BUG: Store and Custom Content uninstalls itself

Problem

• I started my game and got a missing objects warning
• My launcher shows all my stuff as uninstalled

Cause
It seems that certain updates (Origin or the game) can break your installed content and make it uninstalled.
In case of just the launcher showing them as uninstalled, that might just be the launcher. Check your game if you have the stuff or not.

Solutions
To solve this, you probably need to reinstall all your custom content (including Store). Unfortunatly this does not seem to work for everyone but I don't have a solution if this doens't work.

1. If you get a missing object warning you should immediately leave your game without saving. If you save, all your houses and Sims will look different cause the downloads you used will be replaced.
2. Go to this folder: [User Directory]\theSims3\DCCache and find a file called missingdeps.idx. Delete this file. It's a cache file that will be recreated on the next start of the Launcher.
3. Open your Launcher/game to see if you have your stuff back. If so, you're done here. Else continue with 4
4. Close your Launcher. 
5. Go to this folder: [User Directory]\theSims3\DCCache and move all files *.ebc (store) and *.dbc (3rd party content) files to your desktop (make a folder there) 
6. Open your Launcher. All your stuff will be uninstalled now (except words/houses/sims)
7. If you don't clean out your downloads folder, you can simply reinstall everything but I don't recommend to install everything in one go. If the *.ebc/*.dbc files are getting too big, the launcher has new problems. Keep them to 200-300 MB in size. If you usually move the files to a save place, copy them back into the [User Directory]\theSims3\Downloads and then install.
   If you don't have those files anymore, you will need to redownload them. Store Stuff can be downloaded from your purchase history.
8. Close the launcher
9. Open the launcher/game and check if everything is back. If not, I don't have any other solutions atm
10. If everything is back to normal, you can delete the files you have moved to the desktop in step 5

Precautions
To easily get your stuff back when an update decides to uninstall everything, you should backup the files in DCCache and Downloads every time you successfully install new downloads. Keep 2-3 backups in case one breaks.

Backing up the Store-Downloads is a good idea anyway in case EA decided not to host the files any longer. After you downloaded them to your game, you can find them in die Downloads folder.

FAQ: Create-A-Pet Demo (SCRAP)

Update 2011-09-28
EA has corrected the problem with the uninstalling store content. If you still have issues, redownload it. You will need to uninstall the old version.

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This demo has a few problems so please read this entire post before downloading/installing.

Issues

• ERROR: There was an error during startup 
• BUG: Store and Custom Content uninstalls itself 
• ERROR: Saves are gone/ Options are reset 
• Crashing on Startup
• Distorted Graphic

For more info and solutions, please check this thread: CAP Demo - ♦ Please Read and post your issues here ♦. You can also post there if you have other problems or the solutions provided don't work for you.

Things to do before installing

• Before you install this demo you should backup your game data because the demo shares it with your original game. This can screw up your save games and your custom content. 
• If you can, install the demo on a computer you do not have the game installed (or do not care what happens to it) 
• This demo must be treated like a patch. If you install on the same computer, please take a moment to read this: TUTORIAL: What to do before patching. Not everything applies but it's a good read anyways.
• Do not save the game from inside the tutorial. You can't access those savegames with the demo anyways and if you by accident choose your regular ones, you'll screw them up.
• If you are using mods, please read this note by twallan:  Create A Pet Demo Compatibility
• I would advise you, to create a separate game data folder to use with the SCRAP. To do this, simply make a copy of theSims3 folder in your [user directory]. Name it theSims3.demo (or any other name you like). To start the demo, rename your regular folder to theSims3.game and remove the demo from the copy you made. If you want to play the game again, just rename the folders back. You should do this every time you start the demo. This way, your game data is safe. Also make a backup of it to an external drive. 

Where can I get the Demo ?
For people in the US, there are a few options: Amazon, Gamestop, the Origin Website or the Origin program. Mac Users can get it here:  The SIMS 3™ Pets 'Create A Pet' Demo (Mac)

How do I start the Demo
You should find a new icon on your desktop that you can click.

Afterwards a lighter version of the Launcher is being started.

Press the play button as always and the demo will start

Can I play the Demo without this launcher ?
Yes, you find the .exe file of the demo here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3 Pets Create a Pet Demo\Game\Bin\TS3CAP.exe (Path my vary depending on your OS)

Can I choose the language ?
You might be able to through the Demos available at Gamestop and Amazon. If you download through Origin, Origin chooses the language for you, depending on your current location.

What animals can I create with the Demo ?
You can create horses, dogs and cats. You'll have the full functionality the actual EP will have.

Can I already upload my creations to the Exchange ?
Yes, using the SCRAP-Launcher this should work the same way as the game does

Can I already integrate the animals in my game ?
No, you can't. You will need the actual EP for that. If you do want to get some ingame feeling, you can download Twallan's Create-A-Pet Demo Jailbreak mod. There is no support given and you use it on your own risk.

My demo crashes on load-up and shows all kinds of weird behavior
If you have any mods in your game, remove them. They are not compatible with the demo.

All animals are distorted
I have no solution as of yet but it might be because of unsupported graphic cards and/or outdated drivers. geminiagre found that this might be connected to CC. Remove all your cc and check if it gets rid of the problem.

Further Reading

• Workaround for Create-a-Pet demo issue

Credits for finding solutions go to SimsVIP_Admin, Margeh75, twallan, ldmarko, SpiderCrowWolf and many others. It's hard to tell, who had which idea first, so apologizes if I missed anyone.  

ERROR: Disc Authentification Error

Problem
When I want to start the game, I get the message: No Game disc found! Please insert <name of disc> game disc before proceeding. I have the disc in, so what's the problem ?

