Sims 3 CC ( SIMS3PACK files ) not installing

I used to have loads of cc in my game ( all sim3pack files ) that i would double click to install, they never showed up in my installed content, but they were fine in the game. Then one day i opened the game, and almost all of my cc had disappeared. the only things that were left were some teen-elder hair, and when I would try to double click another sims3pack to open it, a popup would disappear and tell me that an unknown error had occurred. I went a long time without any cc in my game, only a few things from the sims 3 store, but recently I have been trying to get it to work again. I have installed a few .package files, and those work fine, but its difficult to find nice looking cc in that format as cc is mostly in sims3pack form. I have tried double clicking new sim3pack files but the same popup appears. I have added the files into my downloads file in the sims 3 folder ( which I had previously cleared out of old cc ) and they now show up in the downloads section of the launcher, but when I install them and they show up in the installed content section, then start my game, the cc does not appear. When I close the launcher and open it up again, the cc is no longer in the installed content section, but it stays in the downloads section. Anyone else having the same issue or know how to solve it?