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Game save files not on saves folder?
Had to wipe my Mac hard drive and now I can't find 5+ years' worth of progress saves. They should be in the saves folder in The Sims 4 folder which I have backed up on My Passport for Mac, and they are, but I tried importing the saves in there into the new folder and realized only one of the first ever families created when first getting the game were in there. It's as if the following saves ended up somewhere else, but I don't know where. I've been through every folder and copied all the files from the backup to the computer. Anyone have Amy ideas? Pls pls pls help!5Views0likes1Comment[READ FIRST] Saves, CC/Mods or Library items disappeared? iCloud issues
ISSUE Saves One minute your game is working fine. The next you go to play and the Load Game button has disappeared, there seems to be no way to play an existing save. CC/Mods Newly added CC/Mods do not show up in your game despite being properly installed (for help with installing 3rd party content see here) or CC randomly starts disappearing from your game. Library items Saving Lots, Rooms and Households to your in-game Library doesn't work CAUSE Most likely the internal storage on your Mac is too full and iCloud is pushing any newly added files to your Documents folder in the cloud. This can happen at anytime. You can check the storage level by clicking on the Apple in the top left corner of the menu bar then About This Mac, then the Storage tab. By default, the game stores your Saves, Mods, Tray (where your Library items are saved) and all your user game data in a folder called The Sims 4 in Documents > Electronic Arts. If there is no Sims 4 folder in this location the game will recreate a new one each time it is launched. If you have iCloud Drive enabled and set to store your Desktop & Documents folder in the cloud it may be moving your existing Sims 4 folder to the cloud, hence the need to create a new Sims 4 folder every time you launch the game. You can check the status of various files and folders, and what the little cloud icons mean, here. FIX Firstly, you MUST free up some space on your Mac otherwise doing this is pointless. Empty the Downloads folder, go through your data and see what you no longer need, empty the Bin. If you have large Photos, Music and TV libraries consider storing them on an external drive. Instructions here on how to do this for your Photos library, the principle is the same for the Music and TV apps. Open System Preferences and then your iCloud settings. What you click on can vary by macOS, check Apple's help page here if you can't immediately find where to look. This is where you can choose what gets stored in the cloud. We are only interested in two settings, iCloud Drive and Optimise Mac Storage Click on Options... in the iCloud Drive setting and make sure Desktop & Documents Folders is unchecked. Scroll down to the bottom of this Apple help page to understand what happens to your data when you turn off the setting. Back at the iCloud settings window, Uncheck Optimise Mac Storage below the list of apps using iCloud. This means that your Mac will stop pushing files to the cloud when the internal storage is getting full. For more info on this setting read this help page. Once you have successfully stopped iCloud from moving the contents of your Documents folder to the cloud you need to move the Sims 4 folder back into the default location - Macintosh HD > Users > [User] > Documents > Electronic Arts Apple explain here what the status of the little cloud icons mean. If you're feeling brave you could consider creating a symlink and storing your Sims 4 folder on an external drive. Or maybe change your EA App Games Library location to an external Drive.42KViews19likes687CommentsGame fails to launch on Mac
Hey, so I just got a new computer, it runs on Sonoma 14.5. I installed the EA App and my Sims 4 as always, which is that the game itself is installed on an external drive due to limited space on Mac (I had it this way on my previous Mac and it worked without any issues on Origin). Now I did the same and everything is installed correctly but as soon as I try to play, I get the pop-up "game failed to launch, it's a problem on our end, please try again later". I've tried for 3 days now, repaired the game, repaired EA app, everything. I can't remove the folder from the documents because I don't have one - assuming the system didn't automatically create it since the game wasn't launched even once on this computer. I'm literally running out of ideasalaydance2 days agoNew Novice37Views0likes3CommentsUnable to start: The Sims 4 is already running - Mac only
