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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 30th Jul 2021 at 10:24 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life
Default Understanding how I backup TS2? Also starting over??
Slowly but surely I'm trying to find better ways to keep my game going and avoiding corruption. I have just recently learned about backing up Neighborhoods/my game , and I was just a bit confused about how it works. I followed instructions and I had backed up my Pleasantview & Belladonna Cove neighborhoods in a file. Do I delete the old neighborhood file and drop the backed up file into it's place? Does it load up like normal? Can I really start TS2 over by just deleting "The Sims 2" file in EA Games? I don't want to try and end up breaking the game or something.
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 30th Jul 2021 at 11:20 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 31st Jul 2021 at 2:41 AM.
To do a backup, you can either copy the entire folder in
-->Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2
if you want your entire saved game (This also backs up downloads, projects, SavedSims, UserStartup file, saved template lots, etc. It's always a good idea to back up downloads along with neighborhoods if you use a lot of CC, or you'll get in trouble if you ever want to use an old backup file and don't have any of the belonging CC)
or
-->Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods
if you just want your neighborhoods but not everything else
or
-->Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\N001
(or any other individual neighborhood folder) if you just want that particular neighborhood.

Copy the folder to somewhere else than the EAGames folder (somewhere else on your computer, an external harddrive or flash drive, or similar). Probably also a good idea to mark it with a date.

-----

When you want to use a backup file, find the correct place for it, then remove that particular folder generated by the game and copy/paste the proper folder from your backup. If you have a full backup, you can use individual neighborhood folders from it (replacing just N002, for instance).

Don't manually copy/paste individual files and let them mix in with the old ones, or copy the folder and let it overwrite the old one. This will cause corruption in your game.

---

For clean slate, you can rename the old "The Sims 2" folder (just add a few characters at the end - this can also work as a backup of your old game) and let the game run. This will generate new files from the version in the install location, so you'll get a clean/new game from scratch without having to reinstall.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 30th Jul 2021 at 11:56 PM
[QUOTE=simmer22]

Okay so I would take the old folder and literally just Copy + Paste it over the new one??? I saved it to just documents. I think overall I would want to save the hood. Also what about starting the game over? Like a clean slate.
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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#4 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 12:00 AM Last edited by joandsarah77 : 31st Jul 2021 at 4:52 AM.
I just right click on the folder and select copy. Could be just the hood or could be the entire sims 2 folder. Then paste it someplace safe. Could not be simpler. You want to make both types of backups. So occasionally save the entire folder because then you are making a backup of your downloads and other folders. Most times just save your neighbourhoods.

Then if something happens, delete your hood folder and paste in your backup.

if you want a new vanilla sims 2 folder again right click on 'the sims 2' but select rename and add a word to the end of it. "The Sims 2 Old" or whatever you decided to call it. Run the game. You can have as many sims 2 folders as you like. I think I have about 7. One is my modern game, another is medieval, one if testing, another is for building and so on.
The game only can read and load the folder called "The Sims 2" The other renamed folders it wont see. This allows you to have as many separate games as your pc can handle.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#5 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 1:07 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Moname34
[QUOTE=simmer22]

Okay so I would take the old folder and literally just Copy + Paste it over the new one??? I saved it to just documents. I think overall I would want to save the hood. Also what about starting the game over? Like a clean slate.


Never copy over old to new or new to old because it will corrupt that folder.

Always delete or rename the old and then place the new or saved one in.

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Mad Poster
#6 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 2:43 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Moname34
[QUOTE=simmer22]

Okay so I would take the old folder and literally just Copy + Paste it over the new one??? I saved it to just documents. I think overall I would want to save the hood. Also what about starting the game over? Like a clean slate.


No, that's what I said you should NOT do, because it can cause corruption.
You should remove (delete/move out) the old folder, then copy+paste in the new folder.

Added in the bit about clean slate above (forgot it earlier), but Jo and Marka has covered it, too.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#7 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 2:47 AM
Quote: Originally posted by marka93
[QUOTE=Moname34]

Never copy over old to new or new to old because it will corrupt that folder.

Always delete or rename the old and then place the new or saved one in.


