.

Make sure you do not select Winetricks.

At one point my Sims2Pack files were associated with Winetricks, which caused a warning about the Wine prefix instead of opening Clean Installer.

the result

Double-click a Sims2Pack file.

Clean Installer opens automatically.

The lot or custom content appears immediately.

No need to paste a command into Terminal every time.

about the terminal warnings

You may still see Wine messages such as:

ZwLoadDriver failed to create driver winebth CoGetContextToken apartment not initialised LISTVIEW_WindowProc unknown msg 109d

These messages did not stop Clean Installer from working on my system.

The important error was the DirectoryNotFoundException. That disappeared as soon as the Linux path was converted into a Wine-compatible path.

important notes

The paths in this guide may not exactly match your own installation.

You may need to change:

the location of your Sims 2 Wine prefix

the location of the Clean Installer executable

the name and location of your Sims2Pack file

Using $HOME means you do not need to replace someone else’s Linux username with your own.

one last tip for Linux beginners

If you’re new to Linux and any part of this guide is confusing, paste this entire post into ChatGPT or another AI assistant and explain your own setup.

Tell it:

which Linux distribution you use

whether you use Lutris, Bottles or plain Wine

where your Sims 2 Wine prefix is located

where Clean Installer is installed

what error message you are receiving

Ask it to adapt the commands to your own paths rather than copying everything blindly.