DLC packs are missing [ Edited ]

[Genericname2077]

So today i bought the sims 3 ambitions.  I got my code and everything was fine until i installed it and opened the game.  This is the sixth DLC pack i have bought for the game just for clarification.  When i opened my game, i only found three expansion packs in the expansion packs tab.  Thinking That the game just didn't detect them i went onto the Origin application to see if i could reinstall them, but when i opened the expansion pack tab it said that i didn't have the three missing packs and that i would have to pay for them.  I don't want to have to pay another £20 for these packs again so is there any way i can fix this? (Pets, University Life and Seasons are the missing packs and the other three are Supernatural, Ambitions and Generations).

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Genericname2077  This happens occasionally, for no apparent reason, and sometimes the only thing necessary to fix it is to restart your computer a couple of times.  The next step is to clear Origin's cache, and if that doesn't work, uninstall and reinstall Origin entirely.  This would not affect your installed games.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

But if you bought codes for your missing packs through an unauthorized third-party seller, it's also possible that these packs were blocked in your account.  For a little over a year, EA has been systematically deactivating packs tied to codes that were originally stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtained, even though the players usually had no idea there was anything wrong with the codes.  (EA has also been known to accidentally block legitimate codes on occasion.)  Whatever the case, the only way to sort this out is to contact EA customer support and have someone on that end look at your account.  No one here can see your account details, much less change them.

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Genericname2077  This happens occasionally, for no apparent reason, and sometimes the only thing necessary to fix it is to restart your computer a couple of times.  The next step is to clear Origin's cache, and if that doesn't work, uninstall and reinstall Origin entirely.  This would not affect your installed games.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

But if you bought codes for your missing packs through an unauthorized third-party seller, it's also possible that these packs were blocked in your account.  For a little over a year, EA has been systematically deactivating packs tied to codes that were originally stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtained, even though the players usually had no idea there was anything wrong with the codes.  (EA has also been known to accidentally block legitimate codes on occasion.)  Whatever the case, the only way to sort this out is to contact EA customer support and have someone on that end look at your account.  No one here can see your account details, much less change them.

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/

[MadDoctor61]

I'm having the same problem (I think).  The only programs that show under "Expansions & Stuff" in The Sims 3 Launcher are the three I installed from disks (Late Night, University Life, High-End Loft Stuff).  The ones I purchased online through Origin (Generations, World Adventures, Pets) don't show up.  This has happened regularly before.  I click "Install Packs", close the launcher, and restart The Sims and it tells me I have new packs installed.  Since I installed Pets about a week ago, this has gotten much worse.  Occasionally I would have to restart the computer before Pets installation, now it's generally involving a computer restart and today, I can't get them listed at all.

Today I’ve been getting the message: “Warning - The downloading process is running.  Do you want to cancel this process and exit the application?  OK/Cancel” in a Sims 3 warning box (it’s look matches the launcher).  I’ve tried clicking “Cancel” and waiting (I’ve played 3 games of computer Monopoly while waiting - one game each attempt).  I’ve tried clicking “OK” and trying again, which often leads to the program crashing.  (Windows alert “Sims3Launcher” is not responding-if you close the program, you might lose information, / Close the program/Wait for the program to respond).  Waiting hasn’t helped, so now I just close it.

I’ve also cleared the Origin cashe via
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/
for the Windows operating system and restarted the computer agian.  It hasn’t helped

[puzzlezaddict]

@MadDoctor61  For the disappearing packs issue, try uninstalling and reinstalling Origin only; this would not affect your already installed games.  It should also be noted that Origin doesn't always play nice with disc installs.  They're supposed to be able to work together, but that doesn't always happen.  If the problem is this persistent, you might just want to completely uninstall TS3, clean your registry (either manually or with a tool like Piriform's CCleaner), and reinstall entirely through Origin.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-3/manually-uninstalling-the-sims-3/

The other issue sounds like one that players on 1.67 have been seeing for a few weeks.   For us, it's caused by the presence of the Sims3logs file in the TS3 game folder; we think that the launcher is trying to upload it and gets stuck.  (It sounds like you don't have the problem of the launcher running in the tray, but the same fix applies to both issues.)  You can test this out by deleting the file and launching your game.  You shouldn't see the message the first time, but the log will regenerate and throw the error message if you launch the game again while the log is still present.  The issue can be addressed by denying read permission on the file.  Here's the post with a more thorough description:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/Sims-3-launcher-running-in-tray-while-playing/m-p/7010161#M2318...

[Genericname2077]

thanks for the help! I was able to get a refund from G2A, but I would like to re-buy the DLC's for around the same price I bought them for. Do you know anywhere I can get them without this happening again?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Genericname2077  I don't know how much you paid for the bad codes, but packs are usually $20 U.S. each; I'm not sure how much they cost in the U.K.  Origin does have the occasional sale for TS3 content, although the timing seems pretty random.  Steam also sells TS3 and provides a code for each pack that you can register in Origin, so you wouldn't have to rebuy your other packs.  Steam usually has sales in the summer and around the new year; the base game and packs are typically (although not always) priced at $5 each.  It's unclear though if this pattern will continue, as Steam has recently started offering just one pack at a time instead of a discount across the board.  The other consideration is that Steam won't sell a pack to you unless you already own a copy of the base game in Steam.  It's usually still cheaper to buy an extra copy and take advantage of the discount on the packs, but you'd probably have to wait a few months.

Here's the official list of authorized sellers of EA games.  If you buy anywhere else online, you run the risk of getting one or more bad codes again.

https://help.ea.com/en/help/faq/where-to-buy-ea-games-v2/