Hi, i don't know if you got the same message i got, mine started after they changed gamefiles in patches to reflect legacy edition release sometime sept-nov 2019, but it would always be after winterfest ended, i go back to neighborhood view, when i reload that same house i got this message - "1 or more items may not be installed on your computer or EA removed file or the EA account does not own these items. 1 build mode item has been removed."
I put back an old save and deleted winterfest before it appeared but destroyed the calendar even worse, if i continued to play, every holiday at 6am when they were about to start disappeared from the calendar as if it didn't exist.
i used tech support where they call you by phone, and i explained to the guy, ea probably removed a gamefile thru a patch, but got the usual response, repair game, redownload seasons, didn't work.
2nd phone call from them, explained again, but i guess i should've watched my words, cause i said "it started from the last patch at the same time legacy edition came out", so he said "oh, then you need the legacy edition, uninstall origin, uninstall all of the sims4, reinstall all including legacy and it should work" i did all that and well it didn't work, and i didn't need legacy, but he insisted the missing file would be in there, cause i use windows 8
plus weeks later i found out what i'm missing, the alien nanu nanu crib, since i rarely have alien births i didn't know till i get a message - sim can't give birth until a crib is manually placed on lot, that's when i noticed the crib wasn't in build mode or appearing on its own during alien births.
3rd call, he asked for a video, unfortunately i didn't have a video of winterfest error so i sent a video of the next holiday disappearing 'the lottery'. November patch comes a few weeks later with a text - "fixed 'the lottery' calendar error or whatever the sentence said. it fixed winterfest. Funny how they named it the video i sent them, wish i sent them winterfest instead, because.....
December patch killed winterfest, got the message again, 4th call, now the person told me to download- Visual C++redistributable package for visual studio 2013 and install file vcredist_x64 and file vcredist_x86, but i didn't need to install file vcredist_arm. Those files fixed winterfest but i never got back the alien crib.
Every month when EA releases a patch since january or windows does an update as well, there's a very very high chance, i lose whatever files it is and kills winterfest, i get the message, So everytime i play winterfest, i just go to hood view after holiday usually sim time 4-6am without saving, then clcik back into house, if i don't get message, i thank god and save, if i get message, i quit game without saving and i have to click on those 2 files, click repair to reinstall the missing files and curse EA.
i've been playing like this for a year now, so far clicking those 2 files about 5 times already, actually i clicked those files after october patch, and soon the november patch will come out but my game is in mid spring, so don't know how long before i get to winterfest again, and hope patch doesn't kill it. and still no alien crib.
Sorry for this long message telling you my hardships dealing with the removed item message. Again don't know if its the same message, so i won't tell you to download the visual c++ 2013, cause it might not be the same problem, hopefully tech would know more about it.