If you're experiencing this error message it doesn't mean your game is already running, the actual message itself is incorrect. It means The Sims 4 cannot access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to load your user data when you attempt to launch the game. This is essentially a permissions issue which can be resolved based on your setup: - If you have just installed or reinstalled the game - If you have iCloud Drive enabled and it is syncing your Desktop & Documents folders - If you have recently updated your Mac or the game - If you have moved your Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to an external drive and created a symlink in your Documents folder ______________________________________________________________ If you have just installed or reinstalled the game: You would have been prompted to allow The Sims 4 permission to access the Documents folder, this is security built into macOS. This is so it can access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder in your Documents folder, if one already exists, or create a new one if it doesn't exist. If you clicked Don't Allow when prompted the game cannot read and write to the Documents folder, resulting in the error message. Fix - Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders (you will need to use an Mac Administrator account to access this) and enable access to the Documents folder by clicking the toggle on: If you do not see this option open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access (you will need to use a Mac Administrator account to access this). Click the + in the bottom left corner, below the list of apps. A Finder window will open to the Applications folder. Navigate to where your game is installed, by default this is Applications > EA Games, click on it and then click Open. It will now be added to the Full Disk Access list. Make sure it is toggled on. Whilst giving the game Full Disk Access isn't ideal, and shouldn't be necessary, it is a quick and easy solution to fixing the error message and the game is signed and notarised by Apple. ______________________________________________________________ If you have iCloud Drive enabled and it is syncing your Desktop & Documents folders: This is a really common cause of this error message and is as a result of your Mac storage being full resulting in iCloud pushing the entire Documents folder to the cloud. The game cannot see the Documents folder and its contents because it is not local on your machine, therefore it cannot access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to load user data at launch. Fix - Open System Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > Drive and disable the Desktop & Documents folders syncing. Be aware of the effect this will have if you use multiple Apple devices to access these folders: ______________________________________________________________ If you have recently updated your Mac or the game: Sometimes permissions can go awry after updating the OS or you have been prompted to change settings after updating and inadvertently clicked the wrong thing. Fix - check all of the applicable settings in the instructions above ______________________________________________________________ If you have moved your Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to an external drive and created a symlink in your Documents folder: There can be multiple reasons for the error message when a symlink has been set up but they are all caused by the game not being able to access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder: your external drive is not plugged in and properly mounted. Check the drive is plugged in and showing in Finder/on your Desktop. your symlink is broken. This can be checked by looking at the symlinked folder in your Documents folder. If the icon is a white file and not a folder it is broken. Trash it and recreate the symlink in Terminal. If you have further issues refer to the dedicated symlink thread opening post. the game does not have access to Removable Volumes (external drives) in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders. You would have been prompted to give permission when launching the game for the first time after successfully creating the symlink and maybe denied it. Give the game access: you have iCloud Drive syncing your Desktop & Documents folders to the cloud which does not work well with the symlink. Disable it (see above for further instruction). your external drive has not been ejected properly multiple times resulting in the OS changing the mount point. Check Disk Utility and rectify, see the dedicated symlink thread opening post for further instruction. ______________________________________________________________ If you're still stuck a really quick and easy way to resolve this is to create a new Administrator account on your Mac and play the game in that account. When you first launch the game in that account you will be prompted to give all the necessary permissions for the game to access the Documents folder - make sure you allow it 😊2KViews0likes493Commentssims 4 packs wont work on my mac
