Laptop won't run Sims 3 without an external hard drive

[pretty.cherryblossom]

My current laptop is a Sony Vaio from 2013. It runs Windows 8.1.
System:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200U CPU 1.60GHz
8GB RAM
64-bit OS

This is a refurbished laptop. Soon after I bought it, in 2014, I installed Sims 3. However, the game never launched. Later, I tried to install the game on my external hard drive, and it surprisingly worked, but the game was running extremely slow. Due to life reasons, I couldn't afford to have it fixed under the warranty period, so I just resigned myself with the problem.

I always wondered what the problem could be and if it could have any possible solution. Any ideas?

 

[hang-the-9]

No real reason why it would not run off the internal drive. Did you try uninstalling and re-installing it again on the internal drive? If system is working OK with other games and programs it is not likely a hard drive issue.

 

[pretty.cherryblossom]

No real reason why it would not run off the internal drive. Did you try uninstalling and re-installing it again on the internal drive? If system is working OK with other games and programs it is not likely a hard drive issue.

Yes, I remember that I reinstalled the game once, but the problem remained. My laptop is currently running quite slow, but all the other programs I use work okay. Other games too, but they aren't as demanding as Sims 3. I used to play the game and it worked perfectly in a previous VAIO version, but the laptop had a serious accident and it doesn't work anymore.