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?
.Hello marciastalks
For error 16, you should watch this video.
It explains how to fix error 16.
It might help! Here's the link to the video below.
marciastalks You've say you've stopped OneDrive from touching the Sims 3 files, but have you moved your Documents directory out of OneDrive entirely? That's often what's necessary to get around this issue. How to do so is covered in the first post of this thread (for a related error), under the spoiler:
[Current Issue] Sims 3 "serious error" when loading save | EA Forums - 8322938
i can now play the sims 3 ( thank G-D) but none of my mods are showing up in the game. did something happen with EA that erased all my mods?
Hi everyone here in this topic. My game was doing fine until the last update (the one that happened on 2025). First, one of my saves i couldn't interact with phones and electronics at all, but i made a life there. I was dating a townie, my sim was level 4 on her job and the only thing that solved this error was putting the family (my sim and her bf) on another save file. After some weeks, i created another family (a mom, a dad, a teen and two children) and everything was ok, but when i clicked "Save" it got the error 16, i also clicked "Save as" and i still got error 16. (This was after before installing a mod that made the store content appear) and i left without saving. I reopened the game and it said that i couldnt play with the family because some DLCs were missing. (i have all of them and i didnt uninstall any dlc). Now every save made by 2023-theFirstError16 gets the error. I have onedrive connected, but when i disconnect it deletes literally everything from my documents folder. Recently I tried checking if the error was still there with a family from 2018 and i didnt get the error, tried again with a family from 2024, it said "you have new content installed, want to put the locations (or something like that)" and that didnt appear on the 2018 one. I clicked YES and i got the error. I cant play since the first error because im afraid i'll get error 16 everytime i save. I dont use "save as" but using it isnt actually doing something, i deleted all the ".bad" files and i still got the error, i repaired the game and i still got the error and i even deleted that mod i told and i still got the error. My last hope is in here and i dont want to waste it.
aninhasmf76 I've merged your post with the current master thread for Error 16. It's probably a OneDrive issue, so please see this post for help managing OneDrive:
[Read First] Running Sims 3 in Windows | EA Forums - 8323446
Yes, getting rid of it means your data gets removed, but there's an easy way around that: make a backup first. Point is, this is the most likely source of error and therefore the place to start.
i'll do that, if something happens i'll let you know.
Hi, so I am having an issue with the Sims 3. Apparently, I cannot save the game and quit without an error showing up. When I try to save and quit, a message pops up and says "An unexpected error has occurred, while saving: Error code 16. Please consult the readme for details." How do I fix this error? I don't know what to do. (Also attached an attachment to this message)
SQ99GamersLife I've merged your post with the master thread for this error. This is typically OneDrive-related, so please see the first post of this thread about a related error for help:
[Current Issue] Sims 3 "serious error" when loading save | EA Forums - 8322938
Cecillia77 I've merged your post with the master thread for Error 16 issues. This is probably caused by OneDrive, so if your Documents directory is in the OneDrive folder, please move it out, as described in this thread about a different but related error:
[Current Issue] Sims 3 "serious error" when loading save | EA Forums - 8322938
