@TheBirds001 Do your base game and expansion and stuff packs show as installed along the bottom of the launcher? The ones you've installed should be colored in, but some people are reporting they're grayed out. It's possible the two issues are linked.
@TheBirds001 I understand they're installed, but I'm wondering whether they're showing as installed in the launcher. That's a different issue.
@TheBirds001 I'm sorry, I don't really know why Exchange content wouldn't work. I'm kind of flying blind here because I haven't had any of these issues myself. If you can't install anything from the Exchange even in a clean Sims 3 folder, I don't know what to suggest.
On the other hand, if you did get the content installed into a clean folder, you could transfer the files to your existing folder: the .dbc files in DCCache, plus any entries in Library, SavedSims, and InstalledWorlds. I don't actually know whether you could do transfer those files from a different computer; it wouldn't work with store stuff but might with everything else. (I'll have to test.) It would be an annoying workaround, but perhaps better than nothing.
Okay so installing as a new admin user helped me get around the finalizing issue but the Sims 3 still doesn't show as installed in the launcher and I still can't download from the store or install sims3packs. I'm about ready to give up...
@andiepandie71 Please open a Finder window, click Go at the top of your screen, hold down the optn (alt) key, and select Library. Open Application Support > Origin, and create a folder called Installer Data (exactly that). Then open your Origin game library, right-click (or hold down crtl and click) on the Sims 3 icon, and select Repair. Now try to install your content.
You may have done all of these things already, but the key is to do them in order: running the Origin reset tool removes the existing Installer Data folder, and the repair won't create a new one. But if the folder is already there, the repair can put back the necessary file, which should both make your base game show as installed in the launcher and allow you to install store and custom content.
If this doesn't work, please open the Installer Data folder you created and let me know whether there are any files in it.
@alexmallardo The packs not showing in the launcher shouldn't have anything to do with it, but the base game being grayed out can definitely cause this issue. Please do the same as above, and let me know whether it works.
@TheBirds001 There are a couple possibilities I can think of. One is that you downloaded some borked Exchange content and the game or launcher doesn't like it. This has been a common issue pretty much since the game was released and people started creating custom content. The only way to address it is to get rid of the bad cc. You can try Method by Mell, described on this page, to test your .dbc (bundled custom content) files one at a time and see which ones work.
https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html
The other possibility is that there's something happening to your user folder that is interfering, but only when the folder goes past a certain size or has a certain kind of file in it. Do you have iCloud enabled and set to automatically sync the contents of Documents? If so, please either disable iCloud entirely or disable the auto sync. You may need to move your Sims 3 user folder elsewhere before changing the settings (I've been known to drop it in Downloads), so you don't end up with a single copy in cloud storage and nothing on your internal hard drive. This guide is for a different error, but the relevant settings are the same:
https://bluebellflora.com/2017/02/06/sims-3-and-sims-4-not-loading-save-games/
@puzzlezaddict Alright - the mystery deepens. I checked the iCloud; it's not that, and I was doubtful of broken CC because what I'm trying to download is sims from my old computer from my exchange account, but I looked into it anyway. That's where I discovered that it's not ALL exchange content that breaks my game, only custom sims. I can download lots and patterns just fine, and I can also download .sim files from Mod The Sims and drop them in the saved sim file with no problems. I know this probably doesn't help you find out what ia actually going on, but knowing this is there any way I can move my sims over as .sim files and bypass the sims 3 exchange?
@TheBirds001 Could you link me the Exchange sims you can't download? I'd like to experiment a bit myself.
And yes, there's a way to bypass the Exchange: install the sims on a computer running the old version, then transfer the .sim files, plus maybe some other files if the sims have custom content attached. (Or you could reinstall the cc separately, and I think the sims would still be wearing it, but I'm not totally sure.) If you don't have a non-64-bit install handy, I have a couple and could do this for you, although I might need a few days to get to it.
@andiepandie71Maybe do you have the sims 3 on windows, bootcamp? If you do, just download them on windows, and save them in library on edit town mode. Rename the files in library folder. Move them into icloud. Then you can bring them from icloud on mac. They are package files, so you can place them in library folder in the sims3 on Mac.
I'm still unable to get store worlds to download. All other things download fine. The icons are lit up in my launcher. The worlds just don't install when I click "install." I've tried pretty much every fix on this thread including starting with a fresh Sims 3 Folder. Nothing. Works.
@TheBirds001 Did you ever try installing the sims on another computer and moving them over? I installed a few of yours, or tried to. Two of the four I tried (Ayesha Yousaf and Charlotte Williams) that contained content from Diesel, which I don't own, generated the same error but seemed to install correctly. However, they never generated a file in SavedSims. Interestingly, the other two (Iren Treasure and Holly Thomas) did install correctly, and I did see it in-game; the same is true of another sim from a different person that uses Katy Perry content, which I also don't own.
On the other hand, I'm not actually sure whether the sims in question do in fact use content from those packs, and I can't double-check, obviously. Point is, at least some of your sims installed correctly and also appeared in-game. I'm not sure what the difference is between the sims, but it would be interesting to know whether they installed correctly on another computer. And of course all this could be due to your not installing all your owned packs on your Mac, if you did in fact skip a few.
Following this topic's tutorial has worked for everything (so thank you very much!) EXCEPT for worlds.
Worlds (from ANY source, official Store or CC worlds even a very small one like Builder's Island) produce the Critical Error.
How did anyone managed to install worlds?? Please teach me that sorcery XD
@Occultine Strange, I haven't had any trouble installing store worlds, or a couple of custom worlds for that matter. (They loaded in-game as well.) Do you have any leftover files in the InstalledWorlds folder, and if so, does it help to delete them?
Otherwise, please try installing one world into a clean Sims 3 folder, nothing else for now, and let me know whether it works.
@puzzlezaddictthe first file I have tried to install before (after first install of the game) or after erasing my Sims 3-64 bit folder and following this tutorial was a world (I was in a hurry to build some houses lol) so I have already done the test you advise, and I just checked the InstalledWorlds folder and it's completely empty :/ It's strange it's like my game can't handle big files of this kind. It downloads okay though.
Edit : I have an idea (probably bad) I will copy back the .world file from my old Sims 3 non-64 bit InstalledWorlds folder and see what's happening…
@Occultine Store worlds do need to be reinstalled, at least as far as I can tell. Custom worlds might be fine, but you'd need to bring over both the file in InstalledWorlds and the .dbc bundle in DCCache that contains the world.
Try downloading with a different browser. It's possible the download itself is getting corrupted.
@Occultine You could try moving all the .dbc files, and the .world files from InstalledWorlds, to your new install, although I'd try in a clean folder first, just to be safe. If you want to see for sure what's in each .dbc file, you can use Method by Mell on this page to examine them one at a time:
https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html
I'm not sure why the worlds are failing for you when everything else works, sorry. It would be interesting to see whether using a different connection would help, particlularly if you have a laptop and are usually on a home wifi system. There's no real reason worlds shouldn't work when other store content does, except possibly the overall size of the download.
@puzzlezaddictI added all the .world files and the old .dbc except one that would have been a duplicate in the new folder, and it works ! So all is well in the world since my favorite worlds are working now, I will just have to forget about the official ones since I know my connection is working fine.
Thank you for humouring me until now 🙂
