Contents |
How do I Restore Files?
Restoring a backup (or transferring to another computer)
Restoring the backed-up files is really quite easy.
Warning: Please note that game files are not backward compatible with other expansion packs. If you made savegames with an expansion pack, they will NOT work without that expansion pack.
If you are restoring from a Folder on HDD
- Your (local or external HDD) folder contains the entire The Sims 3 folder:
- Move or Delete the My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 folder
- Click on My Computer and navigate to the path that contains The Sims 3 backup folder (eg the Desktop if you followed the backup steps previously)
- Right click on The Sims 3 folder and choose Copy
- Go back to My Documents\Electronic Arts and click Paste
If you are restoring from a CD/ DVD
- Your disc contains the entire The Sims 3 folder:
- Move or Delete the My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 folder
- Put the CD or DVD into the disc drive
- Click on My Computer
- Double click on the disc drive icon
- Right click on The Sims 3 folder and choose Copy
- Go back to My Documents\Electronic Arts and click Paste
- You have 2 or more discs containing The Sims 3 folder:
- Navigate to My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 folder
- From the Folder Menu choose Edit > Select All
- Then choose File > Delete
- Put the first disc into the disc drive
- Click on My Computer
- Double click on the disc drive icon
- From the Folder Menu choose Edit > Select All
- Then choose Edit > Copy
- Go back to My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 folder
- From the Folder Menu choose Edit > Paste
- Repeat this process for each disc you have and all files are copied to your hard drive.
If you are restoring from a Zip or Rar Archive
- Locate the Zip or Rar archive where you saved it to
- Right click on the archive and choose Copy
- Go to My Documents\Electronic Arts
- From the Folder Menu choose Edit > Paste
- For a Zip file, right click on the file and select Extract to Here
- The archive will extract and create The Sims 3 folder
- You can then delete the Zip file
- For a Rar File, right click and select Extract Here.
- The archive will extract and create The Sims 3 folder
- You can then delete the Rar file
The directions, above, are for using WinZip & WinRar, if you use a different extraction program the process will be similar and the principle the same.
Restoring the Mods folder
The Mods folder should be restored together with the User Profile files and folders above, only if you had applied the same patches or installed the same EPs/SPs as when you perform the backup. Otherwise, start the game without restoring custom content, before you introduce items that may have become outdated.
Patch 1.12 and Later:
- Your Mods/Packages folder is to be restored to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\
Before Patch 1.12
- Your Mods/Packages folder for patch versions 1.11 and lower is to be restored to Program Files(x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\
- If you have your packages installed into an EP folder (eg. Program Files(x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 World Adventures\) then this procedure should be done there instead.