🛠️ Creating a symlink in macOS to store the Sims 4 folder on an external drive
➡️ This is not to be confused with installing the actual Sims 4 game on an external drive. The game installation location is determined in EA App and there is no need to use a symlink for this. As internal storage gets smaller we're forced to use cloud based solutions to store files and folders or resort to a trusty external drive. Cloud based only storage is not an option for the Sims 4 folder that contains all your saves, Mods, Library items and other user data because the game only looks in one place for your data: Macintosh HD > Users > [your user account] > Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 If there is no Sims 4 folder in that location the game will create a new one. There is no way around this default Sims 4 folder location unfortunately, it is hard coded into the game. Because of this the only option to store the Sims 4 folder on an external drive is to create a symbolic link, otherwise known as a symlink. Creating the symlink is relatively easy provided you understand the concept of what a symlink is and why you are creating it. You should also be familiar with Terminal on your Mac and the security and permission systems in place in whichever version of macOS you are running as these dictate the ability for the game to access the external drive and whether your Mac user account has permission to grant the necessary access. You should also make sure you are using a good quality, fast external drive. You get what you pay for and if you bought a cheap drive, with low quality cables, you will most likely struggle to get the symlink to work because it will be too slow. For help buying an external drive and what to look out for read this guide. I am not going to write step by step instructions here, the post will be far too long. Instead, you can read the detailed and comprehensive guide I wrote several years ago here https://bluebellflora.com/saving-your-sims-4-folder-to-an-external-drive/ If your symlink is not working it is down to user error. It really is that simple. macOS is a Unix based operating system and as such uses Unix commands which are all provided in the above linked guide. This thread is for consolidating all posts related to the Mac symlink process here at Answers HQ. If you're a Windows user read Crinrict's excellent guide here https://crinrict.com/blog/2020/02/moving-windows-documents-folder-to-external-drive-via-symbolic-link.html. What I have provided below are a few of the common issues people face as a result of not entering the commands correctly or having the correct permissions in place. Common issues reported and the solution: Always check your external drive has the correct name in Disk Utility: open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities) change View to Show All Devices then click on the drive in the left sidebar the Mount Point shows the name of your drive. If there is a number added to the drive name it means the drive has not been properly ejected multiple times Close Disk Utility and eject the drive In Finder click on Go in the menu bar then Go To Folder. Enter /Volumes in the input field and hit return in the /Volumes location, trash the folder(s) that has the same name as the external drive Close Finder, plug the drive back in, open Disk Utility again to check the drive name in the Mount Point. If it matches try to create the symlink In addition to checking the external drive mount point above, the following may also be helpful: Terminal states my access/permission is denied check your Mac user account is an Administrator account and not a Standard account. check that Terminal has access to external drives, also known as Removable Volumes, and your Documents folder. I'm constantly getting "Unable to start... Cannot start because the below file appears to be corrupted" error message make sure the external drive is correctly formatted as either APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If it isn't, reverse the symlink, reformat the drive in Disk Utility and start again. check your Mods actually aren't corrupted by downloading a compatible version from the creator. I keep getting the error message "Unable to start... The Sims 4 is already running" make sure the external drive is correctly plugged in and mounted. check EA App has access to the external drive in System Settings > Privacy & Security. Give it Full Disk Access if necessary. disable iCloud Drive if the symlink folder in Documents is a white page instead of a folder with the little arrow the symlink has broken. Trash it and attempt to recreate the symlink. Check the Mount Point in Disk Utility shows your exact external drive name and doesn’t have a number added to the drive name. If it does this means your drive has not been properly ejected multiple times. To fix it: eject the drive in Finder click on Go in the menu bar then Go To Folder enter /Volumes in the text field and hit Enter/Return in the Finder window that appears you should see a folder, not a drive icon, with the same name as your external drive. Trash it. plug the drive back in, check the mount point in Disk Utility is the exact drive name with no appended numbers, then try to create the symlink again. if the mount point is still showing a number you have problems with your drive. Consider reformatting it, trying different connector cables, or getting a better drive. Terminal tells me No such file or directory did you copy and paste the command from the guide and correctly substitute the name of your external drive? If you didn't copy and paste you may have used the wrong letters in the command. Copy and paste from the guide. Does