Would any corruption happen if I just delete the backed up files??? I'll attach pictures below.
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Mad Poster
#8 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 2:48 AM
None of those files will probably work where they are anyway, since they're currently in the wrong folder.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 3:18 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
None of those files will probably work where they are anyway, since they're currently in the wrong folder.


So where else can I put the files then cause I don't have an external hardrive/flash drive. These were saved to the documents file outside of EA Games.
Alchemist
#10 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 3:40 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Moname34
So where else can I put the files then cause I don't have an external hardrive/flash drive. These were saved to the documents file outside of EA Games.


You can save them there, it's fine, if you have space. You can always use a thumbdrive or something if you want, too. Sometimes, I just zip up backups of hoods or CC and leave them where they are. pic

Like they said, if you just want to reset, you can rename the game folder, use that for backup or an alternate game, and generate a new one. pic You can even just delete the Neighborhoods folder, leaving the game folder, and new hoods will generate.

Yes, when you want to use a backup. Delete or rename the old game or hood and paste in the new one.

It's confusing because there are so many ways to do it, depending what, exactly, you want. Once you figure out how the files are used, it will become simple.
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Mad Poster
#11 Old 31st Jul 2021 at 5:50 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Moname34
So where else can I put the files then cause I don't have an external hardrive/flash drive. These were saved to the documents file outside of EA Games.


I do recommend saving the backups outside the EA Games folder, or having a backup elsewhere, as the EA Games folder will get removed if your game gets uninstalled, so you could risk losing all the backups if that's where you're storing them. If you want to keep them as a second game (which is possible if you rename the "The Sims 2" folder and keep track of which game is which) or have a backup elsewhere, or are really careful not to uninstall the game, then it's fine to keep it there.

Having an external harddrive, thumb drive, or anything of the sort can be a good idea if you have files you want to keep. You never know when/if your computer is going to fail or if your files will get corrupted somehow, so it can be nice to have a backup stored somewhere else than on your computer, so you don't lose all your files and have to start completely over. Especially important if you have other personal files like pictures, or maybe projects you're working on, or stories, etc. that you don't want to lose in the event of a computer crash or something like that.

It's also nice to have a backup of your downloads these days, because files are disappearing off the net due to people deleting them, plus file hosts messing about, and entire sites disappearing. Starting over a downloads folder can be a pain if you've collected a bunch of stuff you really like. It can of course be a "clean slate" for a new folder, but a lot of us probably have a bunch of basic mods or defaults we always use, and hunting those down is annoying, so having those files at hand is useful.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 8th Aug 2021 at 4:13 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
I do recommend saving the backups outside the EA Games folder, or having a backup elsewhere, as the EA Games folder will get removed if your game gets uninstalled, so you could risk losing all the backups if that's where you're storing them. If you want to keep them as a second game (which is possible if you rename the "The Sims 2" folder and keep track of which game is which) or have a backup elsewhere, or are really careful not to uninstall the game, then it's fine to keep it there.

Having an external harddrive, thumb drive, or anything of the sort can be a good idea if you have files you want to keep. You never know when/if your computer is going to fail or if your files will get corrupted somehow, so it can be nice to have a backup stored somewhere else than on your computer, so you don't lose all your files and have to start completely over. Especially important if you have other personal files like pictures, or maybe projects you're working on, or stories, etc. that you don't want to lose in the event of a computer crash or something like that.

It's also nice to have a backup of your downloads these days, because files are disappearing off the net due to people deleting them, plus file hosts messing about, and entire sites disappearing. Starting over a downloads folder can be a pain if you've collected a bunch of stuff you really like. It can of course be a "clean slate" for a new folder, but a lot of us probably have a bunch of basic mods or defaults we always use, and hunting those down is annoying, so having those files at hand is useful.


Okay so i've been trying to backup my entire Sims 2 file but as a clean slate, instead of the "my documents" area, I had tried it in the "My Desktop" area. I'm still very confused about the game recognizing the new backup saved game. Would I have to rename the old "The Sims 2" file then drop the backup into the same place, NOT deleting the renamed one? Before when I was trying with just neighborhoods, it was picking up really old cc I thought I had deleted when I put it in the "My documents" area outside of EA Games.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#13 Old 8th Aug 2021 at 4:46 AM
You can save a backup to your desktop. That's a good a place as any.

