Re: my progress on a save file set back weeks of progress
@CarlieKittens - Try a search on your computer for "Sims 4" to see if there are any other documents folders on the computer. Also check to be sure that the saves files didn't accidentally get moved to a subfolder in your documents. If you find any saves folders, copy to the desktop so you can easily find them. I suggest making a 'TS4 Backup' folder so you can copy anything you find into that.
Also try searching for "Sims" (without the quotation marks) on OneDrive. Instructions for doing so are here. Copy any folders you find on OneDrive to your TS4 Backup folder. Try keeping all these backups in subfolders, named so you know where they came from.
If you find any saves anywhere else but in the \<YourWindowsUserName>\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves folder on your desktop, copy the folders and save files (Slot_########.save files) to your backup folder. It's possible that your gen 3 files were created under a different windows user name, the folder was accidentally moved to a different place at one time, the save folder or files were accidentally deleted, or the folder was synced to OneDrive back when you used to play it (and now you're not using OneDrive any more).
Once you have all the save files in your backup folder, you can copy them to the correct saves folder in your documents on your hard drive.
I also suggest that you reset your game. Click the spoiler tag for instructions.
Completely exit the game and Origin
- Copy the entire "The Sims 4" folder to a 'TS4 Backup' folder (can be on an external drive or onto your desktop)
- In your documents folder on your PC, rename "The Sims 4" folder to "The Sims 4 Backup"
- Start The Sims 4 from Origin
- Check to make sure that there are no "Load Game" options. The game should start completely new with no previous games in it.
- Click on the Play button and start a new game just to check that it works. Make a random sim and place in a household. You don't have to save this game, just make sure the game works. You can exit to main menu without saving
- Exit the game and Origin
- Now you can start putting back your old files. Do this in the following order, opening the game and testing to be sure everything is working before you move to the next steps
- Copy your save files into the new 'Saves' folder
- Copy your Options.ini file to the new 'The Sims 4' folder. (or you can just reset your options in the settings menu)
- Copy the files from screenshots to the new 'Screenshots' folder
- Copy the files in the Tray folder to the new 'Tray' folder
- Finally, copy the Mods files from the backup folder to the new Mods folder. This will put back all your mods and cc, if you have any. Copy each file one at a time and then test the game to make sure it runs correctly before you copy the next one. If you have a lot of mods or cc, use the 50% method to narrow down any problems. Check with the content creator for updated copies on anything that breaks your game
Please let us know if you find your old games, and if so, where they were. This could help other users with the same problem. Good luck!
