The Sims 4 has been a household game for over two decades now and continues to bring in new players. Fans have rated it as one of their comfort games. The Sims 4 came out in 2014, and the developers have been working on it for years now. Players are free to customize their characters, build houses, have babies and pets, and basically build a parallel world for themselves. Now imagine that all the work you put into building this perfect world disappears and you need to start fresh. This is the case for some players who cannot seem to find their saved files on their PC, so we’re here to address the issue. In this article, we will be discussing the issue of saves or user content disappearing in The Sims 4 on PC and how to fix it, so stick around until the end!
The Sims 4 is a life-stimulation game that allows players to create and manage their characters in a fake, real-life setting. The premise of the game is sure to give its players a God complex or crippling anxiety. Players put in hours to build their version of a perfect world, where they are free to live and experience it however they wish to. However, a lot of players are having trouble finding the saved files for their perfect world, forcing them to start over. If you’re among those players, you’ve reached the right place.
The Sims 4 Saves/User Content Disappearing Issue on PC: How to fix it
The Sims 4 received a lot of mixed reviews regarding its constant bugs and issues, and yet another one appeared. As per reports, the recently encountered issue of saves or user content disappearing on PC has caused havoc amongst the players. A fellow player addressed the issue on the EA Community forum and provided detailed workarounds for it.
The main issue identified for the disappearance of saves and user content files is OneDrive. OneDrive performs an automatic sync of the contents of the Documents folder on your PC to cloud storage, and since the user content files are stored in Documents, they are synced too. At times, this sync fails and all the files are lost, forcing players to work on new saves. To tackle this issue, players can either stop OneDrive from syncing the files or uninstall OneDrive from their PC completely. Sounds too much? Don’t worry. We have provided the workarounds below.
Restore the Files
Players who have fallen victim to the disappearance of their files can still try to recover them. To do so, go to OneDrive’s cloud storage by logging into your OneDrive account > Clicking on My Files > navigating to the Saves folder, > and right-clicking to Restore. Make sure to also check the Recycle Bin as it only keeps files for 30 days on a free account. Once restored, rename the files correctly and move them to the following directory: Documents>Electronic Arts> The Sims 4.
Stop Syncing
If you wish to stop OneDrive from automatically syncing your files, follow these instructions. Right-click on the OneDrive icon > Go to Settings > Backup > Manage Backup > navigate to Documents > Stop Backup > Confirm. This will stop your OneDrive from syncing your Documents on your PC. Players can also choose OneDrive to stop syncing files for The Sims 4 only. To do so, go to OneDrive Settings > Account > Choose Folders > Deselect The Sims 4 folder > Click on Okay. This will stop the automatic syncing of the particular folder. However, it is recommended to back up your files manually before you stop the syncing process.
Get Rid of OneDrive
At times, the entire syncing process can prove to be a hassle, so it is understandable if you choose to get rid of OneDrive completely. However, it can be a risky process if you have been using OneDrive for a long time. Nevertheless, to get rid of OneDrive, you will need to right-click on the OneDrive icon > Go to Settings > Backup > Manage Backup > Navigate to Documents > Stop Backup > Confirm. The purpose of this step is to avoid a more difficult process by moving the default locations of these folders outside of the OneDrive folder on your PC. Now, go to OneDrive Settings > Account > Select Unlink this PC. This will get rid of OneDrive by unlinking your PC, so now the saved files won’t be facing any syncing issues altogether.
Files not in OneDrive?
For players who cannot locate their saved files in OneDrive or even those who do not make use of OneDrive, there is still hope. Players falling under these two categories can search their PC for the game’s saved files. Open File Explorer > This PC > Search for ‘Slot_’. The computer will finish its scan for files with the name: ‘Slot_’, so identify your saves, and look for ‘Type: SAVE File’ under the located files. Once found, right-click on the file > Open File Location. This will lead to the location of the file and other saved or user content files as well. Lastly, move all the saves or user content files back to Document > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder, and the files should appear in the game.
Rename Files
At times, files are saved using a different name, causing the game to not read the data or identify them. This might be the reason it does not appear in your default folder as well as in the game. All the saves or user content files should be saved in a particular format that starts with ‘Slot_’ and is followed by an eight-digit hexadecimal (base-16, so numbers 0 to 9, letters a to f) number followed by ‘.save’. Make sure there are no extra characters in the saved files of the game.
Scan for Viruses
If the above-mentioned workarounds do not fix the issue, you should scan your PC for viruses. You can do this via Windows Defender or by using a third-party antivirus program. After the scan is complete, launch the game.
If the issue persists, make sure to reach out to the developers. Anyway, this brings us to the end of the guide, and we hope the workarounds provided above prove to be of help. For more such guides, make sure you visit VabSaga daily.