What do you mean by "the game recognizing the new backup saved game"

The game isn't reading the backup that you placed on your desktop. It's reading what you have in the Documents area. Documents> EA Games>The Sims 2

If you mean you want to use your backup then you can. If the backup is of your hood and you want to use it, then go to your sims 2 folder under Documents and delete your hood then copy and paste your backup in.

If you and switching to a backed-up sims 2 folder so that it contains all your hoods and downloads then delete the sims 2 folder under Documents and copy and paste your backup sims 2 folder in its place.

Next, what do you mean by "trying to back up my entire Sims 2 file but as a clean slate"
You don't need to make a backup of the vanilla game, you make one by renaming your sims 2 folder, laoding the game and it makes you one.

Maybe you can better explain what you are trying to achieve?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#14 Old 9th Aug 2021 at 10:40 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
You can save a backup to your desktop. That's a good a place as any.

What do you mean by "the game recognizing the new backup saved game"

The game isn't reading the backup that you placed on your desktop. It's reading what you have in the Documents area. Documents> EA Games>The Sims 2

If you mean you want to use your backup then you can. If the backup is of your hood and you want to use it, then go to your sims 2 folder under Documents and delete your hood then copy and paste your backup in.

If you and switching to a backed-up sims 2 folder so that it contains all your hoods and downloads then delete the sims 2 folder under Documents and copy and paste your backup sims 2 folder in its place.

Next, what do you mean by "trying to back up my entire Sims 2 file but as a clean slate"
You don't need to make a backup of the vanilla game, you make one by renaming your sims 2 folder, laoding the game and it makes you one.

Maybe you can better explain what you are trying to achieve?


Yes, so sorry. What I wanted to achieve overall is how I can safely move my backup files into the main game's places without causing corruption. Earlier comments said that deleting then Copy + Pasting over the old files was going to mess up my game and I was confused about that. I also wanted to have backups to have different styles of gaming (like medieval, fantasy..etc.). With a "clean slate" I meant starting over The entire Sims 2 game vanilla, no mods, all original neighborhoods, premade lots etc...
I don't know if I am explaining everything you've asked but let me know if anything is still confusing. Would anything happen to my main game if I just deleted certain backup files that I didn't like anymore?
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retired moderator
#15 Old 9th Aug 2021 at 11:56 PM
@Moname34 Rename that old folder, call it 'The Sims 2_Old'. Then, paste in that backup file.

This is what I do, I have several different styles of game going, some in a future world, some in an old fashioned world, some with just a little CC, some with lots of CC. I can just rename them when I want to play another, and the one that I want to play I rename to The Sims 2 so that the game recognises it. This is my EAGames folder:


You are correct that you should not paste files over each other for Sims 2, this is because some of the folders will have different numbers of files in them for each game, and so if you have certain files from an old backup left there it can cause game problems. But renaming the old folder, and pasting in the backup, is perfectly fine.
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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#16 Old 10th Aug 2021 at 2:19 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Moname34
Yes, so sorry. What I wanted to achieve overall is how I can safely move my backup files into the main game's places without causing corruption. Earlier comments said that deleting then Copy + Pasting over the old files was going to mess up my game and I was confused about that. I also wanted to have backups to have different styles of gaming (like medieval, fantasy..etc.). With a "clean slate" I meant starting over The entire Sims 2 game vanilla, no mods, all original neighborhoods, premade lots etc...
I don't know if I am explaining everything you've asked but let me know if anything is still confusing. Would anything happen to my main game if I just deleted certain backup files that I didn't like anymore?


Your backups are separate from your game. They have nothing to do with it. They could be on your desktop, a separate drive or a stick. Keep as many as you want, delete as you want.

You corrupt your hoods by deleting sims and moving them between main hoods.

Do not open a new game see the hood N001 and then copy your own saved N001 over the top of it. Big No. That will cause a type of corruption. I did that back in 2007 and had white sims with writing on them .

Just open your new game, delete the N001 hood and paste in your back up N001. if you play another hood do it to that hood. if you play no Maxis hoods just your own, then simply paste it in. Does this make sense yet?

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
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