Which save files are safe for me to delete?
I've been trying to clear up storage and delete old saves that I'm not playing anymore (while obviously keeping the ones I still play), and from searching I've found that for files in the format:
Slot_00000009.save
Slot_00000009.save.ver0
Slot_00000009.save.ver1 etc...
It is safe to delete the .ver2 onwards as the .ver files are just backups and the save file I'm actually playing is the .save with no .ver after it.
However, some of my save files have a number after the .save, like this:
Slot_00000006.save
Slot_00000006.save 2.ver1
Slot_00000006.save 2.ver2
Slot_00000006.save 3.ver1
Slot_00000006.save 4.ver1 etc etc etc...
...all the way to Slot_00000006.save 40.ver1
It also has the normal Slot_00000006.save.ver0 etc.
This type of save is seen in 2 of my save slots.
I haven't seen these types of saves with a number after the ".save" mentioned before, and I don't know if they're safe to delete or if they are the save files of each household and I should keep them, etc.
If anyone knows the answer, I'd love to know whether or not it is safe for me to delete these files! Your help would be greatly appreciated 🙂
@NinaNinja2 Files with a number after .save, for example .save 2.ver 1, cannot be read by the game. They typically happen when a cloud-storage service, for example OneDrive or iCloud, syncs the contents of Documents. Your cloud storage may already have a file with the name Slot_[number].save.ver1, and now there's a new, distinct file with the same name ready to be synced as well, so the service renumbers one of the files. The duplicate files may then be redownloaded to your device as part of the syncing process.
Because the game can't read any saves with nonstandard file names, you won't have been seeing them in-game, so you can delete them without having any practical effect. Still, it's a good idea to make sure you have all the saves you're expecting to see before trashing any files; if you discover something missing, you can go through the extra files looking for it. All you'd need to do to load one of these saves is rename it so it follows the usual standard.
Alternately, you could move all your saves except the ones you're playing now to an external drive and just let them sit there. If you never need them, great; if you do, you'll still have everything you might want to use. It's a good idea to back up your saves periodically anyway—you never know when something might go wrong.
Personally, for a given save, I make many manual backups and delete most of them when I'm sure I don't need them anymore, keeping the last 4-6 plus the occasional extra around a major sim milestone. But there's no single best way. Whatever system works for you is fine.