the folder you are trying to move or create a symlink to exist in the location you are stipulating in the command? Terminal tells me Directory not empty in Step 1 Is there already a folder on the external with the same name as the folder you're moving? i.e. have you already copied over the Electronic Arts folder? If there is already a folder with the same name as the folder you're moving, Terminal will return this result. Terminal tells me File already exists in Step 2 of the guide Did you correctly complete step 1 or is there still an Electronic Arts or Sims 4 folder in your Documents folder? If the folder is still there you have not correctly moved it in Step 1. If you have iCloud Drive enabled to store your Documents folder in the cloud and Optimise Storage enabled, it will cause issues with the symlink. I strongly advise to disable this iCloud feature otherwise you will have issues, especially if you use Mods. As a reminder, creating this symlink is aimed at people storing their Electronic Arts/Sims 4 folder locally. Using iCloud Drive stores your folder in the cloud and locally. For help with iCloud see this thread https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Saves-CC-Mods-or-Library-items-disappeared/m-p/10242133
Help in reading Terminal
Hi. First time asking for help or using a Forum. I am playing Sims 4 on a MacBook Air, 16GB memory, Apple M3 chip, Tahoe 26.0.1. A week or so ago, I added multiple new packs, etc. I spent days playing mostly in build mode. Several days ago, I rejoined a game I had spent hours playing already. The Sims family was there, but their lot was empty. I was unable to pull up the dwelling and all its revisions anywhere. It had taken many hours and many successful saves to almost finish the build. I left the game to restart hoping to find an older saved version. The screen opened on the EA launch page. Sims 4 would not launch no matter how often I tried. I repaired everything over and over. No launch. I spent 2 complete days freeing up space on my laptop thinking there was not enough to launch the game. No game. Tahoe was uploaded yesterday. Not the issue. I have never installed or used mods. I looked at some of the issues others have for one similar to mine. There were several helpful suggestions. I checked my terminal, added a recommended line at the prompt, and saw something odd in what came up. My problem now is: what does it mean, is this possibly the problem, and what do I do to fix it? See the attached screenshot.
MAC; Game Refuses to Launch and folders are empty
I haven't played the Sims since April (life got a little busy). I finally had time to sit and play a game, but when I got on my computer, the EA app was uninstalled. I reinstalled it and logged in, and had to download my game again (all the folders were gone from my computer since the game was uninstalled, so I couldn't remove the mods folder before downloading the game, and it downloaded the updated version). Once the game was downloaded, everything looked different. Instead of the Electronic Arts folder I was used to, it says EA Games and has the Sims game icon and a folder full of pack information inside. There is no cache, mods, saves, or anything. When I try to launch the game, the icon bounces a couple of times before disappearing, and the EA app opens again. So far I have cleared the EA cache, repaired the game through the EA app, cleared up space in my ICloud and made sure downloads/applications weren't being auto-moved to the cloud, uninstalled the game and reinstalled it again, moved the sims folder to my desktop and tried to run the game again to made it populate a new folder, and started from scratch again by removing the EA app and the game and reinstalling both again. No matter what I do, the game won't launch, and the folder stays the same. Is this a new thing I missed out on while I wasn't playing the game? I had my wife look at it too (she works in a video game tech-heavy field), and she couldn't figure it out either. Please help, this game is the closest thing to therapy I can afford.
EA App won't launch any games
I have deleted and reinstalled everything multiple times. The only things in my Electronic Arts folder the the Sims 4 game and Sims 4 Game packs that hold all my expansions. I tried to start the game, and every time it immediately crashes. I've cleared cache and restarted the app and redownloaded the EA App entirely. I am at a loss[READ FIRST] Saves, CC/Mods or Library items disappeared? iCloud issues
ISSUE Saves One minute your game is working fine. The next you go to play and the Load Game button has disappeared, there seems to be no way to play an existing save. CC/Mods Newly added CC/Mods do not show up in your game despite being properly installed (for help with installing 3rd party content see here) or CC randomly starts disappearing from your game. Library items Saving Lots, Rooms and Households to your in-game Library doesn't work CAUSE Most likely the internal storage on your Mac is too full and iCloud is pushing any newly added files to your Documents folder in the cloud. This can happen at anytime. You can check the storage level by clicking on the Apple in the top left corner of the menu bar then About This Mac, then the Storage tab. By default, the game stores your Saves, Mods, Tray (where your Library items are saved) and all your user game data in a folder called The Sims 4 in Documents > Electronic Arts. If there is no Sims 4 folder in this location the game will recreate a new one each time it is launched. If you have iCloud Drive enabled and set to store your Desktop & Documents folder in the cloud it may be moving your existing Sims 4 folder to the cloud, hence