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: How do I uninstall a Mod/Hack ?

Question
I'm using mods/hacks in my game. Can I simply delete them ?

Answer
For most mods, this is true. It certainly goes for all tuning mods. If you have a core mod like awesome, special instructions are required. Check with the mod creator what they are.

If you use scripting mods by Twallan, Buzzler, treeag, etc. some of them are so called injector mod and need special instructions before ripping out. As a rule of thumb, every mod that adds new interactions to objects/sims needs to be uninstalled the way described below. Check the mod descriptions if you are unsure.

This instruction is not necessary if you are simply updating the mod. If they mod is in your game at all time, you should be fine.

If you did not follow the instructions and are now having issues, try if Twallan's ErrroTrap can correct them. Simply put in the mod (it's core, so make sure you're at the right patch level). Run the game for a few minutes to see if it's fine now, quit the game and then remove the mod (no special instructions necessary).

Instructions for uninstalling injector mods
(credits for the text to twallan)

BEFORE uninstalling, you must ensure that no sim is performing any of the interactions added by the mod.

Use MasterController's "Town \ Reset Everything" to stop all running interactions prior to uninstalling.

Special instructions for uninstalling Twallan's Career Mod
(credits for the text to twallan)

Uninstall instructions
1) First uninstall all CareerData packages. Leave NRaas_Career.package installed for the moment
2) Load up the game and save the game under a new save name
3) Now uninstall the NRaas_Career.package

If you uninstall this mod, any sims currently employed in these jobs will be immediately fired and any career progress will be lost.

Special instructions for uninstalling Twallan's Sleep Freedom
(credits for the text to twallan)

If you uninstall this mod, any new beds will be immediately destroyed.

Be aware of this issue: Any sim utilizing the bed will also be vanished, and may require the use of a recovery mechanism to retrieve.

Special instructions for uninstalling Buzzler's Box of seeds
(credits for the text to Buzzler)   
It basically goes like this: Remove the package from your mods folder. Sell all Box of Seeds objects before you do so. If you don't do that, it probably won't break anything, but all stored seeds will be lost.

Question
Is there a list of the mods that need to be uninstalled this way ?

Answer
Go with this list but it might not be complete. Always check with the creator if you are unsure what to do.

Twallan

• The Animator 
• The Careers and all it's modules (see extra special instructions above) 
• The Consigner 
• The GoHere
• The LeaveToddlerBook 
• The MC Integration
• The OnceRead 
• The Progression Personalities 
• The Shooless 
• The StoryProgression Expansion   
• The Woohooer  

Buzzler

• Buy Takeout And Order Food At Restaurants 
• Cooking On Community Lots 
• Excavation Site Hotfix
• Housecleaning For All Sims 
• Moar Interactions
• Nectar Combinatorics 
• Scribbling Pad 

 More to follow as time allows.

TUTORIAL: Remove Sims3Packs

Removing Sims3Pack files from your computer is a simple task but it can become quite time consuming. If you want to remove a lot of downloads it can happen that the launcher acts up and you have to start over checking items and to find one specific download can become quite difficult.

Because of this, it pays to pay attention on WHAT you are installing in the first place. Especially houses and sims can contain a lot of other downloads.

The launcher has multiple tabs on the side. The two important ones here are Downloads and Installed Content. If you download something from the exchange or the Store it only shows in Downlaods.

To check if something is already installed or not, notice the Plumbob/Arrow symbol under Status. Installed downloads also show grayed out. Downloads that are not installed, don't appear in your game and don't have to be uninstalled. If you downloaded a lot/household or a Sim there are bound to be other downloads to come with that. In this example, I downloaded the house Pension "Rose" und ihre Inhaberin Rose van der Falk and installed it. As you can see only the house shows in Downloads.

In  Installed Content  you can see all files that came with the house. The house also contains a Sim but that one is missing from the Launcher because he belongs to the house. All cc that was used on the Sim (here the hair) is now installed as well. Installed content shows in the order you have installed them. The newest ones are at the bottom (sometimes on top). If you close and reopen the Launcher, this order is messed up and completely random and you can't sort.

To uninstall a certain download, you can now check the box nest to it and click on uninstall. The download should now be gone from your game. To also get rid of the download itself go back to the downloads tab and click delete. If you only delete the download, it will still show in your game.

If the stuff still shows up after uninstalling it correctly, delete the Cache-Files as well. You might also be running in this problem: CUSTARD: Downloads that are attached to Sims directly.

Unfortunatly the launcher is not very reliable and it can happen that a certain download does not show up. Especially if you have tons of downloads the launcher seems to be overstrained and not all installed stuff shows up. The only way to get rid of it then, is to remove (move them to the desktop, not delete) all files *.dbc from your DCCache folder in your user directory. This way ALL downloads except lots/households, Sims, Worlds and Store stuff will be gone from your game. Stuff that's still in your downloads folder can be reinstalled, but you should make sure to check them first with Custard.

DCBackup & Downloads folder
Those two folders contain backups of your files. Deleting them will do nothing in terms of showing up in the game. Downloads contains the Sims3Packs, DCBackup the Package-Files that were inside the Sims3Packs. If you delete a download in the tab Downloads, it will be removed from the downloads folder. The files in DCBackup are never deleted. This can lead to problems and can take up a lot of disk space.

I would suggest, to move the files in downloads to external drive so that you have them handy if you need to reinstall. Think up some sort of sorting system that fits you. I would clean out the DCBackup folder entirely. Only disadvantage you have is that they won't get pack with any lots/households/Sims that you upload. Another method would be to make a list of all numbers that belong to the downlaods (they show in Custard). If you remove a download you can then manually delete the corresponding file from the DCBackup. This will be very time consuming though.

Further Reading

• TUTORIAL: Sims3Packs to Packages 
• FAQ: How do I install Custom Content/ Mods ? 
• TUTORIAL: How to get rid of unwanted Custom Content 
• TUTORIAL: How to keep a Sim but get rid of the CC it came with