How do I play with only a handful of my packs installed?
I have been trying to get the Sims 4 to play on my somewhat dinky little laptop. I cannot play with all of the packs I have and don't have room for them all anyway. The problem is, even if I only choose to download the base game and a couple of expansions, the next time I boot up my computer it will try to fill all remaining space on my computer with packs. I have auto-update disabled. I know I can disable packs, but that won't help me as the issue is computer space. It wouldn't be as much of an issue if I could just uninstall the packs I don't want, but for some reason, EA doesn't think you should be able to do that. It takes hours to uninstall and reinstall the game and I have to do that every single time I want to play. I may have to just give up on Sims 4 if I don't find a solution, which is a shame. I've been playing this game since The Sims, but lately, the EA App and the overall direction of the Sims 4 have made it increasingly unpleasant to actually play.
angua22892 There is no officially supported way to accomplish this, since, as you've seen, the EA App will override any settings you choose and reinstall your missing packs. However, if you'd like to try an unsupported workaround, I do have a suggestion.
First, you can delete the folder for any pack you don't want installed. Make sure the EA App is closed and the EABackgroundService is NOT running in the Task Manager. (It would be in the background processes list.) Open [install location]\The Sims 4; this is the default location:
C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 4
This folder will have a subfolder for each installed pack, and you can trash them as you like. (The Delta folder also has one subfolder per pack, but this is patch data, not the packs themselves, and shouldn't be deleted.) The folders are labeled by pack type and release order. Here's a complete list:
https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/extras-2/available-packs-dlc/
Simply deleting these folders is only a temporary workaround, but it's possible the EA App won't reinstall the packs until the next time you update or repair.
If you want or need a more permanent intervention, create a text file with the name of a pack you don't want reinstalled. Strip the .txt extension off of it, so it's simply labeled EP05 or whatever you choose. The App won't be able to create a folder with exactly that name in exactly that location, and it won't be able to deposit files inside a text file (as opposed to a folder), so it won't reinstall the pack. You might see a download error in the App, but you should be able to ignore it.
