Sims store sim packs uninstalled in launcher

[Dorabella123]

I don't think my problem fits into any of the other topics.

I am playing the new 64 bit Mac TS3 and everything was fine.  I downloaded the worlds and things I had purchased through the store and they all installed.  That was yesterday and most of today they were fine as well.

Now they are uninstalled.  They appear in the launcher as uninstalled and if I try to install them, the launcher hangs.   I suppose they are still in the game but it won't load to check.  If I try to load the game it just hangs and I have to force quit.

I tried a new Sims 3 folder by renaming the old folder and my game loads with the new one.  I can include my mods folder and it still loads.  If I try to download anything from the store though, it just does nothing even in the new folder.  It looks like it downloads but there is no indication that it is installing.

I have a lot of other sim packs and they install fine and are still installed in the launcher - it is just the store stuff.  When I started my new folder, I popped my old downloads folder in and clicked to install a bunch of files, including the store ones, and I got a message about my game files not being current - sorry, I can't remember the exact wording but it was something like that.

This problem has only just happened.  It was fine earlier today and I played in the game for a while.  I have been adding more cc though including sim packs and it was after adding the last lot that I noticed my store stuff was uninstalled.

I just checked on my Win laptop and I noticed there was a game update for Sims 3.  That is the 32 bit version though.  Anyway, my store stuff is installed fine on the laptop just as it should be.

Any suggestions of what I can do to remedy the situation on the Mac?  Things I have tried apart from a new Sims 3 folder, are deleting the caches and updating/repairing the game.  

Another thing that might or not be related is that I tried to load a save from my laptop into my Mac earlier today and it wouldn't load saying I was missing an expansion pack.  The save was a current one and I have the same packs loaded on the laptop as I do on my Mac.  I do have the Pets pack saying it is 'finalising' in Origin but it seems to be installed anyway.  

I am an Aussie and it is bed time here but I will respond in the morning if anyone has any suggestions.  Thanks in anticipation.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Dorabella123  The finalizing issue in Origin can usually be cleared up by repairing the game: open your Origin library, right-click on the Sims 3 icon, and select Repair.

For the store content, it seems to be just as glitchy and prone to issues as it always was.  One common issue is an .ebc file in DCCache being corrupted—anything installed into that file may stop showing up, and sometimes the game can have trouble loading any store content at all.  But there are ways to make it more reliable, including installing only a few items at a time.  Worlds should be handled separately, not in a batch with anything else.  When the first items are finished installing, you can move on to the next ones.

Please start with a(nother) clean folder, download one store item, and install it.  If you think nothing is happening, please check your dock for a second plumbob, and click on it if you see one.  The splash screen often hides behind the launcher.  If you click Install and you're sure nothing is happening, close the launcher and reopen it.

When the one item is installed, load your game and see whether that item appears.  If it does, you can start reinstalling your other content, again in small batches.  Feel free to try moving a couple files from your old Downloads folder to the new one.  However, the message about your game not being up to date may be related to that, so if you get an error while trying to reinstall a Sims3Pack you moved over, trash that file and download a new copy.

If you have a lot of store content, you may want to test periodically as you go through the install process, and when you're sure that all the content is installed properly so far, make a copy of the entire Sims 3 folder as a backup.  That way, if the store stuff glitches out later on, you won't need to install from scratch but can instead restore the backup and pick up your progress from there.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Dorabella123  The finalizing issue in Origin can usually be cleared up by repairing the game: open your Origin library, right-click on the Sims 3 icon, and select Repair.

For the store content, it seems to be just as glitchy and prone to issues as it always was.  One common issue is an .ebc file in DCCache being corrupted—anything installed into that file may stop showing up, and sometimes the game can have trouble loading any store content at all.  But there are ways to make it more reliable, including installing only a few items at a time.  Worlds should be handled separately, not in a batch with anything else.  When the first items are finished installing, you can move on to the next ones.

Please start with a(nother) clean folder, download one store item, and install it.  If you think nothing is happening, please check your dock for a second plumbob, and click on it if you see one.  The splash screen often hides behind the launcher.  If you click Install and you're sure nothing is happening, close the launcher and reopen it.

When the one item is installed, load your game and see whether that item appears.  If it does, you can start reinstalling your other content, again in small batches.  Feel free to try moving a couple files from your old Downloads folder to the new one.  However, the message about your game not being up to date may be related to that, so if you get an error while trying to reinstall a Sims3Pack you moved over, trash that file and download a new copy.

If you have a lot of store content, you may want to test periodically as you go through the install process, and when you're sure that all the content is installed properly so far, make a copy of the entire Sims 3 folder as a backup.  That way, if the store stuff glitches out later on, you won't need to install from scratch but can instead restore the backup and pick up your progress from there.

[Dorabella123]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so much. I got the game to create a new folder. I have just managed to download and install one store item and just loaded and checked in game and it is there - trust me to pick an obscure item so it took a while to find. I will not be so greedy in installing cc today and I am definitely making a backup once everything is done.