Due to the latest update there was no storage left in my computer so I decided to move the Electronic Arts file to an HDD. After i moved the file the sims 4 re-downloaded but the files are all messed up. I don’t understand that much about computer science and I’m getting stressed out because I don’t understand what went wrong. I’ve tried deleting the game and downloading it again but the same files keep coming up.

Ok! I figured it out somehow. Just you telling me where the documents were stored was very helpful. The game downloaded where I needed it too and now the correct folders are in my electronic arts folder where they needed to be. Thank you so much for your help and the quick response 🙂

@AnnaBonany12 The folders in your screenshot are elements of the game's program files, and what you're seeing is normal if you don't have any packs installed. If this is the data you moved, of course it would keep downloading again: you can't simply move the program files for an application to another location on your computer and expect them to work. Do you want to move the game's program files to your external drive, or do you want to move the user data (saves, mods and custom content, etc.), or both? Let me know, and I'll describe what you need to do.

Thank you so much for answering!I would like to move both things to the external drive.

@AnnaBonany12 First, I'd suggest making two separate folders on your external drive so you're keeping the game's program files and the user data separate. For example, you could create a Games folder and a Data folder, or whatever you want; the point is to direct the two sets of data to different locations. If you installed Sims 4 through Origin, or you installed it through the EA App but can still use Origin, you can use Origin's built-in Move Game function to move the game's program files to the location of your choice. If you don't still have Origin installed, you can download it from here: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Origin-Client-Web-Technical/Downloading-and-installing-Origin-Windows-and-Mac/m-p/11915666 Make sure the EA App and its EABackgroundService aren't running in the Task Manager before trying to open Origin. Then open your Origin game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, select Move Game, and choose the folder where you want the game to go. If you installed Sims 4 through the EA App and can't run Origin anymore, which some people can't, you'll need to uninstall the game and reinstall it in the location you've chosen. Steam has a Move Game function, called "Move install folder," under Properties > Local files. Right-click the game tile in your Steam library to see this function. For the user folder, you'll need to create a symbolic link, as described here: https://crinrict.com/blog/2020/02/moving-windows-documents-folder-to-external-drive-via-symbolic-link.html However, please use the exact file path to the location where you're creating the symlink rather than writing %userprofile% in the command. If you're not sure what the full file path is, launch the game and find the file path here: https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2018/07/how-to-find-your-user-folder/ Additionally, if you play in Spanish and are redirecting the Sims 4 user folder itself, rather than the Electronic Arts folder, you'll need to use "Los Sims 4" rather than "The Sims 4." (The only other affected languages are German, French, and Dutch.) If you like to switch languages, I'd suggest moving the entire Electronic Arts folder, since that has the same name no matter what language you're currently playing in. If this doesn't work for you, please post the full file path of the Sims 4 folder, as seen in-game, as well as the location where you want the user folder to be on your external drive. Please also copy and paste the command you used, or post a screenshot of the command prompt window with the command showing.

Hello! I am having the same issue and have been trying to find out how to solve it for days now. The issue is that the game cannot see the old save files and mods (along with other saved content) that I have transferred over from my old computer, using an external drive. I don't want my game on my C Drive, I am trying to install it on my D: Drive. For some reason when I download the game on the NEW computer, the only files I see are (Data, Detal, Game, _Installer, support, bin, and I think all of my DLC files). Even though I copied over all of my saves and mods, I have nowhere to put them since the only folders are the ones previously mentioned. All of the advice I am finding is outdated, and I don't have access to the Origin app anymore so I don't believe I can fix it that way. No matter how many times I reinstall this game it keeps showing me these folders. Also when I install the game on the new computer I cannot find the .exe file that opens the game. How should I fix it? Thank you for your help.

Different Sims 4 files | EA Forums

13 Replies

puzzlezaddict
Hero+
12 months ago
@stoltzyplus You can use a symbolic link to direct the user folder elsewhere:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2020/02/moving-windows-documents-folder-to-external-drive-via-symbolic-link.html

You can of course move the location of the Documents directory away from OneDrive so that no data is auto-synced. I understand that not everyone wants to do this, but it's a viable option, and it's not too difficult to manually copy files you DO want synced to the OneDrive version of Documents.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/PC/CURRENT-ISSUE-Sims-4-saves-user-content-disappearing-PC/m-p/12475370#Disabled

As for user configurations, that's asking for trouble. Plenty of Sims 4 players don't even know they have a user folder, and some of them would choose a location protected by Windows or otherwise inaccessible. At least every Windows system will always have a user Documents folder, and Sims 4 should be able to read from and write to it.
stoltzyplus
12 months ago
I tried the symbolic link and that doesn’t work because OneDrive follows it too when syncing files.
As you say, you can actually disable syncing (“backing up”) of the Documents folder. It just took me a while to find, as they changed how it worked since last time I used it. So removing Documents did the trick, but now my niece doesn’t have a standard Documents folder for putting, well you know, DOCUMENTS! I just created a Documents folder on her Desktop and told her to put her files there.
I think Sims using that folder by default is fine, whatever their reasons are, but I think they should also have an advanced setting, so power users have other options.

I don’t think Steam has this issue.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
12 months ago
@stoltzyplus There should absolutely be a Documents folder in C > Users > username (not inside OneDrive). If it's not there, you can recreate it, and you can edit the registry to designate it as the Documents directory:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/operation-to-change-a-personal-folder-location-fails-in-windows-ffb95139-6dbb-821d-27ec-62c9aaccd720

Steam definitely has this issue in that Sims 4 reads from the same folder as it would with an EA App install.

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Different Sims 4 files

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