December 2022
@roberta591 @puzzlezaddict Thanks for advice. However, nothing is working as it should still. Definitely all cache/history has been cleared. I did reinstall Origin, did not open it and my store worlds seem to be hanging in there but like I have said at one time all my store content was working.
I have now lost Sims2 UC as well but may just leave that for now. app only allows the store one to open a file separate and not what I would want even if it worked. I know i can get it back if I open Origin but not wanting to do that as it auto reinstalls 3 & 4 as well. Such a pain.
The only thing I didn't try was making a new account on my computer. Also, my welcome screen is still blank and though all my items show on launcher menu (downloads) the downloads dashboard still does not do anything. Just repeatedly tells me I have to log in and of course I already am. "If I could only reach through my screen and throttle someone" LOL
Thats it. I have taken all advice and the things I hadn't done before I have tried. My sims4 game runs perfect and I can play my 3 saved game just without extra content so will have to leave it in EA's hands for now, I guess. Plus, who knows what will happen when they completely dissolve Origin!
Thanks again. I do have all my discs for 2 & 3 and I know EA has a record of me having the sims2UC so fingers crossed for the future. Now if they would just give me horses in Sims4 I just might retire the old games. LOL Take care
Quick thought: Most of my downloaded store items show up on launcher as boxes only periodically.
December 2022
@Bluegayle I'd still like to know whether the new admin account makes a difference, that is if you have time to test it at some point. This is as much for the purpose of collecting data as anything else.
Origin has also tried to reinstall Sims 3 and 4 on my Mac, but as it turned out the one time I let it, it wasn't a full reinstall, just a somewhat smaller download, I think about 5 GB for Sims 4. So it might be fine for you to let Origin do the same. (Then again, macOS and Windows are not at all the same environments.) You could also put Origin in offline mode, which stops any downloads in progress and usually, but not always, reverts an Update button to a Play button.
Store thumbnails do sometimes show as boxes for me, but after a few seconds, I get the full thumbnail previews.
December 2022
December 2022
this is exactly what's happening to me my game was fine until suddenly every time I load my game the content isn't installed. I've tried everything in this thread and nothing has worked so far.
December 2022
@kmgm24 When you're attempting to reinstall the store content, are you installing it into a new Sims 3 user folder? If not, that's the first step to try.
Please also let me know whether you're installing from the website or from the in-game Downloads Dashboard (which you can open from the Main Menu: click the three dots to see the option). Whichever one you've been using, try the other instead.
December 2022
I know there are some fixes that people have recommended but I'm weary of messing with my game files. Does anyone know is EA is actually working on a fix for this? I just recently bought Aurora Skies and it keeps giving me an error message even though I downloaded it. All of my other content from the sims 3 store is also suddenly not showing, however my expansion packs are fine. Also weirdly enough custom-made worlds work fine.
December 2022
@PinkLizzy14 Store content and custom content are installed into two separate types of files in DCCache: the store stuff ends up in .ebc files and the cc is in .dbc files. Store content is also encrypted where cc is not. So it's easy for someone's store items to stop working while their cc is intact.
Anyway, since your store stuff won't install, please remove all associated files from your Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts. Go into DCCache and remove all the files except for those that end in .dbc (i.e. leave the custom content intact but remove everything else). Go into Downloads and remove all the store downloads you recognize, or just move the entire folder elsewhere if you don't need to save your custom content downloads. Removing these files won't uninstall anything; the files are extraneous once the content they contain has been installed. Finally, go into InstalledWorlds and delete all the store worlds.
Now try downloading one small store item and see whether you can install it. If that works, check in-game to make sure it shows up. If it does, install a store world that isn't Aurora Skies and check again. If that works too, you can install the rest of your store content in small batches, no more than about six items at a time—the launcher doesn't handle large amounts of data very well. Worlds should be handled separately, not in a batch with anything else.
If you get an error, or the store content stops working in-game, at any point, stop there and let me know. Please post the error as well, either a screenshot or the full text written out.
December 2022
THAKN YOU!!!! i have been stumped as to how to get my worlds to show up, especially the two new ones i bought, and i didn't know how. I tried what you suggested and it worked!!!!!!!!!!!
December 2022
Ive downloaded my store content numerous times ive tried everything, from new saves, to installing my items one at a time. Nothing is working. What happens is i download my items, install them and everything is fine until i get in game. I relaunch the sims and on the launcher the items are either disappeared or have an icon that looks like a cardboard box. Please help! Also the store keeps saying unavailable???
December 2022
@Sims3kennedy Please try installing your store stuff into a clean user folder. Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, open the launcher to spawn a clean folder, download one small store item, install it, and see whether it works. If it does, quit the game, restart your computer, and test again.
If the item still loads, you can start installing the rest of your content in batches of no more than a few items or sets at a time—the launcher doesn't process large amounts of data very well. Worlds should be handled separately, not in a batch with anything else. Keep testing every so often so you catch a problem as soon as it happens.
If and when the store content stops working in the new folder, please let me know how much content, roughly, you were able to install before the problem showed up again. Please also let me know what kind of install this is: Origin, the EA App, disc, or Steam.
If all your store stuff installs correctly, I suggest making a backup of this new Sims 3 folder so you can restore it later should this problem recur. Once you've done that, you can move your saves and anything else you'd like to keep from the old Sims 3 folder to the new one and continue from where you left off.
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