Forum Discussion

simsss4gamerrr's avatar
simsss4gamerrr
3 years ago
Solved

How do I transfer my Sims 4 files to my external hard drive on a MacBook?

I've downloaded a bunch of custom content and have a lot of packs for the Sims and now I don't have enough storage to play anymore. So I bought an external hard drive and have no idea how to transfer it to the drive, or how to move the game file there. Help!

mac

3 Replies

  • Bluebellflora's avatar
    Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @simsss4gamerrr 

    Moving the installed game: 

    1. drag the Base Game AND the Sims 4 Packs folder from their current location (usually your user Applications folder) to the external drive. If this only copies over an alias and not the actual app and folder then copy and paste them. Once they are successfully on the external you can delete them from your Mac internal storage.
    2. open Origin and go to Preferences > Installs & Saves and change the Game Library location to the external drive. You will need to allow various permissions and may encounter issues, see this link for help - https://bluebellflora.com/2020/11/26/external-drive-not-showing-in-origin/

    Moving the Sims 4 user data folder:  you have to create a symlink, instructions here - https://bluebellflora.com/saving-your-sims-4-folder-to-an-external-drive/

  • simsss4gamerrr's avatar
    simsss4gamerrr
    3 years ago

    Thank you. My sims pack also isn't in my applications, only Origin, it's in documents under "Electronic Arts" folder. I've run into a problem where my external hard drive is giving me "You have custom access", I searched that up as well and I can't find a solution to where I can fix this to allow files into the drive. So is my hard drive I have compatible with my Mac, do I need to find one where it'll commute with my computer?

  • Bluebellflora's avatar
    Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    3 years ago
    @simsss4gamerrr

    You have the game and packs folder installed in your Documents folder? Then just move them from there.

    The cusom access message means you don't have the right permissions for the drive. Do you have full Administrator rights in your user account? https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mtusr001/mac

    Have you reformatted the external drive since buying it? They sometimes have backup software on them which may limit what you can do with it. You can reformat it in Disk Utility https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/disk-utility/dskutl14079/mac

About The Sims 4 Technical Issues - Mac

Do you have technical issues with The Sims 4 on Mac? Get help from the community here!8,151 PostsLatest Activity: 2 hours ago

Community Highlights