Re: .backup folder is back in time and .sims3 folder is nonexistent

• Do you empty out the CurrentGame folder after a crash?  If not, you can get unpredictable results.

If you mean before I play a new game, then yes. It usually doesn't appear for regular crashes, so there's no option to.

• For the .backup folder, if you don't get an Error 12 during a given play session, does the .backup folder update, or is it still stuck at three days old?

If it's a regular crash, then yes, it's still updating. All the other .backup folders in my saves are only a few minutes apart from the regular save. The few times this problem has occurred, I was left with ONLY a .backup, not even a .bad. I think there was actually a time where I was left with no folders at all, deleting the save entirely -- but then a few days later it reappeared??

• As a temporary workaround, use "save as" to rename the save, for example with a number on the end, rather than just saving.  Then you won't be dependent on having a recent backup copy of your save; you can just load the last good save before the error.  It's fine to delete the older saves when you're sure you won't need them.

Since learning of this tip a while ago, I always use "save as" rather than just "save". I don't rename the file, though, so that's an idea I'll try next time. It's annoying that I have to manually create backups since the game refuses to work, but that's just me complaining. Thanks for the advice.

@AllyGal123  Using "save as" but not renaming the save may actually prevent a .backup from being generated at all.  I've never tested, but it's certainly plausible that because you've chosen to explicitly overwrite the existing save folder rather than just bumping it down to the backup, the game never creates that backup at all.  Point is, always rename when using "save as" so your original remains intact.

If your saves are disappearing and reappearing, that suggests that some cloud storage service is syncing your data, uploading it at one time and redownloading it later when it detects the relevant files or folders are no longer present on your computer.  The most common culprit is OneDrive.  If it's not a problem in general, you can just let it be, but if you're losing files outside of the Error 12 issue, let me know and we can try to address it.

I'd recommend making periodic backups of your saves or your entire Sims 3 user folder, just in case something happens.  As with older versions of your save, you can always delete an old backup when you're sure you don't need it.  The safest places for backups are an external drive and a separate free filehosting service (i.e. not OneDrive) you don't need for anything else.