Re: sims 4 wont launch after update and installing expansion pack

I won’t lose anything correct? But what do I do with the other folder  I put onto my desktop? What about all my previous things?

@lushifii  Moving the folder won't delete any data.  Even though you can't see it in-game, it's still intact and will be available for you to use once you've moved it to the new Sims 4 folder.  But please don't do that until you've tested the game.  If Sims 4 still doesn't work, then we need to address that issue before restoring your previous data.  Just leave the folder on your desktop for now.

Ok so when I moved the folder, a thing popped up saying “folder in use. the action can’t be completed because the folder or file in it is open in another program.. close the folder or file and try again”.

What should I do to proceed from here? Should I select try again, skip, cancel, do I check the box?

@lushifii  This is typically a OneDrive error: OneDrive is in the process of syncing the folder and won't let you move it until it's finished.

First, before you do anything else, make a backup of the entire Sims 4 folder.  Right-click it and select Copy, then right-click and paste where you're storing the backup.  Ideally, you'd use an external drive or USB stick, but if you don't have one handy, put the copy in Downloads.

Next, pause OneDrive syncing and cancel the current sync:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-cancel-or-stop-sync-in-onedrive-4885c27e-3d89-4d69-be75-2646c71367d3

It's best to then stop OneDrive from syncing Documents entirely:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/choose-which-onedrive-folders-to-sync-to-your-computer-98b8b011-8b94-419b-aa95-a14ff2415e85

This will likely remove the local (on your computer) copy of the Sims 4 folder as well as anything else in Documents.  You can still download the files from OneDrive, either through the app on your computer or through the website.  But you also have the backup of the Sims 4 folder, so you don't have to worry about that at least.

Finally, go ahead and test the game as discussed earlier.

Can I paste the backup folder onto my desktop? Also, when I stop OneDrive from syncing my documents, all my previous gameplay and saves will still remain in the backup folder, correct?

Oh, and I also wanted to mentioned I had talked to an EA support on 11/22/22, the day I got the expansion pack and successfully installed it. That was when my issue started of my game being unable to launch. The EA support told me it was because the new expansion pack was still processing, and that the payment hadn’t been approved yet. The next day, I checked and it said completed on my EA account, but the payment hadn’t processed through my bank account yet. So could this be a possible reason? 

ok, so i did the onedrive thing and the game launched! however, it was a completely new game since I moved my previous folder into my downloads. where do i go from here? what do i do with the backup folder of my sims that has everything? 

@lushifii  The game is supposed to be new, as in, devoid of any user-created content, when you move the Sims 4 user folder.  The point is to test with none of that content present.  If the game runs properly, the problem is something in that old user folder, as is true in your case; if it still didn't work, you'd know the problem lay elsewhere.

You can start moving the content from your old Sims 4 folder to the new one.  If you have any mods or custom content, test those first, and if you run into problems, use the 50/50 method to sort through the files.

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Finding_Problem_Custom_Content#The_50.25_Method

Once you've done that, or start here if you don't use mods or cc, move over the contents of Tray, not the Tray folder itself but just the files inside, and test again.  Then move anything else you'd like to keep; here's a description of everything in your user folder:

https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2014/09/user-files-explained/

Where the game has generated a new copy of a file, it's best to leave that in place rather than restoring your old one.

Leave your saves for last, after you've tested everything else.  Here again, move the files themselves, not the folder they're in.

For the missing pack, please contact customer support again and explain that you don't see the content in your library even after this many hours.  But no, this shouldn't have prevented Sims 4 from launching at all.

Will my previous households (with cc) still be present when I start moving over my custom content to the new folder from my old folder? Also, may I ask what you mean when “move the files themselves”? Which files are you referring to? Which ones do I move?

There’s also a “X” mark on my EA folder because i unsynced my documents with onedrive. Will that effect anything or no? 

@lushifii No, your saves won't be present until you move over the save files themselves.  Again, this is the point: to test with no content present and then to add it back gradually so you can find out whether any of this content is causing problems.

When I say the files themselves, I mean the files inside the saves or Tray folder.  As in, do NOT drag the saves folder from the old Sims 4 folder to the new Sims folder.  Instead, open the two saves folders and drag the actual saves, the files inside, from the old folder to the new one.

If you're still confused, please read the guide I linked and have a look around your folders.  Sometimes it's easier if you can see for yourself rather than just reading a description.

