Re: Sims 2 ultimate collection- my families have disappeared
by sheepofreasonOriginal Post
@LouLouBum1990 , Try the following:
Locate your Sims 2 folder (found Documents > EA Games > Sims 2). Move, do NOT copy and paste or create a short cut the Sims 2 Folder to your Desktop and rename it something like "Sims 2 Backup". Do NOT delete this folder as it contains all your saved games. Next, start up Sims 2 as normal to allow the game to generate a new Sims 2 folder. Go into a Neighborhood and check to see if the Premade families appear. Play the game for an hour or so to make sure that nothing else is wrong with the game. Also none of your Mods or CC will be present at this time.
Please report back here and I will give you the next steps to follow.
Hi there!
I have the same problem as the topic starter (only I have a disc version). I followed your advice, i.e. moved the folder, launched the game, it created everything from scratch as if I was playing the first time. No problem with the game.
Then I improvised and copied my E001 folder from the Backup to the new Sims2 folder. But when I launched the game, this time the neighborhood was corrupted again 
Not only my very dear families have disappeared, but also I don't have any default families in the bin.
Do you have any advice for me please? It all happened after the game crashed, I'm a bit upset because I was playing the third generation of my big family, some of them recently moved out and I spent hours decorating haha
@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.
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. 
