I've been having real issues downloading the Sims 3 on my desktop computer, which is about 6 years old. I didn't have the DVD Rom drive, but I got the files onto my computer and then installed the no disc hack. However, now when I click 'play', it says
"Unable to start game Device 0 cannot run this title. Your video card does not appear to support at least Shader Model 2. Please upgrade your card"
This is starting to be a real hassle and I'm so confused. Anyone know where I can figure out what kind of video card I have, and how much it will be to replace it?

You can determine the type of video card you have several ways:

Go to Start, then Run and type "dxdiag." That should show you information about your computer as well as about your video card type (you might need to click the display tab).
OR
Go to your Desktop, right click on your background and click Properties.
Click on Settings and look under "Display" - it should state your graphic card model.
OR
Go to control panel, administrator tools, computer management, then click the device manager icon in the left hand panel.

If your computer is 6 years old you might not be able to upgrade the video card easily as it will probally be running a card that uses a plug that isn't used anymore.
In that case you can always try looking on ebay for an old second hand video card that is higher then the one you have,
If you find out the info about your current card we can look at what types of cards you might be able to use.

Or bring your CPU to a store and let them do the rest (that's how I updated and now I am running the sims 3 like its a NES game but with better grahpics)