Backing Up (Saving) Your Sims Game
Here is how to save your families and/or downloads before doing a clean uninstall/reinstall OR if you just wish to back up your game for safety's sake:
Start by making a new folder on my desktop called Sims backup, or whatever you wish to call it. You can put the backup folder anywhere, as long as it's outside of the Maxis folder.
Folders that you should back up, and where to find them:
C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\Downloads
C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\GameData
C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\UserData
C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\ExpansionShared\SkinsBuy
Note for neighbourhood houses: Each neighborhood has it's own folder. Neighborhood 1's folder is called Userdata, Neighborhood 2 is called Userdata2, etc. Make a copy of each folder for the neighborhoods that you play and put them in the backup folder as well.
Right click the folders and select Copy, go to your new backup folder and right click it and select Paste. It may take a minute to transfer them.
These files can also be burned to a cd or saved to a zip drive. You can also save the files to a floppy disk but you will not be able to do the entire folders, as they are too large.
Tips:
Do not add back any of this saved data until all of your expansions are installed and you are sure that they are working properly. I would recommend playing the game for at least 20 minutes, and checking that you are able to go to all community areas. If all seems well, go ahead and add back your saved game.
If you have both downloads
and families to restore, add them back at the same time, because if there
are missing skins for family members or community people it can cause your
game to crash. If you are trying to sort out possible bad objects, it is fine
to not replace your downloaded objects. You may get Missing Object errors
when you enter some houses, but it will not cause any game problems. Missing
skins can cause the game to crash.
When you restore everything make sure you paste the old saved folders in the
folder ahead of the one you are replacing, not on top of it. Example: If you
are restoring your skins folder you would copy your saved skins folder from
your backup file, then paste it on top of the Gamedata folder, NOT on top
of the Skins folder. If you paste it on top of the Skins folder it will just
put that folder inside the Skins folder, duplicating it and it will not work.
Remember that often times bad
downloads are the cause of crashing. If your game was working fine before
you added back your saved game, then you know it is a problem with your saved
data. Filecop
or Skindoctor
(from The Blarney Stone) can
check for bad skins, walls, floors and textures. You can temporarily remove
all your downloaded objects and then see if the game works. If it does work,
then you can add them back a few at a time to look for the problem one(s).
If it is one particular lot or family that crashes there is a chance that
the lot itself is corrupted, in which case it may be wise to replace the lot
with the original one from the TemplateUserdata folder.
