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Ctrl_Morgan222's avatar
Ctrl_Morgan222
Seasoned Newcomer
1 day ago

Owned EPs not showing in-game

Hello, I've tried so many different solutions recommended online for this over the last few days but hopefully someone here can help.

The four TS3 expansion packs I own (World Adventures, Generations, Late Night, and University Life) are showing as installed on both my EA app and on TS3 launcher, but not appearing in the actual game. Like usual I launch the game from the EA app and ensure all of the expansion packs I had installed were checked in the games launcher, but once I get to the initial loading page it is that of the base game. Meaning that the EPs I own are not being recognized, as the initial loader should and always was that of the most recent EP that I own, University Life. 

Once in the menu screen, my saved games that are in the Bridgeport world which came with Late Night says it can't be opened since the packs are not installed, and the only world available is Sunset Valley which came with the base game. I have tried several solutions several times including repairing, uninstalling and reinstalling the EA app + base game + EPs, regenerated the The Sims 3 folder, restarted my laptop, checked and unchecked packs on the launcher, hit install packs on the launcher, EA forums, etc.

Does anyone know how can this very frustrating issue can be fixed?

gameplay issue
missing content
pc
technical issues

2 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    21 hours ago

    Ctrl_Morgan222​  Please do a clean uninstall of Sims 3 and the EA App with Revo Uninstaller.  Here's how:

    [Read First] Running Sims 3 in Windows | EA Forums - 8323446

    The idea is that you might have broken registry entries or something else wrong with the game's hidden files, data that doesn't get removed during the normal uninstall process.

    LonaBoom​  The only reason OneDrive would have anything to do with what DLC is loading is if the game were installed into a OneDrive folder.  And in that case, it's much more likely that the game wouldn't open at all than that somehow all the base game files would be intact but the DLC data would disappear.  I'm not saying OneDrive isn't a problem, only that it's almost exclusively a problem for user data.

  • LonaBoom's avatar
    LonaBoom
    Seasoned Ace
    23 hours ago

    I don't know if this would help but it's worth sharing with you because I've had my issues with Microsoft OneDrive, being unable to play my game in the past dealing with OneDrive have been known to cause problems with The Sims 3 and also The Sims 4 too.  I keep OneDrive turned off because it will delete or move game folders. 

    Sharing :

    Why OneDrive can break Sims 3 expansions

    The Sims 3 stores all of its user data in:

    Documents → Electronic Arts → The Sims 3

    When OneDrive is active, it often:

    • Moves the Documents folder into OneDrive

    • Syncs the Sims 3 folder to the cloud

    • Locks or redirects files while syncing

    • Breaks file paths the game needs to detect expansions

    This can cause:

    • Only the base game to load

    • Expansion packs not being recognized

    • Missing worlds (Bridgeport, etc.)

    • Saves showing as “requires expansion pack not installed”

    • Launcher showing packs installed but game ignoring them

    Which is exactly what the forum user is experiencing.

     

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