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    How To Recover Saves - PC Only Guide

    «134567…11
    ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
    in The Sims 3 Help & Technical Discussion
    Have you ever loaded your game to find your saved game missing, or error code 13 while saving and lost your progress? To retrieve your saved game, do the following:

    Finding Your Saves Folder
    1. Go to My Documents.
    2. Electronic Arts
    3. The Sims 3
    4. Saves

    After that, find your saved game's name. If you named your game Sunset Valley, you should see:
    Sunset Valley.sims3
    Sunset Valley.sims3.backup

    Instructions
    Rename Sunset Valley.sims3.backup to Sunset Valley.sims3
    Delete Sunset Valley.sims3

    If you have a file that ends with .bad, delete that. Anything that ends with .bad, delete.

    Start up your game, and your town will be back. The game will auto generate another backup file. If you don't have a backup file, all you need to do is just delete SunsetValley.bad, and your saved game should return.

    Conclusion
    Since this is a PC only tutorial, I can't do Mac as I'm not familiar with with it. I'm sure someone such as Lawertend, or Unsecretcrush can help out if you're on Mac. :)



    Troubleshooting/FAQ's
    Question:
    I don't have a SIMS3 file, but I do have a backup file. What can I do?
    Answer:
    Try making a copy of your backup file, and then renaming it to end with .sims3.

    Question:
    There are only two files - .sims3, and .bad. What do I do?
    Answer:
    Delete your .bad file. Don't worry about having no backup file. The game will regenerate one, automatically.

    Still Having Trouble?

    If you're still having trouble with your game, try these links to solve your problem. :)

    CRASH TO DESKTOP - Possible Solution
    A list of unofficial bugs and issues with The Sims 3 *UPDATED 06/18 - 2 NEW FIXES!*

    Comments

    • Options
      randommermaderandommermade Posts: 1,372 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Thanks!
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      randommermade wrote:
      Thanks!

      You're welcome! :mrgreen:
    • Options
      Dooglers8Dooglers8 Posts: 716 New Member
      edited August 2009
      I tried this and now Sunset Valley is gone! :cry:
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Dooglers8 wrote:
      I tried this and now Sunset Valley is gone! :cry:

      Did you delete the .sims3 file first, or rename the backup file first?
    • Options
      Dooglers8Dooglers8 Posts: 716 New Member
      edited August 2009
      I deleted the .bad file, and the other file that wasn't a backup. Please tell me I can retrieve my lost neighborhood! :?
    • Options
      Dooglers8Dooglers8 Posts: 716 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Oh wait! I renamed the file and my beloved neighborhood showed up again!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you so much!!! :D
      You saved my life! 8) ( Kind of)
      I am not gonna forget this. :thumbup:
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      BranrBranr Posts: 410 Member
      edited August 2009
      I have discovered a way to completely avoid the Error Code 12s and 13s:

      1: Get a kitchen timer, set it for an hour, and place it next to your computer.
      b: When the timer goes off, Save and Exit, and reset the timer.
      4: Start playing again. Rinse and repeat.

      It seems the error codes come up when the game is played for several hours without an exit.
    • Options
      Rosieglo16Rosieglo16 Posts: 42 New Member
      edited August 2009
      okay there is no backup file for my saved game. There is only the .sims3 and .sims3.bad. so what do i do now? there is a backup file for every other saved game but mine.
    • Options
      gojyunin_mastergojyunin_master Posts: 2 New Member
      edited August 2009
      I delete my save and rename my backup file, but still corrupted T_T
      I saved it normally, no crashed, but why... :(
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      gojyunin_master wrote:
      I delete my save and rename my backup file, but still corrupted T_T
      I saved it normally, no crashed, but why... :(


      When you renamed your backup file, did the "type" change to "SIMS 3" file? Or did it still say "BACKUP FILE"?

      Did you delete the file that says .bad? You need to delete any files that end with .bad or your game will still be corrupted.
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Rosieglo16 wrote:
      okay there is no backup file for my saved game. There is only the .sims3 and .sims3.bad. so what do i do now? there is a backup file for every other saved game but mine.

      First off, delete any files that end with .bad
      If you leave that in, your game will still be corrupted.

