The Sims 3 - Transferring saved games from Mac to PC

[NovaScotia1867]

I've been playing The Sims 3 on my Mac for around seven years without any major problems. A couple of months ago, I upgraded to Mac OS Mojave, and I can open the game, but it's really laggy and freezes at the loading screen.

I've now decided to install TS3 on my Windows 10 PC, but I don't want to lose all my progress and downloaded mods from my Mac. Is there a way I can transfer all my stuff from my Mac to my PC when I have the game installed on it? 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@NovaScotia1867  Yes, you can certainly transfer your content from one computer to the other.  In fact, you could theoretically move your entire TS3 game folder over and just pick up right where you left off.  However, it's better to launch the game on your new computer, generating a clean game folder, and then copy over the content you want to keep.  That way, you'll get rid of stale cache file data and any extraneous files you don't need.

The only files you won't be able to use in Windows are any core mods you have.  A core mod has to match the patch level of your install, so unless you're installing in Windows via disc, you'll need to download new versions of any core mods you have.  You can check with the mod sites, but there are only a handful of core mods in existence.  The best known is ErrorTrap, but all other NRaas mods (aside from UntranslatedKey) are scripts and will transfer fine.

You may also need to redownload and reinstall your store content.  It's supposed to be transferable between an Origin/mac install and Origin/Windows, but it doesn't always work.  Rather than risking corrupt store content files, it may be better to just start from scratch.

The best practice is to spawn a new game folder, copy over or reinstall all of your mods, store content, and cc, and then test out a new game to make sure everything works properly.  Once you're satisfied, you can move over your existing saves as well as any households or lots you'd like to have available—every entry in the Edit Town bin has a corresponding file in Library.  For a complete explanation of everything you find in your game folder, you can check out Crinrict's guide:

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

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@NovaScotia1867  Yes, you can certainly transfer your content from one computer to the other.  In fact, you could theoretically move your entire TS3 game folder over and just pick up right where you left off.  However, it's better to launch the game on your new computer, generating a clean game folder, and then copy over the content you want to keep.  That way, you'll get rid of stale cache file data and any extraneous files you don't need.

The only files you won't be able to use in Windows are any core mods you have.  A core mod has to match the patch level of your install, so unless you're installing in Windows via disc, you'll need to download new versions of any core mods you have.  You can check with the mod sites, but there are only a handful of core mods in existence.  The best known is ErrorTrap, but all other NRaas mods (aside from UntranslatedKey) are scripts and will transfer fine.

You may also need to redownload and reinstall your store content.  It's supposed to be transferable between an Origin/mac install and Origin/Windows, but it doesn't always work.  Rather than risking corrupt store content files, it may be better to just start from scratch.

The best practice is to spawn a new game folder, copy over or reinstall all of your mods, store content, and cc, and then test out a new game to make sure everything works properly.  Once you're satisfied, you can move over your existing saves as well as any households or lots you'd like to have available—every entry in the Edit Town bin has a corresponding file in Library.  For a complete explanation of everything you find in your game folder, you can check out Crinrict's guide:

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

[NovaScotia1867]

A little update: If I turn off my Wi-Fi and launch the game from the Launcher, it works, but for some reason all the sounds and music are sped up, so the Sims sound like chipmunks when they talk. So I guess TS3 does work on Mojave, but just turn off the Wi-Fi first!

[operajunkie4]

Hey @puzzlezaddict,

Seeking your superior knowledge once again.

I am also trying to move my game from my overloaded MacBook to my super high tech new gaming comp. 

I started extracting files from my Mac hard drive until I read your post recommending a fresh game file.

I logged into Origin - it shows me only Sims 3 Base Game and a few random expansions (see pic), and I am certainly someone who has every expansion and stuff pack. 

I am loathe to buy them again - is it because I likely loaded from disk and registration didn't work? Should uploading the discs again work?

I obviously think I need to get this bit right before I try and hack my hard drive again to retrieve the save files you've mentioned. 

Thanks in advance!

[puzzlezaddict]

@operajunkie4  I can't see the screenshot you've uploaded—this site's virus scanner seems to be busted and isn't letting anything through.  Are you saying the other packs show up but aren't listed as owned?  In that case, you may still be able to register them, that is if you never did so before on a different account.  The same product keys that you used to install the packs in the first place are the ones you'd use to register them.  Simply using the keys to install packs doesn't necessarily register the keys in Origin.