So i bought the cats and dogs pack as well as the my first pet pack like a month ago. I have tried everything to fix it and it wont work on my mac but my sister has the same things on her mac and they work. I tried on my moms PC and it all worked fine but kicked me out without saving stuff. How do I get it to work on MY mac?50Views0likes3CommentsGame Data Incomplete, grey llamas, red and white sims, broken textures
Hello, I haven't really had any issues with my Sims 4 game before so I haven't used these message boards very much, but I've had a problem show up that I can't seem to find a solution for. I've checked various other posts with a similar problem but none of those fixes helped. I updated the game yesterday and when I went to load my save (right before you choose a world to play), a message popped up that said: Game Data Incomplete Not all game data could be loaded. The save game references neighbourhoods that have been uninstalled or otherwise are no longer available. If you continue playing, you will encounter missing data and may have unexpected results. If you save the game, there will be no way to recover the missing data. What I thought was weird was after updating the game and before starting it, I decided to buy two stuff packs (because 50% off) and installed those. When I was scrolling through all the packs I had, I realized none of them were installed, literally NONE, and I had to go through and re-download every single pack. Once they were all redownloaded, I started the Sims and that's when I saw the error message. After googling for hours trying to fix the problem and I had felt like I exhausted all options, I decided I was just going to go through my save file and save every household and lot I created to my library and then completely start over because I was so fed up. However, when I went into the worlds to start saving lots, I saw all those weird grey llamas. They weren't in every world, only Del Sol Valley, Sulani, and Willow Creek, all the rest (from what I recall) had no llamas. In the worlds with the llamas, all my created lots were gone and only base game lots remained. I have tried to repair the game in Origin (three times now), restarted my computer (twice), uninstalled and reinstalled Origin, moved folders around in my Sims 4 folder (taking out folders one by one to see which one is the issue), and then finally completely removed my Sims 4 folder and placed it on desktop so it would regenerate upon opening again. When I took out my Sims 4 folder, I opened the Sims, started a new game, made a random sim, and when I went to choose a world the llama thumbnails were still there. I play with mods and cc, but removed the folder while trying to fix this issue. I'm not really sure what to do next, I was set on just starting a new save file and restarting, but once I saw that the llamas were still there even after the Sims 4 folder regenerated I feel kind of stuck. If you have any ideas on how to fix please respond! Also sorry if this seems super jumbled and all over the place, I wanted to add as much detail as possible and I'm also typing this at 4:30am LOL. (edit - changed thread title to cover all related issues with this problem, Bluebellflora)Solved28KViews1like649CommentsAll Content Downloaded from The Gallery Gone
When I loaded up my game today I found that all content originating from The Gallery had disappeared! Lots, Households, all gone. I'm also unable to see my content that should be saved in The Gallery. Anyone know how I can fix this? My current played household seems to be working fine, but all Lots now seem very cheap to purchase too... I've been playing this save for years now, so I'll be very sad if I have to start again! I play on a Macbook and I've tried repairing the game via the EA app multiple times with no success.lalalalalaaa26 days agoSeasoned Newcomer46Views0likes5CommentsAll Households Disappeared
Hello, I'm currently having an issue with The Sims 4. I updated the game, and then when I started to play the first time, all my households were there, but when I went to create a new household, the sims don't show in CAS mode, so I couldn't see any of the sims or edit them. I did receive a "couldn't recognize my graphics card" warning and I just bypassed it, and I just created a random household to see if it works or not. It didn't. So I restarted the game hoping it would fix that, but when I restarted, all my households completely disappeared. When I tried to recover or load a saved game, the whole game just crashes. I removed all my mods and put them on my desktop but the issue is still there. I repaired the game and that didn't do anything either. What should I do?8Views0likes1CommentScary glitch with everything
soo I was playing and then this happened. It’s not my computer. No mods or cc. Restarting did luckily fix it. Hopefully the link works, otherwise it’s was black box jumping across my screen like it was poses https://share.snapchat.com/m/ESQwE3fu?share_id=Di1P2b5vQmu6f4LpsbG8vQ&locale=en_SE67Views0likes2CommentsGame crashing or not loading especially after updating? Post here.