Cause
If you have the disc in your drive, there might be several causes for this

• You have the wrong disc in. You always need to put in the disc of the latest released game. Not the latest you bought, the latest that was released. The message should give you a clue which one.
• The disc is scratched and cannot be read. 
• You have a cracked version of the game (sorry, buy the game)
• You have a CD-Emulation software installed on your system
• Your DVD drive is broken 

Solutions

• Always use the latest disc version. That means the one that was released last
• Clean the disc and try if another Computer can read it.
• Make sure your DVD drive is working by trying another disc
• Buy the game
• Disable or uninstall any CD-Emulations software on your system
• Activate your game with Origin and download the Download Version. You should be able to do so with your serial-code provided with the box version. You can activate your number here: https://activate.ea.com/applyentitlement.do.

If you are getting this message with the download version, I have no solution for you

Further Reading

• ERROR: Cyclic Redundancy Check 

BUG: Lags in China

Problem
My game is severely lagging in China. I can hardly play. It's worse at night

Cause
Like Bridgeport, China has some severe routing problems. There are places where Sims get stuck a lot, causing these lags to happen.

More information about this can be found here:

• Game Help:World Routing Lags 
• Possible lead on the Hot Springs Lag Problem...
• EP1: World Adventures - Weird freezing in China after generations install 

The most problematic lots are

• Dragon Springs
• Hot Springs

Solutions

• Reset your sims. This has the disadvantage that your active Sim will be reset too
• Reset the problematic lots. You will need MasterController to reset a single lot
• Replace the original EA .world files with fixed version (READ INSTRUCTIONS!) 
• Replace the door at Hot Springs that seems to be self-locking at night (see link above) with an arch. You can do that with the cheat enablelotlocking true.
• Replace the settings for Dragon Springs and Hot Springs to No Visitors Allowed. 
• If you are using Twallan's StoryProgression Mod, turn it off while on vacation (you can set that individually for every town). Some functionality will still be working but Sims aren't getting pushed around which should reduce the lag. 

Further Reading

• BUG: Lags & Intermittent Freezes 

BUG: Missing picture in savegame overview

Problem
The overview where you choose your savegame to play is missing it's pictures

Cause
This is caused by tents stored in chests

Solution
Don't store tents in chests. If you have any tents stored in a chest, take it out and the picture should be back

BUG: Can't choose a pre-existant family

Problem
I wanted to start a new game but there no option to choose one of the pre-existant families. The option is missing

Cause
You are in tutorial mode. The options are being reset every time you update your graphic drivers.

Solution
Enter Edit-Town to get a message to leave tutorial mode.

Further Reading

• ERROR: Saves are gone/ Options are reset

BUG: Infinite Baby Loop

Problem
My pregnant Sim is stuck in a infinite baby loop. I already have x babies but I keep getting a prompt to name more. I can see the actual babies

Cause
This bug has been around since the base game came out but it seems as many others this has gotten worse with GEN. The cause is probably an unhandled error that occurs at the same time that the baby is born that simply resets the process. This error is reproducible and even reloading of the game does not get rid of the glitch

Solution
Reset sim does not help in this case but some people have found that switching active families and have the baby born as an inactive solves the problem for them. Make sure to NOT save the game before you quit.

For some the loop stops by itself after many many babies.

Mods that help with the problem
MasterController has an option to terminate the pregnancy before hand and/or get rid of the extra babies

Credit for the picture goes to Moderator_Gagea 

ERROR: Saves are gone/ Options are reset

Problem
When starting up my game, everything was gone. My saves, my donwloads, everything.

Cause
This problem mostly occurs if you accidentally move your user directory to a different place (with Windows, this can happen very easily). If the game does not find the expected user directory (or any of the folders it needs), it recreates a new folder but that will be empty so that all of your downloads/saves are missing.

A second cause can be a patch. There were incidents where a Origin or game Update deleted the user files. Because of this, you need to make a backup of the files before updating Origin or the game. Best is to backup after every extended gameplay.

In case of the options there's a third possibility. If you update your drivers (especially the graphic ones), all options will be reset to factory settings. This can be very annoying especially since the age settings are also stored in that file.

Solution
Search your hard disk for the lost folders. Looking for *.sims3, DCBackup or DCCache is your best bet to find the stuff. If you can locate your lost data this way, simply copy everything in the newly created folders and your stuff is back.

If an update is the reason for your missing folder or the search turns up nothing, only the loading of a backup helps. If you don't have one, you'll need to start over. For the future, make sure to always backup all your stuff, especially before installing an update.

To save your option settings and recreate them easily, make a backup of the file options.ini (also in your user directory). Simply copy that back if the one in the folder gets overwritten.

STORE: List of Store Items

I have updated MSladyTSO Excel list of all Store Items up to  Dec 4th/2011.

The list tells you, what Objects are/were available at the Store with a link to it. It also tells you in which set they are in. If an item is on more than one set, it will appear on the list multiple times. There are also prices of sets and items on it.

You can download the list here: Store List and read all about it here: Store items vs Set names - spreadsheet to help you keep track.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the thread.


Credit goes to MSladyTSO for making the initial list, MrHawk for the info provided at his site The Simalogue and Boldi and p1nky for giving me their list to work with as well.

NEWS: Patch 1.25

Patch 1.25 that just came out is probably for MAC only. It fixes a severe issues Mac Users were seeing with MAC OS X LION and certain graphic cards.

UPDATE: This patch seems to be specifically for this one problem. If you are on a mac and don't have it, don't patch for there are reports that people had to reinstall the whole game for the patch to install.

Core Mods for Version 1.24 should be fine with this patch.