Re: [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 saves/user content disappearing (PC)

@6kaleidoscopes  I've merged your post with the master thread for this issue.  Please see the first post on page one.

@puzzlezaddict I have looked through most of the thread and all of your OneDrive specific threads with some luck. I was able to locate my saved files and their locations. My user file (located by following the steps on How to find your user folder – Crinrict's Sims 4 Help Blog) says they are saving in my OneDrive under Sims 4. My saved files are there also, but the game still is not running them. Any advice? 

Thanks for doing what you do!

@6kaleidoscopes  Do the file paths match exactly, at least until the Sims 4 folder?  I ask because your screenshot looks fine to me; I don't see an obvious reason why the saves wouldn't load.

If that's not the problem, please create a new save and see what happens to it, both whether it shows up in the correct location—you can check the "date modified" to find the newest one—and whether you can still load it after restarting your computer.

Long term, it might be better to keep OneDrive away from your saves.  You could still manually upload files to OneDrive, but moving your Documents folder out of OneDrive would mean fewer complications, including but not limited to the current situation.  It's your call though.

@puzzlezaddict I created a new game and saved it. It saved it in the same location. But it created a new folder in the original saves folder as "saves". It appears that now both folders have the saves within them. I attached a photo to help clarify this.

I will be moving my saves folder out of OneDrive. Is it safe to do this if I am still trying to fix my old saves?

@6kaleidoscopes  The second saves folder shouldn't be there, and the game can't read anything inside.  I do think that this is odd enough that the best course of action is to eliminate OneDrive as a source of error and go from there.

For your old saves, make a backup copy of the folder and put it somewhere OneDrive doesn't touch.  An external storage device would be ideal, but if you don't have one, you can drop the folder into Downloads for now.  Then follow the steps to get rid of OneDrive or block it from syncing Documents, whichever you prefer, as described in the first post on page one.

Before restoring your saves, please open Command Prompt (search for it in Windows) and enter this command:

reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal"

That will return the location of the Documents directory as Windows has assigned it.  The result should be this:

C:\Users\your username\Documents

with your actual username substituted in.  If it's anything else, stop here and let me know.  If you do get the correct result, open Sims 4 again and make sure it's also reading that file path.  If it is, put your saves in that Sims 4 folder and go back to playing.

@puzzlezaddict I moved my EA folder to my downloads to avoid OneDrive. I started up the game with no luck... Even my new save I just made was gone. When I started up the game it acted like I had never played before, prompting me to walk through the lessons. When I saved and quit, it created a new folder again under one drive. :/ I am going to walk through the first post on page one again and try to disable it once more. 

@puzzlezaddict I was able to get Sims to save outside of OneDrive. I tried to follow [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 saves/user content disappearing (PC) - Answer HQ again, still no luck. I can still see the saved games under downloads still. I am losing hope lol. 

@6kaleidoscopes  Do you want me to see whether I can load your saves?  If so, please upload a few and either post the link here or send it to me via PM.  If they're not recognized on my computer either, that would explain why you can't load them.

@puzzlezaddict  I really appreciate that. I will message you. 

Thanks again

@6kaleidoscopes  Both the main saves you sent me load fine in my game.  I did notice that one of them is named incorrectly, or at least it was when it arrived on my machine: there was an extra space after 4, as in:

Slot_00000004 .save

But that space isn't present in your first screenshot, and it wasn't present in the other save, so I don't know why neither would load.

Just in case you sent me different saves than you intended, this is what I saw:

I don't own all the packs, hence the warning about missing items, but as you can see, the saves themselves are recognized.

Please empty out the saves folder in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 and put back just Slot_00000004.save , nothing else.  Make sure there are no extra characters in the name, not even a space.  You should see either exactly one save or none.  If you get more, you didn't empty the correct folder.  If you see zero saves, quit the game and rewrite the save name; you can copy it from this post if you want.  Make sure there are exactly seven zeroes and everything else is in place.

@puzzlezaddict I am relieved to see that at least you can see them!

But I am still having no luck. No saved games showed at all when I deleted them all but the one (with the corrected name and 7 zeroes). 

@puzzlezaddict I deleted all the saves once more and deleted any duplicated folders/files that I must have made and forgot to delete prior, and it worked. I just ran Sims, and my family was there. I think deleting all the files out of the saves folder and then re-adding "Slot_00000004.save" fixed it. 

Phew, I cannot thank you enough for spending days helping me resolve this!