If your game is crashing or not launching after recently updating it please try the two most basic and fundamental steps to resolve it before posting: Repair the game in EA App Test a new clean game. Don't just cherry pick a few files and folders you think you should remove, such as just the Mods folder, or a few random Mods, or any old cache file, or a couple of screenshots, test a completely new, clean, vanilla game. Full instructions here - [INSTRUCTIONS] How to troubleshoot and test a broken game | EA Forums - 11864548 If your game successfully launches with a new Sims 4 folder you then need to figure out what is causing the crashing/failure to load. Again, instructions are in this link - [INSTRUCTIONS] How to troubleshoot and test a broken game | EA Forums - 11864548 . Only you can do that and it can take some time. if the cause is Mods head over to the Mods forum for further help - The Sims 4 Mods & Custom Content | EA Forums if the cause is one or more particular save files, upload them to a file sharing site and post the link here (tag me) or PM me and I can test in my game If your game will not load after repairing it AND testing a completely clean Sims 4 folder please uninstall and reinstall the game through EA App then test, still using the clean Sims 4 folder the game created from the previous step. If you're still having an issue post here with the specs of your Mac. You can find these in Apple > About This Mac: model, e.g. M4 MacBook Pro year, e.g. 2024 macOS version, e.g. Sequoia 15.3.2 (yes, the FULL version is important, with all numbers) memory, e.g. 64GB storage available, e.g. 1.5 TB of 2TB. This info can be found in System Settings > General > About or More Info... in the About This Mac window. Please also post a screenshot showing the contents of the new Sims 4 folder in Finder: make sure the files are in list order in Finder with Dates and Size clearly visible. make sure all files and folders in the TS4 folder are showing, don't cut off the screenshot have the path bar clearly showing in the screenshot: with the Finder window open and selected click on View > Show Path Bar in the menu bar at the top of your desktop. The screenshot should look something like this: Make sure to add a full description of what exactly is happening and what you have tried to fix it in your post. Be constructive to help us help you 🙂 The following are a few examples of short replies that are not constructive: "my game won't work" "my game has broken and I hate EA" "my game only works without Mods and I'm refusing to remove my Mods" "fix it" "my sister's friend's brother's aunty has the same computer and her game works" "I've tried EVERYTHING and NOTHING works"6.9KViews4likes395CommentsSims 4 closes immediately when trying to launch
Hello, I am having a problem where whenever I try to launch my game, it closes out immediately. I have tried repairing my game and removing all of my mods, but the problem keeps happening. I am playing on a MacBook Air with macOS 15.6.1, and I use a removable Samsung T7 SSD to play my game. Any ideas on how to fix the problem? Thank you!himebriana10 days agoSeasoned Newcomer75Views0likes3CommentsNot Enough Space in MacBook
New here!! I just got an external hard drive because of the latest sims 4 update made me run out of space on my Mack-book Pro made in 2015, I followed a YouTube video but it keeps saying that the folder doesn't exist and allows me to copy this: installPath=[/Volumes/EAGET/The Sims 4.app]. Error[not found] - I'm lost on how to fix it. I also tried to create a symlink on my Mac but it kept saying either the file wasn't there or the file already existed. - Please help I'm super confused and I would love to play the game again!SolvedAstr3zs_10 days agoSeasoned Newcomer52Views0likes3CommentsSims 4 Storage
Hi all! I have a Macbook 13 Air and I have been playing the Sims for a few years now while also being a student. Needless to say I have no storage… so much so I haven’t played in months. Am I able to transfer the Sims to an external hard drive? Will it save my gameplay, legacy, and packs? NEED HELP!!!!401ironworker11 days agoRising Newcomer31Views0likes1Comment- summersi11 days agoRising Novice57Views0likes4Comments
Sims are disappearing after new game/trying to play with household
I haven't played the game since 5 months or so. I had two games. The second game totally disappeared and I can't seem to find the save file anymore. The first and original game I played is still in tact. However, when I make a new game and the first sim in the new game, they seem to disappear. I moved my sim into a household, but can't play because my sim in basically not there. I checked in manage household, but there is nothing to find there. I made a second sim, and the same thing happened again. I tried deleting the save file(s), but then my first (original game) gets removed as well. I tried turning off the mods, but it did not help either... Has anyone got any tips???18Views0likes1CommentMouse Pointer Freezing
While playing as a sim in The Sims 4, I cannot move my overhead game view forward via my mouse pointer. I can only adjust my "sky" pov to the left, right, and down via my mouse. And, often when I try to move to the left, my mouse gets "stuck" and glitches, then appearing at the bottom of my screen. However, using the arrow keys does work. I think this may be related to upgrading to macOS 26.0, as I had played The Sims right before I updated and was not experiencing this problem.Solvedmoonduster0113 days agoSeasoned Newcomer392Views7likes21Comments
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