I've recently begun to have this identical problem. I'm pretty sure that some CC or other that I've downloaded must be causing it, but I can't figure out which one. To this day, NO ONE has offered a simple-to-understand explanation of how to isolate bad CC, other than "install some program" that will magically clean up my downloads. This is impossible for me, since I use a Mac, so I've sort of come up with an isolation/quarantine method where I'll move recent downloads into a "safe house" folder, and then slowly add them back in little by little, of course having to quit and restart the game each time, which takes forever, but that's the penalty I get for using a Mac. When these games first came out, so say the majority of Sims 2 experts, Mac users were such a small slice of the pie that it wasn't worth anyone's time to address their issues (which is kind of baloney, seeing as how we're talking about 2005, not 1990, but what the hell, no skin off my nose if they enjoy pretending to be superior).
Anyhow, now that I've declared myself to be "an asshat" by giving voice to some legitimate concerns of discrimination against Mac users on this site... that's right, fellow Mac users: according to certain moderators on this site, we're all asshats... back to the problem at hand. I did follow the advice of Peni Griffin: remove downloads and cache, start up the game without, and bingo, the problem vanishes. BUT... since I don't want to just THROW OUT all my downloads that I've spent hours upon hours scouring the internet for, so... after adding back in only the most crucial recent downloads, the problem stayed away for a couple days, and now it's back, even though I have ZERO CC built into the current lot, it just won't save. I go back to the hood, and the lot - although still present, and retaining the name I gave it upon its creation - is once again bare, and I have to start it from scratch. But my older lots, like the White House that I built from scratch with TONS of custom content, is perfectly intact, with its thirteen Sim inhabitants. Yes, thirteen. It's very laggish to play, and hard to keep track of that many people, especially when half of them are children, which is why I'm trying to build another house for some of them to move to. But the new one won't save. So, what to do? I realize this comment is coming 8 years after the fact, but hey - there's a pandemic on, and I have to find something to do with my time.

What? Modthesims has been helping people with Macs since 2004. Originally there was a seperate Mac Help forum, but now you can sort by category and choose Mac.
https://modthesims.info/forumdispla...=OS%20X%20(Mac)


Yes they have, in 2005 I wrote a guide on finding problem custom content, which was revised and improved in 2007 by HystericalParoxysm and updated frequently since then. It's the same for Mac or PC.
Game Help:Finding Problem Custom Content^wiki
It's part of a larger guide on solving game problems.
Game Help:Game Problem^wiki

It's common for this kind of issue to come from things like the computer's hard drive running out of space if it's happenening without CC or very limited CC in the game and it's happening to all towns.I had an issue like this start up once in the very early days when I was new to the game and it was caused by a hard drive on that old computer running out of space to save anything and could only be solved by getting more storage.It's also possible to have that start up with some of your mist recently added CC in some cases and that might also affect all towns only when CC is installed.It can happen in just one town and that means too many NPC's are being enerated and it's likely a very old town started a long time ago and might've started to get corrupted.

Macs have the file limit too, so that can cause items/ lots/ sims to vanish.

Oh hey look, the thread has it's very own Mac/OS X category now and is in it's own thread.  Because, Mac users do exist, and we acknowledge you!

I feel special, and I don't even have a Mac.

Thank you for that, HugeLunatic: you put a smile on my face. Put my bad-tempered earlier rant down to frustration over a problem that wouldn't go away.

It's certainly not the case that my computer is running out of space; I could see where that would cause all sorts of problems, but in my case there's more than 650 GB remaining free space. But your last comment intrigues me, about too many NPCs being generated in an old town. Although most of my neighborhoods are fairly recent additions, I do have an old hood that I migrated over from my old laptop: Veronaville (which I renamed North Caldwell, NJ to reflect the Sopranos characters I added to the game). I haven't actually entered this neighborhood in a month or so, but in looking at the files, it now has zero data in the "Characters" and "Lots" folders, although I can see snapshots that I remember taking in the Storytelling folder. Also, this neighborhood doesn't how up now when I load the game. Perhaps my neighborhood manager package has got corrupted somehow? Grrr, so many moving parts to keep track of.

It's also possible to have that start up with some of your mist recently added CC in some cases and that might also affect all towns only when CC is installed.It can happen in just one town and that means too many NPC's are being enerated and it's likely a very old town started a long time ago and might've started to get corrupted.[/QUOTE]

True that; I've read the guide and found many things in it to be useful, particularly the flowchart describing the 50% sorting method. It's what have really been doing all along, but it's good to see the steps laid out in a purely logical format. And, it certainly does the job, however many hours that may take. However, the first step mentioned in the guide is to "run HDCU" No can do. Nor can I use Delphy's Download Organizer: they're both installed via .exe files. My only option is really the flowchart method. I've recently taken to sorting my CC into various folders: wears, buys, builds, mods. This helps prevent clutter, but on the other hand, I can't really sort the downloads by function AND date simultaneously, so it causes some organizational issues if a major problem pops up and I have no idea what's causing it. Some things work the same on PCs and Macs. But not everything.

