Hi there. I'm having some strange issues with the sims 4 and onedrive -- I looked through a bunch of previous topics but none of them were specifically this issue. I keep getting notifications from onedrive that thousands of files are being deleted every day, which is alarming -- and when I look further, they are all sims 4 files. The vast majority of them are files called zoneObjects with some numbers and the ending .sav -- are these save files? Does anyone know why they are automatically deleting themselves? I'd like onedrive to keep backing up my documents as I have more than sims on my computer, so I was wondering if there's a solution beyond stopping backup. Even that wouldn't explain the deleting. I have the sims 4 downloaded on an external hard drive, while most of the EA folders for it are in my pc's disk's documents and if that's the problem I can move my EA folders over, I'm just afraid that will mess something up or make the program lose track of where the files are. Would a location issue like that be the cause of mass deleting files?

Actually there is something to worry about. Temporary files should NOT be saved in the Documents folder. Period. The purpose of the "Documents" folder is to keep user saved documents, not temporary application files, not logs, not mods, not caches, not settings, not databases.The only files it slightly makes sense to keep in the Documents folder are the game saves, the screenshots, and the recorded videos. Although the screenshots would go better in the "Pictures" folder and the videos in the, wait for it: the "Videos" folder. And the game saves are not really documents anyways, since double-clicking on one in the File Explorer doesn't automatically start the game from that save, like a regular document should. But at least those are somewhat "document-like".The correct place to save temporary files on Windows is in the %TEMP% directory, which normally points to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp . This is clearly a Sims 4 bug, and the proposed solution is just a workaround for this bug.It's clear that the developers were lazy and didn't care where files should be kept on each operating system. They just created a "bucket" for everything, and put everything there. That's fine, the software industry is not what it used to be, nobody really cares about quality anymore, so I'm not surprised by that laziness. But at least they should allow the users to choose where that "bucket" should be on their computers, not just choose for them.

This is a big issue. In addition to constantly using bandwidth for no reason, One Drive now harrasses me constantly because it is "full". What is it full of? Sims 4 files I never wanted to upload at all. Almost 3 GB of it!My options are to 1. Not play the Sims at all, or 2. To disable a windows feature I actually wnat to use because Sims 4 is so badly programmed it breaks windows,

These are temporary files created when you play. they are automatically deleted when you stop playing. Nothing to worry about.

@puzzlezaddict Indeed. What makes Sims 4 different is it doesn't store just user files there. It stores hundreds of temporary files there as well. That's the bug. There is a dedicated folder for temporary files, and it's not under the user documents folder.Later edit: but I have to agree with you on one point: EA won't fix anything. They just don't care that their software is bad. The thing is, life is too short to waste it fighting with incompetent software companies. It's not worth it. In conclusion, if you don't have a dedicated computer for this game, you shouldn't buy it or any of its content.

Champion, the problem is that The Sims doesn't ask us where we want to save those files. And the question wasn't about the local space, it was about the cloud space. If you suggest disabling the backup of the Documents folder to Onedrive, that's a terrible idea, which can expose us to data loss.

thousands of Sims 4 files automatically deleting from onedrive

24 Replies

jpkarlsen
Hero (Retired)
5 years ago
These are temporary files created when you play. they are automatically deleted when you stop playing. Nothing to worry about.
LonaBoom
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I had that issue before and changed a few settings on my computer so I didn't have to deal with that anymore , I found sometimes it would delete some of my save games. So currently I play on a different computer and my OneDrive don't do that anymore with my game. I don't remember what I did to fix that issue I found it on a website.
vladnc
5 years ago
Actually there is something to worry about. Temporary files should NOT be saved in the Documents folder. Period. The purpose of the "Documents" folder is to keep user saved documents, not temporary application files, not logs, not mods, not caches, not settings, not databases.
The only files it slightly makes sense to keep in the Documents folder are the game saves, the screenshots, and the recorded videos. Although the screenshots would go better in the "Pictures" folder and the videos in the, wait for it: the "Videos" folder. And the game saves are not really documents anyways, since double-clicking on one in the File Explorer doesn't automatically start the game from that save, like a regular document should. But at least those are somewhat "document-like".
The correct place to save temporary files on Windows is in the %TEMP% directory, which normally points to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp . This is clearly a Sims 4 bug, and the proposed solution is just a workaround for this bug.
It's clear that the developers were lazy and didn't care where files should be kept on each operating system. They just created a "bucket" for everything, and put everything there. That's fine, the software industry is not what it used to be, nobody really cares about quality anymore, so I'm not surprised by that laziness. But at least they should allow the users to choose where that "bucket" should be on their computers, not just choose for them.
arwengem69
4 years ago
@CFArden I’m experiencing this now & am so irritated! It happened after an update. I saw a quick flash about OneDrive & saving things there but I didn’t select it it just continued on. We’re you ever able to solve the problem? I’ve lost quite a bit of game play.
CFArden
4 years ago
oh no, I’m so sorry you’re losing gameplay! I never did figure it out, and mine didn’t cause me to lose gameplay so I’ve just been ignoring it honestly. I hope you’re able to figure it out though, sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
sim-scifiguy
4 years ago
This is a big issue. In addition to constantly using bandwidth for no reason, One Drive now harrasses me constantly because it is "full". What is it full of? Sims 4 files I never wanted to upload at all. Almost 3 GB of it!
My options are to 1. Not play the Sims at all, or 2. To disable a windows feature I actually wnat to use because Sims 4 is so badly programmed it breaks windows,
justproud2b
4 years ago
I personally wouldn't recommend having a program auto sync any game folders. It is possible you will update or change things then it'll sync the wrong things and miss match files (which can get bad quick). If your trying to keep a backup of your sim saves. I'd create a different folder onedrive can sync with and then you can copy the folders there yourself.
jpkarlsen
Hero (Retired)
4 years ago
@sim-scifiguy
Please read this. Files save to OneDrive by default in Windows 10 - OneDrive (home or personal) (microsoft.com)
vladnc
4 years ago
Champion, the problem is that The Sims doesn't ask us where we want to save those files. And the question wasn't about the local space, it was about the cloud space. If you suggest disabling the backup of the Documents folder to Onedrive, that's a terrible idea, which can expose us to data loss.
jpkarlsen
Hero (Retired)
4 years ago
@vladnc
And the link explains how to stop synchronizing folders that fills up their space. The other option would of course be to buy more space on OneDrive but the stated goal was to not have the games user files there.