[Read First] Sims 3 Store guide

Installing into a clean folder

Sometimes installing Store content into a clean folder is the only way to make the content work again.  It's also a useful test when content won't install properly.  This does not delete any of your data.

Go into Documents > Electronic Arts and either move the Sims 3 folder to the desktop or rename it.  Either approach is fine; the result is the same.  If you get an error when trying to move or rename the folder, or it copies instead of moving, stop here; this is likely a OneDrive syncing issue, as covered in this master thread.

Otherwise, open the launcher to spawn a clean folder.  (None of your saves or other user content wil be present, but it will all still be intact in the old folder and can be restored later.)  Download a fresh copy of one Store item and install it, then load the game to see whether it works.  If it does, try installing a few items, or a world, and test again.  If everything still works, install the rest of your Store content, as described in Best practices in the previous post.

Once your Store content is all installed and loading, you can transfer your saves and any other files you'd like to preserve to the new Sims 3 folder.  Here's a list of data you probably want to keep:

• Saves:  This folder holds your saves.
• Library:  This folder holds your saved households and builds, both those you've created and those you've installed.  Transfer the contents of Library, not the entire folder, so as not to delete any Store venues installed into the new folder.  Any duplicate files are likely multiple copies of the same Store venue, so skip the old file and keep the new one.
• SavedSims:  This folder contains sim templates saved in CAS.
• Mods:  This holds mods and .package-based custom content.
• Screenshots:  You can store these elsewhere if you want.
• Options.ini:  This file holds your in-game options: graphics, lifespan, etc.  Restore this if you don't want to reset all these options.
• UserPresets.package:  This file holds data from any recolors or retextures you've saved in Create a Style mode in CAS or Build/Buy.  Consider deleting this if it's very large, as it can become corrupt or increase CAS or BB loading times.

You may or may not want to preserve these:

• DCCache:  If you've installed custom content (not only Store content) through the launcher and don't want to reinstall it, transfer only the files that end in .dbc.  This is not necessary if you simply want to preserve cc-free households or lots—these will be intact in Library.
• Downloads:  If you'd like to preserve downloaded Sims3Packs that are not Store content, find them here.  Do not transfer the entire folder; rather, if you wish to preserve your Store downloads, use the copies inside Downloads in the new Sims 3 folder.
• InstalledWorlds:  If you've installed custom worlds, find them here.  Discard any Store .world files, which you'll have recreated when you reinstalled the worlds.
• Custom Music:  Only save this if you've added music to the folder.

The rest can and should be deleted; the game will recreate the files.

When in doubt, you can put aside a file or folder without deleting it.  If you find you're missing some content you wanted to preserve, review the files you put aside.

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