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.
Thanks for the link provided about moving around folders, I’ll try that when I am free to do so! May I ask what is Users folder? Because it appears that I don’t have any particular folder called “users”. Do you recommend testing my game first without moving my documents folder? Or would I still have the same re-occurring issues as before?
@lushifii The Users folder isn't inside Documents, which is what's open in your screenshot. Instead, you need to click This PC, a little further down in the left panel. It's right under OneDrive - Personal.
When you click This PC (not any of the categories under it, just This PC itself), double-click the C drive, then you'll see the Users folder.
When I make this transition, with my folders, will the “X mark” on documents disappear? Would I still have to unsync documents completely with OneDrive?
@lushifii If you don't sign into your Microsoft account when creating the new Windows account, your Microsoft account won't be linked at all, so OneDrive will not be a part of the setup.
Do you have a site or tutorial of how to create a new admin windows account and an explanation of moving the whole folder thing? (would gladly appreciate it)! I tried the changing the location but I do not have the 'E:" location on my files so its making me more confused. Also, am I moving the whole documents folder into the new location? What files/folders would I drop into the users folder to restore my gameplay?
@lushifii There are two completely separate processes that it sounds like you might be conflating a bit. One is to move the location of Documents within this user account. The best tutorial for that that I've seen is the one I already posted:
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/74952-move-location-documents-folder-windows-10-a.html
You're not moving the location to E, as in the tutorial. You're moving it to this account's Documents folder that is NOT associated with OneDrive. The full file path should be this:
C:\Users\[your username]\Documents
You shouldn't need to create this folder either; Windows should have created it when the account was set up.
When you're selecting the folder during the process of moving the location of Documents, you can click This PC, then C, then Users, then your username, to find the correct folder.
If this is the route you choose, then you will need to move the Sims 4 user folder, the one that contains your saves and other user content, to C:\Users\your username\Documents if it's not already there.
If you're creating a new admin account, you don't need to change the location of Documents at all: the new account should use the correct location as long as you don't sign into your Microsoft account (and therefore don't enable OneDrive). In that case, you'd copy the Sims 4 user folder to C:\Users\Public, and then once in the new account, you'd grab the folder from that same Public folder and put it in Documents > Electronic Arts.
As for how to create a new admin account, here you go:
Thank you so much, I think I’ll create a new windows admin account and see how it goes since it requires less moving. Would I copy my new Sims 4 folder or my old one with all my saves?
@lushifii You would copy over the Sims 4 folder that contains your saves. But the first step is making sure the game runs properly in the new Windows account with no added content, so please don't move over your saves until you've tested.
Alright, so I made a new admin account under my name without signing into the Microsoft account. Following your steps you have provided, when I go to C:/Users/Public I don't happen to see my new account? Or is that normal?
@lushifii The Public folder is NOT associated with your new account. It's a folder accessible to all accounts on this computer.
In your previous Windows account, you'll drop the files you want to preserve into Public. Then you'll sign out of that Windows account and sign into your new one, where you will also be able to access the Public folder.
For the files I want to preserve, would that be my old game files? Like my old copy of my Sims 4 game?
@lushifii If you don't want to preserve anything, that's fine, but I thought you might want to keep your saves, and perhaps some saved households and builds (the Tray files). In either case, please put the files themselves into the new folder, for example put your individual saves in the new Saves folder rather than putting the entire old Saves folder in the new Sims 4 folder.
Oh, yes im still wanting to keep my saves. Sorry about the confusion. My question was which folders do I move and when playing the sims, do I have to logout and switch to my new admins account?
@lushifii My answer was, and is, that you move the folders called "saves" and "Tray" to the new account, but you only transfer the files inside those folders, not the folders themselves. So you'd drag the saves out of the folder they're in and put them in the new saves folder.
And yes, you'd switch accounts when you wanted to play Sims 4.
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