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samonie33's avatar
6 years ago

sims 3 won't launch and i cannot uninstall

So i've kind of hit a wall here. My sims 3 game was running fine, and one day I got an "unknown error occurred" message. But wait, that's not where it ends. I followed the instructions of a youtube video that was supposed to show me how to completely uninstall the game, but it just told me to delete a bunch of specific files. I did, and the game was still in origin when I launched it again and it was stuck in the "finalizing" phase. Since all of the files from the game were now permanently deleted but the game is still appearing, I didn't know what to do, so I watched more videos and read more help blogs. A lot of them said to try using the sims 3 uninstaller, however since the game files are deleted, nothing was showing up when it came to the "select a game to uninstall". I've really hit a wall here, and nothing seems to be working ☹️. I would really like to delete the game so I can uninstall it and play with no errors. Is there any way that this is possible?! Help please.

7 Replies

  • @samonie33  I've moved your post to the Sims 3 Mac section.  Please start by using these instructions to do a clean uninstall; they work even if the game's own uninstaller doesn't.

    https://bluebellflora.com/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/

    Running the Origin reset tool should take care of the "finalizing" message, now and if you run into it later.

    https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/how-to-reset-origin-on-mac/

    Restart your computer, and install the base game only, no packs.  Run the Super Patch (digital download version) to manually patch the game to 1.67.  The launcher doesn't always do an efficient job of patching on its own.

    https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-manual-super-patch-for-mac-1-67/

    Launch the game, and let me know whether it works.  If you get the server error, you can ignore it for now—it will go away if you install almost any pack.  If you need instructions on how to install your packs, please list the ones you own, and I'll write them out.

  • samonie33's avatar
    samonie33
    6 years ago

    Hello, thank you for the help. I took all steps listed, and all was going smooth for the uninstallation. I uninstalled completely with your steps, but when I reinstalled and tried clicking play, the "unknown error occurred" message still popped up. I tried downloading the 1.67 patch like you said, but when I got to the step where you choose which application to patch, the sims 3 folder was nowhere to be seen. I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but when I open my finder and go to electronic arts> sims 3 , the sims 3 folder is completely empty, even after uninstallation and reinstallation. But as I was saying, everything worked in terms of uninstallation and reinstallation, but the error was still popping up. Once I seen this, I thought maybe installing the patch would fix it, like you said, but I think the issue is that the sims 3 folder is completely empty. Theres nothing in it at all. Please Help, thank you.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @samonie33  There are two Applications folders on your Mac, the main one and the user's one.  Please check both for a Sims 3 folder, and let me know what you see inside that folder.  To access the user folder, open a Finder window, click Macintosh HD (or whatever you've renamed your hard disk) in the left panel, then users > your username > Applications.  If you don't see your hard disk listed, click Finder in the upper left corner of your screen, then Preferences > Sidebar, and check the box next to hard disks.

  • samonie33's avatar
    samonie33
    6 years ago

    Right after posting my last comment, I finally found the sims 3 folder. I clicked it and downloaded the patch, and still no fix. The "unknown error" still pops up. From here, I can't even think of another solution ☹️. Sims 3 has been uninstalled and installed on my computer already, and I refrained from downloading any expansions, because after downloading late night is when the error first began to pop up. I successfully deleted late night after and the pop up was still happening. After I uninstalled both late night and the game, and redownloaded only the base game, the pop up is still happening. At this point, I have no idea what I could do to fix it. Any ideas?

  • samonie33's avatar
    samonie33
    6 years ago
    Hello, i've come to the realization that my sims 3 file is completely blank, and I don't know where to get the files from. I would love some further help
     
     
    My Macbook air:
     
    OS X
     
    8GB Ram
     
    250GB SSD Storage
     
     

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