So I get home from work today and go on the computer to find a notification from Yandex Disk (a cloud storage/backup program) about files being deleted from the EA Games folder and asking if I wanted to keep a copy on the server (it's unfortunate that I didn't think to get a screenshot). There were hundreds of them, and not knowing what was going on I clicked to keep a copy on the server. The last thing I did last night on the computer was play The Sims. Is it normal for the game to delete (not update/overwrite) files? I launched the game and it seems all of my custom content is gone! I'm not sure if the backup program is the problem (I had heard about OneDrive but not Yandex) or if there's something else weird going on. I'm using Yandex.Disk version 3.2.20 build 4678. I am playing the Ultimate Collection through Origin.

Also... I know that Yandex is a Russian company, you don't need to point that out. Probably best to point out ahead of time that I'm not here for a political debate, to talk about the pissing contest between Putin and Zelensky, or explain why I would choose a Russian or European provider over Google and Microsoft (I have my reasons), war sucks but I'm here to talk about the game, not war, not politics, thanks for respecting that. And thanks in advance for any help.

Hey, don't worry about your backup choices. It's up to you. Anyway, there's always the chance of storage programs eating your files. I think if the server has a copy of your files, download them and see if there's a setting to choose what Yandex backs up (I don't use storage servers for backup, so IDK).

You don't want any program not related to sims looking at sims 2 files. Not your antivirus, not auto syncing, any type of pc cleaner, nothing. Make sure to white list Sims 2, disable or uninstall anything that will auto read sims 2 files. These can be big issues for older games not just sims 2.

Are you using it as synched backup of your game, and is this your only backup of the game?

Have you checked if it has to do with available space on the service? If you've run out of space, it would most likely stop synching and throw errors.

Either way, it's probably best to not use it for synched backups for TS2, as you'd see similar issues as with OneDrive.

Synched backups are often not a good idea for games - the files are a bit too volatile and in constant use, and if you suddenly run out of space or there's a problem with the backup service, you don't know until it's too late, and you're stuck with a game that doesn't work and broken files. Copying the entire folder in one go once you're done playing is often a much better way to do a backup.

Synched backups tend to work better for files and folders with less volatile use.

Thanks everyone. I figured that was the issue. Well, the good news is that at least the neighborhoods I’m working on now are just tinkering projects, and that turning off the syncing will be easier with a program I installed than with OneDrive (frankly, figuring out how to turn off OneDrive that came with Windows was a pain in the ass). You guys are the best!