What WOULD be really useful is if someone out there could explain how to read the error logs that get generated when crashes occur. That, it seems to me, would be an invaluable step one could take in trying to pinpoint what process was running when the game crashed. I've looked at some online guides, and they're really written for programmers. When it used to crash when I was scrolling through the Buy Mode "catalog", at least I had an idea that I had downloaded some funky CC, and where I should go to look for it. When it crashes upon trying to open a Neighborhood... it could be one of any number of things, and it'd be nice to have an idea of what to do, OTHER THAN just start manually sorting through the Downloads folder. So, if there's a Mac OS expert out there in the Simming world who knows their error codes, feel free to weigh in!

It's totally my fault. When I get rolling on looking for CC, it's hard to break away. It's a little like walking into the American Science & Surplus store: "Ooh, THAT would be cool! Dang, I've never seen one of THOSE before!" And I need to start being more disciplined about how much of it I install at once, and how often I back up the files.

Yes they have, in 2005 I wrote a guide on finding problem custom content, which was revised and improved in 2007 by HystericalParoxysm and updated frequently since then. It's the same for Mac or PC.
Game Help:Finding Problem Custom Content^wiki
It's part of a larger guide on solving game problems.
Game Help:Game Problem^wiki[/QUOTE]

No, the Neighborhoodmanager file has nothing to do with that. If you have files missing from your neighbourhood, it's toast. The only way to save that neighbourhood is to restore a backup. Everything in the N00x folder is needed for the neighbourhood to work correctly, if you remove parts you will have corruption.


That's the only method you need to find problem CC. The HCDU and DDO are really just extra tools; if you can't use those for any reason (and I don't), you can just use the 50% method to find the problem, which does not take too long even if you have a lot of CC. My original article just outlined how to do the binary search, I think I wrote that before James had invented the HCDU!


https://www.maketecheasier.com/read...oubleshoot-mac/
I just found that by internet search.

I think by what you've written, the problem is most likely that you have large neighbourhoods and a lot of custom content which is topping out the max file limit. I don't have a Mac myself to test this on and I can't find any recent articles specifically for a permanent fix for Sims 2, but if you look at these web pages it might give you some info.
https://thesims2.livejournal.com/7155762.html
http://www.insidemacgames.com/forum...showtopic=36436
https://krypted.com/mac-os-x/maximum-files-in-mac-os-x/

With the old Macs we used to be able to make an rc.local file for a permanent fix but it seems as though it's a little different now. If this is what is causing your problem then it would explain why your neighbourhoods are corrupted.

I doubt your disappearing lots are from a piece pf CC.
Disappearing lots or sims is most times from corruption.
On a Mac possibly going over the file limit on CC could cause it, that is the amount, not any particular piece.
Overfilling your storage space could also cause things to disappear or uninstall.

As to finding bad CC, nope there is no magical program, its blood, sweat and tears for any sims 2 player on Mac or PC. It means halving the Download folder and testing each side, then isolating the 'bad side' and testing again and again until its found. And if its the action of two pieces interacting you may be up the creek on pinning it down. It's called a 50/50 hunt and most of us have done them once, twice or more times then we like to count.

This isn't a tech site, we are just sim players no different to yourself. Some people here know tech stuff better than others. Staff are just sim players who volunteer to the site, again no different than yourself. Most of the help you will get with your Mac will be from other members who play on a Mac. The rest of us on PC can give some generalized help but for most of us what we know about Macs will fit on a postage stamp.

The most recent version of how to fix the file limit is in my sig. (If it's still possible to get it added as a tutorial, that'd be great. I do keep it up to date.)

It does very much depend which version of OS X/macOS is being run, as the instructions on how to fix the file limit are different for each of them, and for the most recent versions (from High Sierra onwards), the limit has been increased by Apple anyway so there's a lot less chance of running into the problem even if you don't ever modify the file limits yourself.

As a general rule of thumb though: delete any hoods you're never going to play, and remember that every hood and every piece of CC, and every folder you organise that CC into, will count towards your open file limit. As will any other apps you have open while playing. Shutting down mail and browsers and everything else before launching the game will all help.

But if a hood has been opened while you're over the open file limit, it'll have been corrupted and is probably unplayable. The only thing you can do at that point is delete the Nxxx folder, and restore it in its entirety from a Time Machine backup if you have one.

Thank you @muridae , my google-fu failed me on that one! It's a couple of years since I've used Macs and memory is not what it was!

I haven't actually entered this neighborhood in a month or so, but in looking at the files, it now has zero data in the "Characters" and "Lots" folders, although I can see snapshots that I remember taking in the Storytelling folder. Also, this neighborhood doesn't how up now when I load the game.

Are you the same person as the original poster, or is this a new case?