Custom Content Gone, not possible to reinstall

[s0e0a]

So, after installing some new custom content, my game began crashing everytime I tried to save it. I looked up solutions for that and one of them stated to place my The Sims 3 folder from documents onto my desktop, start the game and check if the version without custom content saves fine. It did. So I replaced the old sims 3 folder inplace of the new one and uninstalled some more of the newer custom content from within the launcher. When I then started the game, most of my custom content was gone. The only things left were those that appear with the folder Icon and not the CC one. I did not save after everything was replaced!

i had uninstalled the newest stuff from the launcher already before, immediately after the problem started appearing. This did not cause any of the other CC to disappear. I can find the things that are missing now in the launcher Installed Content, but it doesn’t show up in game.

I saw the thread about moving the DCCache folder and deleting all of the DCBackup files and then reinstalling the CC. The problem is that I always deleted the items from the download folder so it would be clearer what I had installed and what not. That means that all of the initial files are gone and I can’t simply reinstall them..

For info: I’m playing on a MAC with World Adventures, Generations, Pets, Seasons and Supernatural installed.

Thanks in advance for any help

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@s0e0a  This sounds like it might be a bit of a mess to untangle, but hopefully, you'll be able to recover at least some of the cc that's missing from your game.  It might not be possible to make it all work again, though, so you could be stuck tracking down and reinstalling a portion of it.

The first, and easiest, potential solution would be to pull your entire TS3 game folder from Documents and let the game generate a new one.  I know you tried this with an earlier version of the folder, but this time, try spawning a completely clean one.  Once you've reached the Main Menu, you can quit and then copy your .dbc files into the new DCCache folder—use the .dbc files that have already been cleaned of the bad cc, and be sure to copy instead of move, so you have a backup.  Load the game again and try out CAS and Build/Buy.  Does your cc all show up now?

If you're satisfied with what you get, you can move your saves, store content, and everything else you want to keep from your old folder to the new one.  Here's an explanation of all the files in your game folder, in case it helps:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

If the previous method didn't help, you may have a corrupt .dbc file; hopefully, getting it out of the picture will allow the cc from the other files to work.  In another clean folder (don't use the one you created before), move just one .dbc file into DCCache, open the launcher, and take note of the installed content.  Then load the game and check to see what's there.  If all the cc in that .dbc file shows up, that file is fine and can be put aside.

You can repeat this process for each of your .dbc files; the ones that work can be added back later.  Before you test each one, though, you'll need to renumber it to dcdb0.dbc (with the zero), or the game may not read it properly when it's the only .dbc file in DCCache.  Be sure to chage it back to its original number when you're finished testing it.

It may be the case that some .dbc files work fine, and others don't, in which case you'll need to get rid of the ones that don't work and try to reconstruct their content.  If you can't find a particular item, you could ask over at the official Sims forums; a few players there are very good at tracking down old cc.  (It's pretty impressive.)  If you're a new member there, you won't be able to start your own thread, but I can start one for you.  Screenshots would help (uploaded to a third-party site and linked in the post), if you have them, or names of the items and their creators.  (New members can't post screenshots either, but you can break up the links in your post with periods or something, and others will be able to repair them.)

I know this is an annoyingly long process, but there's no good way to recover content from .dbc files that have already been corrupted.  A lot of players keep their installed cc on an external drive, so they can easily reinstall should something go wrong.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@s0e0a  This sounds like it might be a bit of a mess to untangle, but hopefully, you'll be able to recover at least some of the cc that's missing from your game.  It might not be possible to make it all work again, though, so you could be stuck tracking down and reinstalling a portion of it.

The first, and easiest, potential solution would be to pull your entire TS3 game folder from Documents and let the game generate a new one.  I know you tried this with an earlier version of the folder, but this time, try spawning a completely clean one.  Once you've reached the Main Menu, you can quit and then copy your .dbc files into the new DCCache folder—use the .dbc files that have already been cleaned of the bad cc, and be sure to copy instead of move, so you have a backup.  Load the game again and try out CAS and Build/Buy.  Does your cc all show up now?

If you're satisfied with what you get, you can move your saves, store content, and everything else you want to keep from your old folder to the new one.  Here's an explanation of all the files in your game folder, in case it helps:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

If the previous method didn't help, you may have a corrupt .dbc file; hopefully, getting it out of the picture will allow the cc from the other files to work.  In another clean folder (don't use the one you created before), move just one .dbc file into DCCache, open the launcher, and take note of the installed content.  Then load the game and check to see what's there.  If all the cc in that .dbc file shows up, that file is fine and can be put aside.

You can repeat this process for each of your .dbc files; the ones that work can be added back later.  Before you test each one, though, you'll need to renumber it to dcdb0.dbc (with the zero), or the game may not read it properly when it's the only .dbc file in DCCache.  Be sure to chage it back to its original number when you're finished testing it.

It may be the case that some .dbc files work fine, and others don't, in which case you'll need to get rid of the ones that don't work and try to reconstruct their content.  If you can't find a particular item, you could ask over at the official Sims forums; a few players there are very good at tracking down old cc.  (It's pretty impressive.)  If you're a new member there, you won't be able to start your own thread, but I can start one for you.  Screenshots would help (uploaded to a third-party site and linked in the post), if you have them, or names of the items and their creators.  (New members can't post screenshots either, but you can break up the links in your post with periods or something, and others will be able to repair them.)

I know this is an annoyingly long process, but there's no good way to recover content from .dbc files that have already been corrupted.  A lot of players keep their installed cc on an external drive, so they can easily reinstall should something go wrong.

[s0e0a]

2 seconds ago

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so so much! Your first solution worked a charm as far as I can tell so far. All my custom content shows up again, and the saves are going without a hitch. I tried saving twice within an hour of play and not a great amount of building but it seems to have worked.
Thanks for the quick reply and options for solutions. If I run into the issue again, I will keep the second option in mind.  

[s0e0a]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so so much! Your first solution worked a charm as far as I can tell so far. All my custom content shows up again, and the saves are going without a hitch. I tried saving twice within an hour of play and not a great amount of building but it seems to have worked.
Thanks for the quick reply and options for solutions. If I run into the issue again, I will keep the second option in mind.