the need to create a new Sims 4 folder every time you launch the game. You can check the status of various files and folders, and what the little cloud icons mean, here. FIX Firstly, you MUST free up some space on your Mac otherwise doing this is pointless. Empty the Downloads folder, go through your data and see what you no longer need, empty the Bin. If you have large Photos, Music and TV libraries consider storing them on an external drive. Instructions here on how to do this for your Photos library, the principle is the same for the Music and TV apps. Open System Preferences and then your iCloud settings. What you click on can vary by macOS, check Apple's help page here if you can't immediately find where to look. This is where you can choose what gets stored in the cloud. We are only interested in two settings, iCloud Drive and Optimise Mac Storage Click on Options... in the iCloud Drive setting and make sure Desktop & Documents Folders is unchecked. Scroll down to the bottom of this Apple help page to understand what happens to your data when you turn off the setting. Back at the iCloud settings window, Uncheck Optimise Mac Storage below the list of apps using iCloud. This means that your Mac will stop pushing files to the cloud when the internal storage is getting full. For more info on this setting read this help page. Once you have successfully stopped iCloud from moving the contents of your Documents folder to the cloud you need to move the Sims 4 folder back into the default location - Macintosh HD > Users > [User] > Documents > Electronic Arts Apple explain here what the status of the little cloud icons mean. If you're feeling brave you could consider creating a symlink and storing your Sims 4 folder on an external drive. Or maybe change your EA App Games Library location to an external Drive.
missing mods
i play sims 4 on mac, so i downloaded some cc for the last time about a year ago and had the mods folder on my side bar on finder and was able to easily transfer my cc from downloads to there but i hadn’t downloaded cc for a while and went to transfer the downloads to the same mods folder as before and then i clicked on the mods folder and it is empty but the mods i downloaded a year ago are still in my game but the same mods folder i had before is nowhere to be found. i swear i have looked everywhere and when i try to add new mods into this empty mod folder, it wont work. probably because i already have the mods folder that does work somewhere else but i cannot find it for the life of me!! therefor i can have no new cc, please help! has anyone else had this problem or know how to fix it??
I can't install any custom content PLEASE
I have been struggling with this for about a year now. At some point, my Documents folder somehow made it into the cloud. I redownloaded it from the cloud along with everything in it, but it's been weird ever since. No matter what I do, including repairing the game, the files from my saves, cc, and all of that are disconnected from the game. I could go to my Documents folder, then to the Sims, and then to mods and see my files, but the files won't show up in my game. After a lot of research, trial, and error, I ended up uninstalling the Sims 4 and deleting all of the related files, including the Sims 4 file from my Electronic Arts folder. I've reinstalled it now, and there is no Sims 4 to be found in my Electronic Arts folder or anywhere, for that matter. I can open and play the game from Finder. I just see the game file and cannot access anything else. When I first downloaded The Sims 4, it was on Origin. I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I just want MCCC and UI Cheats back please!!!!!!! (my other cc would be nice too)Time jumps backwards after traveling / Manage Worlds in every save
In all my saves, the in-game clock works normally until I travel, go into Manage Worlds, or reload the save. When I come back to the lot, the time jumps backwards by several hours (example: it’s 7 AM, I travel, and when I return it’s 3 AM). This causes my Sims to miss work and school because the game thinks it’s too early. Steps I’ve tried: – Tested with no mods and a brand-new save → bug still occurs. – Repaired the game several times. – Deleted cache files (localthumbcache.package). – Full uninstall/reinstall. – Bug happens on every save, not just one household. Expected Result: Time should stay the same when loading back from Manage Worlds, travelling, or restarting. Actual Result: Time resets to an earlier hour after travelling/Manage Worlds/reloading.[INSTRUCTIONS] How to troubleshoot and test a broken game
If your game is displaying any of the following behaviours please read on for basic troubleshooting steps: bouncing in the Dock then disappearing EA App minimising after pressing play then reappearing and the game not loading black screen crashing freezing eternally loading freezing sims but time progressing any unusual and unexpected behaviour Repair the game: Make sure the game is not running. Open EA App, click on Library in EA App, then click on the 3 dots in the top right corner of the game and select Repair. Once it has finished repairing attempt to launch the game. If it still doesn't work your next step is to try a clean Sims 4 folder. Testing a clean game: You need to test a fully clean game without any of your current user data. User data are all the files and folders in the Sims 4 folder located in Documents > Electronic Arts. The files and settings stored in this folder make your game unique to you but they can also be the cause of a game not working, typically due to out of date or conflicting Mods, corrupted saves, or other potentially broken files. This