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Bluebellflora's avatar
Bluebellflora
Hero+
2 years ago

Re: Cannot start because game data is missing or damaged. If you have Mods installed

@kh2w80setqk7

Thanks. Terminal output looks fine and as expected.

The scratch folder in your saves folder shouldn't be there. It is a folder created when you load up the game and automatically deleted when you quit. If it is there it is because the game froze/crashed and you couldn't successfully save. Delete it and then load your game, create a new save and see what happens. It may be an idea to play the game in a small window whilst keeping that saves folder open so you can see the new save file generated and then see what happens when you save and quit.

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  • kh2w80setqk7's avatar
    kh2w80setqk7
    2 years ago

    so i deleted the saves folder and let the game load again, created a sim and put him on a lot and saved and quit the game

    the screenshot is what my saves folder looks like after i did that 

    reloaded the game and everything was erased as provided in the screenshot 

    i also get this weird code in my sims delivery

    when i close the game my saves looks the same but the scratch folder created again and is there

  • Bluebellflora's avatar
    Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    2 years ago
    @kh2w80setqk7

    So those 3 files are now no longer in the saves folder?

    Have you tried a game repair to fix the SDX issue?

    What access does the game have in System Settings > Security & Privacy > Files & Folders?

    What access does Origin have in System Settings > Security & Privacy > Files & Folders?
  • kh2w80setqk7's avatar
    kh2w80setqk7
    2 years ago

    well the saves folder remains the same it regenerated that scratch folder again despite me deleting it 

    i tried to repair the game but that didn't work

    i don't really see an option when it comes to system settings. sims 4 nor origin shows anything in my preferences with security and privacy 

    i just now wiped the game again by renaming the sims 4 folder and letting the game regenerate the folder but it still has these issues it won't save anything ☹️

  • kh2w80setqk7's avatar
    kh2w80setqk7
    2 years ago

    should i try to reverse the symlink and see if my game runs properly again?

  • kh2w80setqk7's avatar
    kh2w80setqk7
    2 years ago

    ah, and just like that when i reversed the symlink and renamed the sims 4 folder so the game can regenerate a new folder everything works perfectly fine even my mods shows up 

    my options settings stays the same and everything

    thats cool and all but i bought this usb and went through all this trouble for it to work on my drive ☹️ 

    maybe i did something wrong with the symlink but i don't know what i followed everything perfectly

  • kh2w80setqk7's avatar
    kh2w80setqk7
    2 years ago

    tried the symlink again perfectly and once again the same issues ☹️

    game doesn't save my settings it reloads a fresh game every time i start up the game 

    i notice the sims delivery has an error message when this happens also

  • Bluebellflora's avatar
    Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    2 years ago
    @kh2w80setqk7

    Hmm. Very strange but thanks for all the info, really helpful. It's interesting that there is an SDX error. SDXs also write to the Sims 4 folder into the Content folder. If the game is having a problem accessing the Sims 4 folder, which yours seems to, it would generate an error, which it is.

    Which version of macOS are you running? It seems like a fairly old one going by the screenshot from System Preferences.

    Are there any restrictions on your Mac user account, is it a Standard account or administrator? System Preferences > Users & Groups.

    What is the external drive you are using, do you have a link to it online I can look up?
  • kh2w80setqk7's avatar
    kh2w80setqk7
    2 years ago

    IM SO HAPPY 

    i wanted to write to you because i was able to figure out what was wrong (hopefully it stays working for good)

    but i guess APFS wasn't the right format for my drive and i changed it to extended (journaled) and just like magic everything worked!

    i feel like crying tears of joy who knew it was such a simple fix?

    thank you so much for being patient with me and working with me because i was about to give up 

    hopefully this may help someone in the future who was having problems like this

    hopefully there won't be any further problems lol 

  • Bluebellflora's avatar
    Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    2 years ago
    @kh2w80setqk7

    Out of interest, which specific model Mac do you have? Is it an iMac or Mac mini with a Fusion Drive? These were hybrid HDD/SSD drives that Apple used in desktop machines.

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