Hi!
This is probably a stupid Q, lol but I just want to make sure I dont mess up.
I am in the works of uninstalling Sims 3 and the expansions and such on my PC. (Win7).
Can I safely uninstall the entire game from the Windows control panel? Or should I uninstall it from elsewhere? I cant access the EA launcher because it no longer works, so I cant access my game and do anything from there. My discs also cant seemingly do anything as I had migrated to Origin and something or other years ago.

The game is also not saved on C:/ but rather a secondary SSD, if that matters.
All the games and expansions are listed in the "uninstall a program" in my Windows control panel. Is this the best way to uninstall them? Should I uninstall expansions first or basegame, or does it matter? I want a clean slate.

A secondary question I have is, which folders should I be sure to keep if I want to keep a save of a household? Annoyingly, I cant access the game (because of the EA launcher) to make sure I have a copy of the house in the game bin, but I would love if I could have saved one household (the sims and their house...and I'm assuming the world within? But the world doesnt matter much. Just the home) - Which folders/files should I look for/look in? In the grand scheme of things, I dont care about photos/memories and such. I just mainly want the house itself and the simmies, lol. If saving/backing up sims and homes like this is not advised due to any reason, just let me know and I'll cut my losses. I'm just sentimental over them and would prefer to be able to play with them on re-install, but I can always rebuild and whatnot.

As for CC, which folders should I backup? One called Downloads, one called CustomContent I believe, and was there not a third? "Package"? Its been a while so I forget. But I want to keep all CC backed up.

Shouldn't be a problem. Are you planning on installing the game on this system again? If yes, makes sure to erase all traces of the game from your computer using a registry cleaner before doing so.


Before you do anything, make a backup of your The Sims 3 folder in Documents. It contains your saves (Saves), houses and households (Library), SavedSims, your CC. In general, you can use those folders for a new install.


This depends on what kind of CC you have. The Downloads folder might have your Sims3pack CC assuming you didn't back them up somewhere else after installing. Your packages should be in the Mods -> Packages folder. All this is in the The Sims 3 folder, so you should have you want for a new install everything there.

In case you've forgotten: Installing CC and creating the file structure for packages
https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?ti...Setup_and_Files
https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?ti...g%20TS3%20Packs

If you have the old discs, I strongly recommend installing from there and then superpatch your new install. https://www.nraas.net/community/Super-Patch

Yep! I am planning a re-install at some point. For the registry cleaner, is that something native to Windows or something I should download? I def want a real clean slate. Gosh, good thing you mentioned Saves, I almost forgot about that as well, lol.
My Library only consists of files with string of numbers and letters. Is there any way of knowing which is what? I could not find any files in there that are as new as I would assume (newest files there are like from 2018, even tho I played up until 2025).
I guess realistically I'd have to cut my losses. There's only about 1 or 2 I'd be sad to lose, but mostly on account of having to rebuild, haha.

You can open them with S3PE https://www.simlogical.com/ContentU...te/uploads/189/

Scroll down to the ICON line, it should show what it is. I'm not sure if it shows anywhere what the actual file name is.

Files that start with EBF are households, you can see their image in the SNAP line.

CCleaner is a good registry cleaner. There might be others.

Oh thank you, idk why I was overthinking the registry cleaner, lol I've used CCleaner before, I just didn't put the two together, thanks.

For your new install, I strongly recommend extracting any Sims3packs to make packages. Easier to put in the Library folder for lots, smaller in file size, and generally, no need for the crappy launcher. I only use that thing for custom world installs, and even that isn't strictly necessary.

https://modthesims.info/d/364038/de...-sept-2009.html

Same with other CC. CCMagic will do it for you and keep the old files backed up. Not necessary, but if you get it working, it makes your life easier and more organized. Just don't use it for mods.

https://modthesims.info/d/461888/cc...pernatural.html

https://nonasims.wordpress.com/2012...-with-cc-magic/

it's been such a long time since i dealt with these things, haha. The idea is to keep all CC as .package rather than sims3packs, correct? And thus being able to store all in the one folder (and subfolders I guess?) rather than in two different, correct?

CC and mods in the Mods --> Packages folder, lots in the Library folder.

If you need a reminder:
https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?ti...Setup_and_Files

Appreciated! I think I have to read through this to freshen up my memory, lol.

Having just gone through this I can vouch it is very simple (must be if I can do it). About ten years ago I built a new Win7 system, before dumping the old one I backed up the entire "My Documents" folder to a flashdrive (numerous games and editors follow Micro$oft's concept of "all your eggs in one basket" and store files there). Never installed Sims 3 on the new system.

Three months ago I got a new W11 system and in the course of reinstalling things noticed that old Sims3 folder, which impelled me to reinstall the game. Dug out my old discs and soon had the game running, with Ambitions, Seasons, and Generations. Then copied the entire Sims3 folder from that old My Documents into the new system, fired up Sims 3, and there were all my old saves, mods, everything, from summer 2016. The only "issue" I experienced was the first time I loaded each of those old saves the game would crash, immediately restart and try the same save and it loaded and played fine; out of curiosity I ran a save cleaner on some before loading them and those loaded and played on the first try.

It was a time warp, revisiting friends from a decade ago.

I believe this dates back to the Windows 9X days when the AppData folders did not exist yet. Microsoft themselves tried to remedy this by including a Saved Games folder in Vista, but it was never followed en masse, especially since XP still dominated until the Windows 7 era. I’ve seen a few modern games that use the AppData folders, such as Baldur’s Gate 3, but yeah, My Documents was the folder everything was dumped in because a standard application data folder did not exist and Program Files, being for installed programs for all users, was a terrible place for keeping save data.

And also, yes, I am aware that Unix had the proper delegation of directories since its debut in 1970. Microsoft’s philosophy has always been behind.

Edit: well, except for the NT kernel. Unix’s “everything is a file” in hindsight was not a good philosophy as it has led to many limitations compared to the object-based NT. NT also has a much stabler ABI than Linux, Darwin, etc. Everything on top of the NT kernel though IMO is garbage right now, so I much prefer my Fedora install.

Well, I have a completely, utterly, illogical outlook on such things ...I expect all files pertaining to a program to be kept in the install folder of that program, not cluttering up the C drive. To that end I use junction links to put things where they "belong".

I always thought the most malign malware would be a simple virus that deletes the "My Documents" folder on every computer it infests.