Just reinstalled Sims 3 with two new packs (70s/80s/90s & World Adventure), and got Error Code 16 problems about 2 hours into playing. It has now corrupted three save files, and the files will not delete. They'll just exist on the main menu as ghost records that 'cannot be loaded' due to an expansion used in them being uninstalled, even though no expansions were uninstalled. Makes the game totally unusable at this point. Anyone have any solutions for this?
Hey there just thought I'd make a post to see if there's anyone that can share some light on this for me, the issue I'm currently dealing with is that every time I've made a fresh game (I play in sunset valley) it will only let me save once, and won't let me save again until I save as the file under a new name. And then after I save it under a new name the previous file immediately becomes corrupted, now I could just continuously save under a new name each time but I'm worried that may take up more space on my laptop. I've verified my files through steam and deleted the files that end in .bad as I understand that these are indeed corrupted files. I'm just seeking for some advice because I do love playing the game and don't want to stop playing it but if these issues persist I fear I may have to give the game up entirely. Anyways thank you for reading any help would be appreciated :) x
lilmissbrouge188 I've merged your post with a longer thread on the same subject. If the suggestions earlier in the thread don't help you, please see the first post of this master thread for a different but related error:
I keep getting 'error 16' when saving and have to constanly save as a seperate file each time? Any clues, tried a lot of online help nothing seems to work? :D
shandy_lou97 I've merged your post into the master thread for Error 16. Since the info is kind of lost in this thread, please try the suggestions in the first post of this other thread for a related error:
[Current Issue] Sims 3 "serious error" when loading save | EA Forums - 8322938
I purchased the Sims 3 base game and Seasons expansion pack for the first time a few days ago. I have only played the game and expansion pack once. After 5 minutes of playing, I successfully saved the game. I continued playing for another 20 minutes and when trying to save the game again, it said "An unexpected error has occurred while saving: Error Code 16. Please consult the readme for details." I wasn't able to save it again. Now that I try to play the game for the second time, my game won't load and it said a different last name for the household and a different time. When I hover my mouse over the "saved" game, it says "cannot load this save game. It may have been saved with expansion pack data that is no longer present on this system." I'm confused because it's brand new from the EA app and I only played it once. Everything appears in my EA library. I'm using an Acer laptop to play. I would like to know how to fix this so that I can play again.
I'm having the exact same problem, some reddit users suggested repairing the game through the EA app. Naming the sims 3 file 'sims 3 old', running the game, making a new save file, and close the game without saving. None have worked for me but they might for you, if I find a solution I'll be sure to come back and try to help you but so far nothings really worked. I have a windows so it may just be my laptop.
Thank you, please do! What did EA support team tell you? My Acer laptop uses Windows so it may be the same as yours to be honest
How long have you had this issue for? When I contacted EA support, they told me that it would be resolved within a few hours? So I’m not sure if I’m being naive to believe that it will be resolved soon lol
kn013 EA support told you that this would be resolved in a few hours? That's... well, it's weird, and also a lot of other things.
I've merged your posts into the master thread for the Error 16 message, which is currently usually caused by OneDrive. Before going that route though, please create a new save and make sure Seasons is loading in-game. You don't need to save your progress, or even spend any time on it past going into live mode and confirming that the world does in fact have a current season (summer by default in a new save). If Seasons isn't loading, that's a separate issue and may explain why you couldn't reload the save.
Aside from that, the error you see on the Main Menu is somewhat generic—the save can't be loaded, maybe because an expansion is missing but maybe not. It could also be that your most recent save is damaged in some way. So please try loading the backup, if you can.
Open Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Saves and look for a folder called Sunset Valley.sims3.backup , as in, your save name with a .backup extension. Rename the save and delete the .backup (e.g. Sunset Valley 1.sims3), and it will be available at the Main Menu.
For the potential OneDrive-related part of this, it's best to either get rid of OneDrive entirely or at least exempt your Sims 3 data from syncing. Disabling or uninstalling OneDrive isn't usually sufficient; you'll need to move the Documents directory out of the OneDrive folder if it's currently there. Please see the section under the spoiler in this post for more information:
[Current Issue] Sims 3 "serious error" when loading save | EA Forums - 8322938
i can't load any worlds in the sims 3 and when i try to save the game, it says "error 16".
i already stopped one drive from accessing the sims 3 and despite many repairs on the game, the sims 3 wont work.
my computer is windows 11