screenshot shows the contents of the Sims 4 folder with the most important data highlighted in red: Make sure the game is not running then rename the Sims 4 folder. This can be renamed to anything, just add OLD to the folder name for example. Renaming the folder forces the game to create a new one when you next launch it. None of your user data will be in the new Sims 4 folder the game creates but is still safe in the Sims 4 folder you renamed. Launch the game. If it successfully launches to the main menu start a new save, create a household and place them in-game. If your game has normally been breaking in build or live mode at this point, play for a bit in this new save, trying to reproduce the scenario that your game broke previously. If it starts breaking again create a new thread in the Mac Sims 4 Tech forum or post in an existing thread if you have been directed here for troubleshooting. Make sure you include a clear explanation of when your game breaks, what happens, and what troubleshooting steps you have tried. Screenshots of error codes and copy/pasted text from the most recent lastCrash and LastException files are also very helpful. If your game works in the new save it's time to test the user data in your old Sims 4 folder. We do this in several steps in a precise order to try and narrow down the problem based on the issue you were having. Make sure you have the game fully closed before testing. Delete the new save you just created. COPY a save from the old Sims 4 > saves folder you renamed into the new Sims 4 > saves folder the game has created. Launch the game and attempt to load the save. If it loads great! Quit without saving and move to step 2 and gradually add your user data into the new Sims 4 folder. If it will not load the issue is with the save file. Quit or Force Quit the game, do not save. The save file may be corrupted due to whatever reason, sometimes this can be because your save may depend on specific Mods or CC to properly load. If this is the case download a new copy of the Mod from the creator and put it in the new Mods folder then relaunch the game. If it works great, move onto step 2. If it doesn't work head over to the Mods forum for further help. Start moving the rest of your user data from your old Sims 4 folder into the new Sims 4 folder, removing the existing files and folders the game has just created. You do this in small batches, loading and quitting the game after adding each batch to test the game is still working. Start by adding the rest of your saves then move onto the Tray folder, then add the Options.ini file, then Screenshots, then Recorded Videos, then VideoCameraStates, then Custom Music, then ConfigOverride, then UserSetting.ini, then accountDataDB.package, then the content folder. All other files and folders can be ignored. Lastly, if you are a Mods user, move over your Mods in small batches (the 50/50 method), do not move the entire Mods folder in one go and ALWAYS make sure the Mods are compatible with the current version of the game. Test the game after adding each batch of Mods. If your game breaks after adding a batch remove that last batch, trash the localthumbcache.package file, then add the Mods in one by one, testing after adding each one. When it breaks again you know the issue is with the last Mod you added. Remove it, trash the localthumbcache.package file again then head over to the creator's website for an updated, compatible Mod, if one exists. If it doesn't DO NOT put that Mod back in your game. For further help with Mods visit the Mods forum. !! Mod users - read this: Some Mods also add or replace files in the core game installation. A clean Sims 4 folder will not touch these files. The only way to fix these files back to the Maxis files is to either manually replace them or repair your game. If the Mod adds files to the game installation you must follow the Mod creator's instructions for disabling the Mod which will hopefully remove the files. If no instructions are available either remove them manually, if you know where they are, or completely uninstall and reinstall the game via EA App. Explanation of important files and folders in the Sims 4 folder: Really important folders in red and highlighted in the screenshot above. accountDataDB.package - contains data for in-game events launched by the Sims team ConfigOverride - if you have edited the core graphics files and stored a copy here, your game will default to the system graphics files within the app if you trash this folder or its contents Content - this is where SDX files are stored until the next patch Custom Music - if you have custom music in your game it is stored here Mods - if you play a modded game this is where your CC and Mods are saved and most likely the culprit of a broken game, especially after a game update lastCrash.txt - files that are sometimes created by the game when it crashes. You may be asked for this if a helper/EA is trying to pinpoint the cause lastUIException.txt - sometimes created when the game encounters an error. You may be asked for this if a helper/EA is trying to pinpoint the cause Options.ini - your in-game graphics and UI settings. This should be trashed to test a laggy game to rule out too higher graphics settings Saves - contains all your saves Screenshots - your in-game screenshots when pressing C Tray - contains the files that make up the Lots/Households/Rooms you have saved to your in-game Library UserSetting.ini - in-game account settings, UI settings, tutorial settings. Delete if having Pack Selection setting issues. VideoCameraStates - your in-game stored camera positions (CTRL + 5,6,7,8). Trash this if your camera is jumping around and misbehaving.
