Saved game not loading, save disappears until new save, save game error 34 PC

helenmoore3​  It sounds like this particular save might indeed be corrupted.  This can happen without mods or custom content, although mods and cc make it more likely.  How large is the save, or rather how large was it before the most recent time you saved?  I ask because that's another source of corruption: sometimes saves get so large they appear to kind of disintegrate.

You can see the sizes of the save file and its backups in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4.  You can also try recovering a backup from there.  Here's how:

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

Hello thanks for responding. The save file is showing as 8,998KB with 5 “save.ver” files of  11,700KB each. I had only played through spring - winter on normal setting so not a long game save as I started a new save for the nature event. I’ve deleted the old saves now and just hope my new saves don’t corrupt, I have been using save as this time round 

helenmoore3​  The .verx files could be viable if you wanted to use them, but if you've completely deleted them, it's a moot point.  If you do want to try using one of them, the instructions for recovering a backup still apply, and the files shouldn't be damaged (further) if they're still sitting in the Recycle Bin.

You don't need to use "save as" every time you save since the backups can be recovered.  Just do it every six times or so, as in, you generate one main save and five backups, then use "save as" so the game doesn't start to overwrite the older backups.  Or you could decide it's easier to "save as" every few sim-days, regardless of how many times you've saved in the interim, so that you know more or less how much play time you'd lose if the save were corrupt.

At any rate, the "best" system is the one that works for you.