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SRApublic1's avatar
5 years ago

New Laptop. Move Simcity 2013 to new laptop

Just bought a new laptop.  I have Simcity 2013 installed and using via Origin.  I bought the electronic download version.  I want to ditch the old laptop and play Simcity on the new one.  Can I do that.  Can I uninstall and reinstall on the new one of will it not let me register the game to a new laptop ?  Thanks.

1 Reply

  • Hi @SRApublic1 - Yes, you can move all your Origin games from one Windows computer to another, no problem. As long as it's registered in Origin, the games follow your Origin account. You don't need to uninstall from the old laptop, but you should log out of your account on the old laptop before you log in on the new one. 

    To Move your games from one computer to another:

    On your new laptop, download and install Origin from the Origin download page: https://www.origin.com/store/download  Log in to the same account you were using on the old laptop, and all of your games will show up in My Library. You'll need to download and install SimCity from this page. Here are some tips on that: https://help.ea.com/en/help/origin/origin/download-and-play-your-games-in-origin/

    To Move your existing Regions/Cities:

    For Multiplayer / online mode - your games are all saved online. If you're not seeing them, you probably just need to change to the correct server. For some reason, SimCity doesn't automatically open to the server you were on when you switch computers. (it WILL open to the server you were on last on the same computer; it doesn't save that info in Origin) How to Choose a SimCity Server

    For Single Player / offline mode - your games are saved on the hard drive, not online. You will need to copy the files in the game folder from the first computer, and transfer them to the new computer. Use a portable storage device like a thumb drive or external hard drive. On the original computer, copy all the files and folders from the Games folder - default location is <YourWindowsUserName>\Documents\SimCity\Games. Move all the files on the portable drive to the Games folder on the new computer. (Make sure you don't accidentally end up with nested Games folders - just move the files.)

    A couple tips:

    • If you're moving to a newer version of MacOS, Apple no longer supports 32-bit games such as SimCity. See This Post for more details if you're upgrading to MacOS Catalina or later.
    • Verify that you're using the same Origin account as you used on the old laptop. Most of the time, if you can't see your games in My Library on a new computer, you've logged into a different account. 
    • If you play in Multiplayer / online mode, make a note of which server your cities are on so you can easily find them on the new computer
    • Clear the Origin "Keep me signed in" check box on your old computer before installing on the new, and log out completely
    • When you move games for offline play, only the files on the computer you're using will be changed. The old copy will stay as is. 

    If you have any issues, don't hesitate to ask.

    Happy Building!

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