The red X means the folder isn't being synced.  Have you told OneDrive not to sync Documents at all, or did you merely pause syncing?  If you haven't blocked Documents from getting synced on a permanent basis, please do that first.  It's the topic of this guide I posted earlier:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/choose-which-onedrive-folders-to-sync-to-your-computer-98b8b011-8b94-419b-aa95-a14ff2415e85

I wanted to double-check because not changing this setting could cause you problems down the line.

Thanks for explaining everything in such detail. When I went into my OneDrive settings, i unchecked only the EA folder.Which I believe why the “X” mark is appearing. To block documents from syncing, should i uncheck everything under documents in OneDrive? Will this block documents from being synced or is it only temporary?

@lushifii  I would suggest unchecking Documents as a whole just because it's simpler, meaning there's less room for error.  You can still manually upload content to OneDrive; it just won't happen on its own.  However, if you do want that automatic syncing for other reasons, you will likely be fine just blocking the Electronic Arts folder from syncing.

So, I have transferred over my cc from my old folder to my new but none of it is appearing in my new mods folder, it all just disappeared?.. I don't know what I did wrong but I just transferred them over. 

Im also unable to download anything from the gallery or save a household I created, its quite odd. 

Oh and whenever I launch the game, I get a error code that starts with a bunch of 0s, it appears this is related to my game being unable to save. How do I fix this?

@lushifii  Please post a screenshot of the error code.  And let me know where the game thinks it should be saving data.  Use the in-game method described here:

https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2018/07/how-to-find-your-user-folder/

Additionally, please tell OneDrive not to sync Documents at all and see whether it makes a difference.  I'm not completely convinced exempting the Electronic Arts folder alone works the way it should.  You can always change the setting again if this doesn't help.

I will try unsync documents completely with OneDrive. I’ll update you on that, once I find the time to do it. But the error I get when I launch my game is the “delivery” error. I don’t know where else to save my data unfortunately, id also like to get this resolved? Maybe on my desktop. But I have attached the error code i am getting. 

@lushifii  The Sims Delivery error can safely be ignored.  It can be irritating, for sure, but it doesn't have much of an effect.  At worst, you'll simply lose out on that content until the next patch is released.

The issue now is that whenever I create a household or try to download something from the gallery, I am unable to due to this error I believe. So I’m only able to go as far as creating a sim but not being able to save or download it to my gallery. 

@lushifii  Please post the full file path to your user folder as it appears in-game.  You can find it with this method:

https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2018/07/how-to-find-your-user-folder/

So this is what is appearing in the game. It looks like it’s still saving to OneDrive? How do I fix this so I am able to save households and download from the gallery?

@lushifii  You can try changing the location of the Documents directory, as described here:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/74952-move-location-documents-folder-windows-10-a.html

You'd move it to Users > your username > Documents, with no OneDrive in the file path.  Sometimes Sims 4 adjusts to this change, and sometimes it takes uninstalling and reinstalling the game to force it to switch locations.

Or, if you just want this fixed quickly, you could create a new admin Windows account.  Make it a local account, as in, don't sign into Microsoft; without a link to your Microsoft or OneDrive account, the Documents folder will need to be in the default location.  And Sims 4 should save to the correct folder as well.

You can transfer your saves and anything else you want to keep to the new account.  If you open This PC > Users, you'll see a Public folder, which is accessible from any user account.  Drop files you want to transfer into this folder, then grab them once you're in the new account.

I'm not saying you absolutely need to create a new Windows account, only that it's a quicker and more reliable fix than changing the location of Documents and hoping Sims 4 uses the new file path.  But either approach is reasonable, so pick whichever one you prefer.

Just to be sure, I am moving my Sims 4 game file  to users > documents, correct?

@lushifii  Are you talking about using the new account?  Inside the Users folder, you should see one folder for each username and also a Public folder.  You're first moving your saves and other data from your previous account to the Public folder.  Then once you're in the new account, you're moving the files from the Public folder to the new account's Documents folder, as in, Users > new username > Docuemnts.

However, please test the game before moving over any content just in case there are any lingering issues.

If you're talking about moving the location of Documents within your existing account, then this has nothing to do with Sims 4, at least not directly.  You're telling Windows to use a different folder as the default location of Documents.  Sims 4 should also use that folder automatically, although as I said, sometimes it requires uninstalling and reinstalling the game for this change to take effect.