[Troubleshoot] Downloading/Installing of Store Content [ Edited ]

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Introduction

Sims 3 has 4 different ways to enhance the basics of the base game (this does not include third-party custom content which is of course also an option)

• Expansion Packs: Expansion Packs are non-standalone games that give you new gameplay for your game. Examples are Pets & Seasons. They can be bought on Origin, Steam or on DVD in a store. You can install those from DVD or through the Origin/Steam client.
• Stuff Packs: Stuff Packs are not-standalone games that give you new content to your game. They don't give you new game play but new clothing, objects, etc. Examples are the Master Suite Stuff Pack or the Movie Stuff Pack. They can be bought on Origin, Steam or on DVD in a store. You can install those from DVD or through the Origin/Steam client.
• Store Worlds: Store Worlds are new towns/neighborhoods in which your Sims can live. They can can be bought through the Sims 3 Store, DVD or on Origin, depending on the World. They are always installed through the Launcher though and NOT through Origin or Steam. More info about those can be found here: Store World Guide
• Store Content: The Sims 3 Store contains a lot of extra stuff for your Sims. You can get new hairstyles, new clothing, objects, worlds (see above) or so called Premium Content which gives you limited extra gameplay. You usually buy these with Simpoints which you can get through the Sims 3 Store directly or through Origin (some countries also still carry Simpoint Cards in retail stores) but you can also get codes for them for certain Sims bundles and there are also registration awards which you get for registering an expansion pack. Those codes are redeemed on thesims3.com where it says: Redeem a code.

There are many situations, where you have to re-download your stuff. Expansions and stuff pack should show in your Origin client in myGames and that's where you redownload them. Store Content on the other hand can be found in your purchase history on thesims3.com.

This guide focuses on issues that occur when trying to download and installing Store items. Some of it is already covered here: [FAQ] The Sims 3 Store, so please make sure to read that first. The focus of this thread is to troubleshoot the availble logs and error messages yourself.

Index

Getting Store content into your game is a two step process (unless you use the ingame Store which does both downloading and installing at the same time). The launcher has a tab for each step.

Please see the following posts for details on each step. You can jump to whatever step you have issues with.

• Download
• Installation

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Issues with Downloading Content

To ensure that it works well, you should follow the following steps to download. I recommend to always download through your purchase history and not the the Store page (unless you have trouble locating it in your purchase history which can happen if you have a lot of stuff)

1. Start the launcher through either the shortcut on your desk or Origin.
2. Login your launcher
3. Open your browser (Firefox works best, Google is fine too. IE has it's issue, Opera 12 doesn't work at all)
4. Login to your purchase history
5. Find the item and click download. You can download multiple items at the same time but that only works on Firefox and IE)
6. Wait until it's downloaded. This can take some time, depending on the download size and the connection.
7. Follow the steps in the next post to install.

You do need to be update to at least patch 1.63 (1.67 is the newest but not necessary) to be able to download all Store items.

Common Issues

There are a few common problems with downloading. Please follow the following steps to troubleshoot.

Pressing download only opens Origin

With Patch 1.63. something changed with Origin and pressing download doesn't open the launcher directly anymore. It only opens Origin. You need to start the launcher manually and then press download.

Pressing download doesn't do anything

 The browser you're using needs to know what application is associated with sims3packs. Opera seem to have troubles with that. Use IE, Google Chrome or Firefox instead.

For people that use Steam, please refer to this article: Fix for those missing sims 3 protocol.

The download starts but finishes with an error

There's a log which can be found in documents/electronicarts/thesims3 and is called Sims3LauncherLogFile.log. Open that with a text editor and read what it says. Below you'll find a few tips on what error means what. Make sure you check the ones with the newest date.

• Store Download Failure. Download manifest server error

Spoiler

Your game is not up-to-date. Make sure you update to at least 1.63.

• Store Download Failure. Expected more bytes from the server. Missing <instert number> bytes. Server download content <instert number> bytes. For entry  <instert number>  expected <instert number> but received <instert number>bytes 
• Store Download Failure. Http read error
• Store Download Failure. Failed to transform header

Spoiler

Something is off with the connection. Could be either your AnitVirus or Firewall blocking or something is off with the EA Servers. 

Also, if you're downloading bigger files like worlds or large sets, use a LAN connection instead of wifi. Especially the first error points towards a time-out.

• User is not entitled to item. We're sorry, but you do not own the item you are trying to download. Please visit www.thesims3.com for more information about purchasing this item.

Spoiler

The store thinks you don't own the items. Most of the time it's just a temporary issue. Try dowloading again. If it doesn't go away, contact a game advisor.. 

• Failed to find Sims3 pack data

Spoiler

Probably maintance on the Sims 3 Store server

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Troubles with Installing

There are a few common problems with installing. Please follow the following steps to troubleshoot.

Installation Failed: Please make sure your game has the latest Software Updates and try again.

This error has nothing to do with your game not being patched. This error seems to be occuring if the game can't properly verify that you own the item. 

To fix, redownload the item from your purchase history here: http://store.thesims3.com/purchaseHistory.html and if the issue still persists, contact a game advisor.

I installed my Store Content but it's not showing up in my game

Unfortunatly, the Launcher is a very unreliable tool. The more stuff you have, the greater the chance that files which have your stuff installed get messed up. If that starts happening to you. First try reinstalling the item and if that doesn't work, try the method below.

• Close your game and launcher
• Go to documents\electronicarts\thesims3 and move the folder DCCache to your desktop (this is ALL your custom content, so if you have 3rd party content as well, you might wanna just move the *.ebc files as well as the missingdeps.idx)
• If you have any worlds installed go to the installedWorlds folder and delete all Store worlds from there.
• Go to the DCBackup folder and delete everything in there. You don't really need the stuff in here except for the ccmerged file but since you're reinstalling everything, it will be recreated.
• Open the launcher and start reinstalling all store stuff in groups. Don't install all in one go. Start with the worlds, then lots, then sets and single items last.

When you're done, backup the DCCache folder. If the same starts happening again, go back to that backup so you don't need to start over. Make a backup from time to time, especially after you've installed worlds and lots.

I can't find the venue I've installed

Venues are especially tricky and if you have a lot of content, have the tendency to not install at all.

First make sure that it's really not in your game. You should find the venue in the edit town in the community lot library. Sometimes they don't have a real name but only numbers. The icon they have also varies from showing as Store Content (the little shopping bag) to user-created content (red rosette).

If it's really not in the game, install it again, using this method:

• Close the game and launcher
• Backup the whole folder documents\electronicarts\thesims3 to an external drive or some other safe location
• Move the folder DCCache to the desktop
• Start the launcher. ALL of your custom content except houses and Sims will be gone from your installed content. Not to worry about that.
• Install the venue again
• Check documents\electronicarts\thesims3\library if you have a new file which starts with ebf_ and has the timestamp fo the time you've installed the venue. Start over, if you don't
• Delete the newly created DCCache folder in documents\electronicarts\thesims3 (NOT the one on your desktop)
• Move the DCCache folder from the desktop back into documents\electronicarts\thesims3
• Start the game. The venue should now be in your library and you should have all your stuff back as well.
• If anything goes wrong, replace the whole folder with the backup you made.