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Igor_The_Vegan's avatar
Igor_The_Vegan
2 years ago

Accidentally deleted my 'saves' folder. I recovered them, but they don't work.

"Step by step of what happened:

1-I accidentally deleted my 'saves' folder.

2-The folder was too large, so it was permanently deleted instead of being sent to the trash bin.

3-I attempted to launch the game, but then I gave up and closed it. (I believe this might have been the worst mistake, as the game could have altered something related to the saves.)

4-I successfully recovered all the deleted files using a data recovery program, and then I placed them back into The Sims 4 folder.

5-Upon relaunching the game, there was no option to load any of my previous saves; only the option to start a new game appeared (as if I were playing for the first time).

6-I started a new game and saved it. However, when I attempted to load the saves, only this new one appeared. The old ones I recovered seem to be glitched. There is no preview image of the last household (image1), and when I load the save, the households I created are missing, and a triangular signal with an exclamation mark appears on the lots (image2)."

Images:

1-https://imgur.com/nXVm7O0

2-https://imgur.com/tMTwH7U

pc

4 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @Igor_The_Vegan  I would guess that your saves were permanently damaged when you deleted them, and if so, there's nothing you can do to fix them.  Data recovery programs don't recover every byte, just enough that the programs that run them can usually open the files and make do.  For example, you might be able to fix a text document or spreadsheet with missing or corrupt entries.  And the data recovery programs often guess at what certain missing values should be, rebuilding a somewhat-intact file from the pieces.  But this doesn't necessarily work for Sims 4, and the game can't fix certain issues with save files; you might be at that point.

    What you can do now is test all the saves, including the backups, to see whether any are intact enough to play forward.  Even if not, you may be able to rescue your sims: save them to the in-game library, then place them in a new save.  Here's how to manually recover a backup:

    https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2014/09/recover-backup-save-game/

    I would definitely try as many saves and backups as you can—these might not all be damaged to the same extent and in exactly the same way.  It's kind of a long shot, but your chances increase the more files you have to test.

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