If this doesn't work, then yes, you could install the game via disc in Windows 10, and perhaps skip the Origin tie-in entirely.  You'd need to have a disc copy of everything and a base game disc manufactured before September 2012; the newer ones (base game only) require Origin to be present and managing the install.  Otherwise, it may still work to install the packs through Origin using the discs, although Origin occasionally doesn't validate packs installed this way.

If you'd like more specifics on one of the approaches, let me know which one you're going to try.

[operajunkie4]

@puzzlezaddict thanks for your lightening quick response.

the stupid screenshot  just shows 6 available "extra content" games (IP/WA/UL/ST/loft stuff/movie stuff) underneath the Sims 3, by no means a complete set, but no titles greyed out.

I reckon the base game disc I have is pre-2012, but unlucky for me it's in another part of the UK at home with my parents grrr. If I get hold of every disc secreted about my room, do I need to still find the discs for those listed by origin above? will it eff up if i try to loads different packs in different ways?

[puzzlezaddict]

@operajunkie4  What do you see if you're looking at the Sims 3 info in Origin and click More > Expansion Packs, or More > Stuff Packs?  (For me, with the size of my Origin window at least, More is under the last played date, and I have to scroll a bit.)  I still see a list of all packs, with "Play" for the ones I have installed, "Install" for the ones I own but haven't installed, and "Buy Now" for the ones I don't own.  All packs should be listed in one way or another.

Origin is supposed to be able to manage a mix of disc and digital installs without any issue.  In practice, this doesn't always work.  For that reason and others, many people choose to install entirely via disc, leaving Origin out of it, and in that case they do need disc copies of everything.  For those that install using a mix of disc and digital downloads, they only need the discs for the packs that Origin doesn't recognize as owned.  But again, there's no guarantee that Origin will validate those disc-installed packs, even though it should.

If you want to try registering the product keys for your missing packs, you can find them on your Mac rather than looking for the discs separately.

https://bluebellflora.com/finding-your-serial-key-using-terminal/

[operajunkie4]

@puzzlezaddict ONCE AGAIN you have saved my game! I found ALL my codes!

So i'm going to do as you've recommended, which is a clean install onto the new PC.

Then I'm going to re-hack my hard drive for the save files - have you any guidance for which files would be the important ones?

I'm going to clean install all the NRAAS smooth play mods, and I've also downloaded CC manager as lots of buggy CC crashed everything. 

Do you yourself use any particular CC storage/organisation method? I want to keep certain CC but remove all the secretly-attached knee high boots etc.

[puzzlezaddict]

@operajunkie4  All your existing user data is in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, so you can copy that entire folder onto your new computer and have access to everything you might want in the future.  If all you want is your old saves, you can just copy the contents of the Saves folder; saved households and builds are in Library; sims saved in CAS are in SavedSims.  But downloaded sims/households/lots are also saved to these folders, so if you want to start clean, without any bad custom content, it may be better to move over your saves and nothing else, and save fresh copies of any families or builds you like.

For the NRaas mods, I'm sure you have a list in mind, but my list of game-saving mods is ErrorTrap, Overwatch, MasterController, Traveler, Register, and Traffic, with other mods being incredibly useful in many situations.  And of course the NRaas forum is a great place to ask questions about their mods.

I don't know what manager you're using for custom content, but if it's CC Magic, I can't really help you there.  A lot of people swear by it, but others have trouble rooting out bad cc or just find that the game won't launch unless CC Magic is disabled.  If you like it and are comfortable with it though, there's no reason not to use it.  Just keep backups of all your cc in case you ever want or need to revert.

For the bad cc that sneaks into other downloads, the best strategy is to keep it from contaminating your game in the first place, especially since it can be so difficult to get rid of.  I'd never download anything and put it straight in my main user data folder.  Instead, I test out everything in a clean folder first: I move my Sims 3 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts, open the launcher to spawn a clean folder, install whatever it is I want to look at, then check the installed content in the launcher for stowaway items.  I also use the cc in-game so I can see whether it works as intended.  If everything looks fine, then it's okay to trash the new Sims 3 folder and add the content to my main folder.

This isn't a totally perfect system because some cc only shows itself in certain situations, like the heels that give babies the Grim Reaper robe.  So if you want to be extra careful, you can create a household with sims in different age stages to test with, and leave that household in a testing folder that you only use for new cc.  The main point is to look at everything you download separately, before it has a chance to infect your main folder.

As far as organizing goes, I think you can go four subfolders deep for custom content.  Some people organize by category of item (e.g. clothing > YA female clothing > formal), and others go by creator.  There's no one right answer; whatever works for you is fine.