      Second, after you delete .bad just load your game and your game should be back. :)
    • Options
      haggisftwhaggisftw Posts: 9 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Yesss I love you :) You saved 5 generations of hard work x
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      haggisftw wrote:
      Yesss I love you :) You saved 5 generations of hard work x

      You're welcome!
      Just helping people with their games, one save at a time. 8)

      Good luck with the rest of your legacy!
    • Options
      princessikaprincessika Posts: 1 New Member
      edited August 2009
      omg!! this has been doing myhead in for ages!! so so smany lost games..now i've reinstalled my game..and i've come across this!!! too late for the lost games now...but for future.. I LOVE YOU! xxx :D
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      princessika wrote:
      omg!! this has been doing myhead in for ages!! so so smany lost games..now i've reinstalled my game..and i've come across this!!! too late for the lost games now...but for future.. I LOVE YOU! xxx :D

      Glad I could help! Now you know what to do in case this happens again. :wink:
    • Options
      Okblondee7Okblondee7 Posts: 2,607 Member
      edited August 2009
      My problem (very, very frustrating) is if I pause the game to take a break for any length of time, it is always 'frozen' when I return. I could pause Sims2 for literally days and then pick up where I left off. This one? Not even 20 minutes.

      Hopefully, your advice will work for me as well. Thank you. :)
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Okblondee7 wrote:
      My problem (very, very frustrating) is if I pause the game to take a break for any length of time, it is always 'frozen' when I return. I could pause Sims2 for literally days and then pick up where I left off. This one? Not even 20 minutes.

      Hopefully, your advice will work for me as well. Thank you. :)

      Game frozen when paused? That sounds like a memory issue. Try upgrading your ram, and see if that makes a difference. :-)
    • Options
      gojyunin_mastergojyunin_master Posts: 2 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Shadow wrote:
      Rosieglo16 wrote:
      okay there is no backup file for my saved game. There is only the .sims3 and .sims3.bad. so what do i do now? there is a backup file for every other saved game but mine.

      First off, delete any files that end with .bad
      If you leave that in, your game will still be corrupted.

      Second, after you delete .bad just load your game and your game should be back. :)

      There's no .bad file in my folder. I moved the whole EA folder before I format it.
      Other saves without .bad files are ok, only this file.

      But thanks a lot anyway :)
    • Options
      NeurotiskNeurotisk Posts: 56 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Shadow, this is GREAT! Thanks you SO much!
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      gojyunin_master wrote:
      Shadow wrote:
      Rosieglo16 wrote:
      okay there is no backup file for my saved game. There is only the .sims3 and .sims3.bad. so what do i do now? there is a backup file for every other saved game but mine.

      First off, delete any files that end with .bad
      If you leave that in, your game will still be corrupted.

      Second, after you delete .bad just load your game and your game should be back. :)

      There's no .bad file in my folder. I moved the whole EA folder before I format it.
      Other saves without .bad files are ok, only this file.

      But thanks a lot anyway :)

      You're welcome!
      The .bad file generally appears when you get error code 12, or 13. :-)
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Neurotisk wrote:
      Shadow, this is GREAT! Thanks you SO much!

      Glad I could help. :P
    • Options
      TooCute50TooCute50 Posts: 399 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Hi! Shadow Please help me if you can. I did exactly as you said only my original town sunset valley did not return. And as for Sunset Valley it had three backup files and none said corrupt or bad. But the Riverview had bad files that I deleted like you said. Only I still have the Riverview Town. On the lol I am not that smart with computers and since the upgrades of patches been downloaded into my game I've been having a several problems. Help me if you can. :cry: Thank you
    • Options
      theRealDeal09theRealDeal09 Posts: 4,549 Member
      edited August 2009
      Great tutorial Shadow! :mrgreen:
    • Options
      ShadowShadow Posts: 3,315 New Member
      edited August 2009
      TooCute50 wrote:
      Hi! Shadow Please help me if you can. I did exactly as you said only my original town sunset valley did not return. And as for Sunset Valley it had three backup files and none said corrupt or bad. But the Riverview had bad files that I deleted like you said. Only I still have the Riverview Town. On the lol I am not that smart with computers and since the upgrades of patches been downloaded into my game I've been having a several problems. Help me if you can. :cry: Thank you

      This reverting saves trick doesn't work unless the saved game has a .bad file.
      You said Sunset Valley had three backup files. Try making a copy of the most recent Sunset Valley backup, and renaming it to yourtownname.sims3.

      Sunset Valley should return. If not, let me know. :-)
    • Options
      TooCute50TooCute50 Posts: 399 New Member
      edited August 2009
      Hey Shadow: Thank You so much for your help it worked great! I am not at all smart with computers your help means a lots to me so thanks again. I am looking for a friend if interested in having one who isn't computer smart but love Sims. I'm willing if you are! :D
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