Re: Sims 2 ultimate collection- my families have disappeared

@sheepofreason , so you still have your original game correct and simply copied over the existing file from the folder? Simply trying to clarify. Make sure that you delete the Accessory.cache and Group.cache files each time you play. These files can become corrupt and can cause problems over the long run. Don't worry. They regenerate each time you play and I always delete them prior to playing. These files could be causing your issues.

Sounds like you might have a corruption in one of your saved families. SimPE and Mootilda's Hood Checker are two excellent programs to help you find our where the problem is and can sometimes help correct the issues. I'm not sure where SimPE is found, but Mootilda's Hood Checker is found on Mod The Sims. Both of these programs run independent of the game and are good to check and find possible problems. You'll need to read up on the use and installation of these programs on Mod the Sims itself and if you have any further questions regarding the use of these, you may need to ask there. 

Do the other Neighborhoods appear in your game and do they have the pre-made families in them? Just checking to make sure. Please keep me updated.

@Tremayne4260 Thank you for taking time to reply and all the advice! 

Yes, I had my original Sims 2 folder moved to the decktop and renamed to Backup, I didn't change anything inside. Now I moved it back in place, deleted the two cache files and launched it to see if other neighborhoods are okey. No, no pre-made families in the bin either! 

I will try running the two mods that you recommended! 

So, I ran the Hoodchecker, it gave me a long list of errors, dozens and dozens of "Sim does not exist". I have a feeling I need to move on at this point 😕 Doesn't look like something I'll be able to fix 

@sheepofreason , I'm sorry you lost your game. ☹️ I too have lost progress in the past and it is hard. However, I will give you some advice for the future which hopefully will make it a little brighter. Make backup saves of your game. Now you don't need to move the entire folder to do this, but make copies of the Neighborhood you are playing in when you finish playing for the day and keep them in a folder on your Desktop. That way if your game crashes or you have problems starting your game for some reason, you can simply replace with your previous save. 

If you need any more assistance, I'm always around. 🙂

@Tremayne4260  Thank you again for all your help and support. Ah these things happen. They were good sims! May they reach their life time aspirations wherever they are now. 

Yes I will do this next time I'll invest so much into playing haha! As for now, I think I'll create a new The Sims folder again and only copy the Download folder from my backup to keep my mods.