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KITKAT-AND-DJ's avatar
KITKAT-AND-DJ
5 years ago

can't transfer sims 2 files to new computer

Hi, 

I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me. My laptop crashed which had all my sims 2 files on it. I was able to extract the files from the hard drive of my old laptop (they are on a USB) and want to put them on my new laptop so that I am able to keep all my old households etc. I have now downloaded all the sims2 games onto my new laptop. However, as advised when I went onto my USB and copied my sims files over to my ea folder on my laptop my households and sims were still missing. Moreover, I had two sims folders from my hard drive one in an ea folder called sims 2 and another just in my documents called sims 2 (this one was smaller but had a neighbourhood file in it, that the other one doesn't) I have tried copying both as well as one at a time to see if my households will come back when I open the game, but I only get the base game. 

The sims 2 are all on disks and not through origin so I cannot access it that way. Has anyone got any advice on what I can do to get my preexisting sims and households from my USB onto my laptop or give me a way to find out that I have backed them up correctly (although I am pretty sure I have as the contents of my hard drive was put on my USB)

Thank you in advance 🙂 

9 Replies

  • mate54's avatar
    mate54
    Hero+
    5 years ago

    @KITKAT-AND-DJ The user folder that contains your saved games should go to Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2. If you have multiple folders, the one that contains folders like Neighborhoods, SavedSims, LotCatalog, Logs, etc. is the right one.

    Please check where the game created its saved games folder on your new laptop. If you cannot locate it, load a neighborhood, press CTRL+Shift+C, type in boolprop ShowLotPackageFilename true and press Enter. After that cheat is enabled, you will be able to see file locations of your lots when you hover over them with your mouse, which should tell you where the entire folder is located. 

    If you use Windows 10, it is likely that your Documents folder (and with it, The Sims 2 folder) is being synced to OneDrive, which you should disable, as it can cause issues in the long run.

  • KITKAT-AND-DJ's avatar
    KITKAT-AND-DJ
    5 years ago

    @mate54Thank you for your response.

    Unfortunately I cannot locate my lot folder on my backed up USB files. I only ever played in N003 but this folder only contains characters and other files, but the folders 'lots, thumbnails, and story telling' is not there. (N002 and N001 all have the lot folders but I never played these)I do not know why they are not on n003.

    Therefore, when I copy the files from my USB to my computer and play veronaville (N003) it loads with no lots or any of my preexisting sims or households. My sim bin does not have my sims, however, in my house bin I still have my self made lots etc.

    Is there any way I can find my n003 lots as I'm guessing that is why i have none of my lots or families?

    Thank you 🙂

  • mate54's avatar
    mate54
    Hero+
    5 years ago
    @KITKAT-AND-DJ Unfortunately, your Veronaville will not function if N003 folder doesn't have Characters, Lots and Thumbnails folders, as well as N003_Neighborhood.package and subhood packages (if they were added). Maybe they got lost somewhere on the USB, try searching with the keyword "lots" or "N003".
  • Tremayne4260's avatar
    Tremayne4260
    Hero
    5 years ago

    @KITKAT-AND-DJ , when you transfer game files, you need to transfer the contents of the files not the actual files themselves. The game does not recognize the transferred files when added to the Sims 2 file on your new computer. 

    Once you find your original saves, simply move the current Sims 2 file (found Documents > EA Games > Sims 2) to your Desktop, start up the game allowing for a new file to regenerate and play for about an hour to make sure the game is running. You can either save or leave. There are a coupe of files you can transfer directly from your original folder to your new Sims 2 folder. These are Downloads, Teleport (I think) and Thumbnails. You will not see folders with these names in your new Sims 2 folder. 

  • KITKAT-AND-DJ's avatar
    KITKAT-AND-DJ
    5 years ago
    @Tremayne4260 Thank you for your response.

    Just to be sure, are you saying that I will need to play the game first then transfer only my downloads, teleport and thumbnails from my old sims 2 files.
  • Tremayne4260's avatar
    Tremayne4260
    Hero
    5 years ago

    @KITKAT-AND-DJ , yes. You will need to play the game for a new Sims 2 folder to regenerate before transferring the contents of your saved game files. Your saved games are saved by neighborhoods, so you'll need to open the Neighborhoods folder (from your original saved games), find the proper folder for the proper Neighborhood (N001 is Pleasantview, N002 is Strangerville, and N003 is Veronaville). I can only remember the names for the original game folders off the top of my head. 🙂 Open the corresponding folder in your new Sims 2 folder (which should be in your Documents > EA Games folder) and copy and transfer all the contents of the original folder into the new one. There are a LOT of files to copy and transfer. 

  • KITKAT-AND-DJ's avatar
    KITKAT-AND-DJ
    5 years ago
    @Tremayne4260 Thank you so much! I only ever played in veronaville (N003) so do I just transfer those files over to the new sims 2 folder that has been generated? I also still cannot find my lots, thumbnails, or story telling files in my backup for N003 only my character folder.
  • Tremayne4260's avatar
    Tremayne4260
    Hero
    5 years ago

    @KITKAT-AND-DJ , if you can go back to your old computer and re-copy your Sims 2 folder, that would be the best thing. Then you would have a full version of your saved games including your lots, thumbnails and story telling files. 

    Then you can open up your new copy of N003 and copy over all the contents to your new folder.

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