@samgoosie I'm not sure which thread you're referring to, but I'd only suggest zipping the Mods folder before its files have been corrupted, for example when moving the data from one computer to another. The idea there is that perhaps the files were corrupted during the transfer process, with the originals being intact in the old folder, and creating a .zip file could protect those files from being corrupted again during a new transfer. That doesn't apply here since you only have the single copy.
I'm not sure how or why your files were corrupted, but the fact that a new cc item works means the problem is your old ones. You really don't have to pay for new cc though—there's a lot of free content available, and some creators offer unlimited downloads for anyone who's paid once. (It's also against EA's terms of service for creators to hide their content behind paywalls indefinitely, but that's another matter.) And plenty of fan sites have users who can help you find items that suit your taste. I know it's not what you'd want, but it could be fun to go cc shopping again.
It sounds like you have a 1 TB SSD, which is a (solid state) drive, not a card. An SD card is an entirely separate component: different physical size and shape, different read and write speeds, different interface, and usually much lower capacity.