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Scholar
Original Poster
#1 Old 9th Dec 2018 at 9:08 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Free Time, Apartment Life
Default Sims keep moving back home
So, if you saw my "What's happening in your game?" post recently, you'll know I had trouble after moving Cleo in with Leod McGreggor: Patricia Wan, who had previously moved in with Gabe O'Mackey, suddenly appeared back at the house she had shared with Cleo. After running Hoodchecker, I got things more or less back to where they should have been, except that Cleo is still showing as a member of the O'Mackey household, where she appears in the same way a Sim who has moved out of an apartment appears when playing another family in the same apartment building. She is playable in the McGreggor household with no problems.

Well, it happened again. I moved the Roths in with the Vieijos - only to find, a little while later, that they were back in their original home, along with Sandra, who was supposed to be at college! I ran Hoodchecker again and got rid of all the garbage it found, but this time it didn't put my Sims back in their proper places. So I removed the Download folder and everyone (except Cleo, who is still appearing in both the McGreggor and O'Mackey family photos) went back to where they should be.

So it does appear to be a mod issue and I suppose my next step is a 50/50. I'm just not sure of the best way to do that, especially as it's not something I can test easily (I can play several households between moving someone and having them move back, and right now I'm into final essays and exams and not supposed to be spending this much time picking fights with my favourite form of relaxation!). Maybe I should just move back the mods I really don't want to do without, and then add the others back as I find I want them again until the problem recurs? The thing is, though, except for one mod I added today and which therefore is definitely not the cause, I'm pretty sure I've had all my mods for long enough that any issues would have shown up before this.

Although there is one possibility, I think: I've been using "Ban non-local" on the Visitor Controller. I'm wondering if that's the problem. Has anybody had an issue with that, or is it just wishful thinking that something so simple could be the cause? Maybe I should use prisoner tokens for the Sedona Sims instead?
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 1:11 AM
I don't think that the Visitor Controller or any other mod would be doing this. It sounds like parts of your game are not saving properly which may mean that some of your files may have been set to read-only or aren't running properly. Could your anti-virus be interfering with the game? You may need to set all Sims 2 files as exceptions or exemptions.

I once had a copy of Riverblossom Hills with a family thumbnail file that got set to read-only for no apparent reason. Your problem sounds more extensive than mine, but you still might want to check that all the files in that neighborhood can be written to.
Mad Poster
#3 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 4:23 AM
Quote: Originally posted by RoxEllen1965
I don't think that the Visitor Controller or any other mod would be doing this. It sounds like parts of your game are not saving properly which may mean that some of your files may have been set to read-only or aren't running properly. Could your anti-virus be interfering with the game? You may need to set all Sims 2 files as exceptions or exemptions.

I once had a copy of Riverblossom Hills with a family thumbnail file that got set to read-only for no apparent reason. Your problem sounds more extensive than mine, but you still might want to check that all the files in that neighborhood can be written to.


With all the updates to both Windows 7 and 8 setting everything in My Doc to read only this will happen, Windows 10 comes with that and you just need to set of files and folders for Sims 2 in My Doc to both read and write.
Sometimes you will have to do it again when a new update comes out.

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
Scholar
Original Poster
#4 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 4:53 AM
Well, you're right about it not being the Visitor Controller. I put the downloads folder back and it messed everything up again; tried taking out just the Visitor Controller and it made no difference.

I really hope it's not the anti-virus. I already had to get McAfee removed and completely uninstall and reinstall the game because of all the mess that made. I switched to Emsisoft because it's supposed to cause fewer problems. I'm starting to think antiviruses aren't worth having.

I'm sorry to be such a complete technophobe, but I have no idea how to check whether a file has been set to read-only and change it. Could somebody please explain it as if to a not very bright five-year-old? That's about my level with computers! I have Windows 8.1, if that makes any difference.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 5:45 AM
I use Windows 7 Pro, so there may be some differences. The easiest way is to go into your My Documents folder and right click on the Sims 2 folder. Somewhere on this pop-up menu, probably near the bottom, there's an item called "Properties." Click on that. You'll get a small Properties window for that folder.

On the bottom of the General tab, there should be a box labeled "Read-Only" or something similar. Make sure this is NOT ticked (click on it if necessary to clear it) and then click OK. This should remove write-protection from every file in your Sims 2 folder.
Scholar
Original Poster
#6 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 5:15 PM
Thanks, RoxEllen. I think this may be the problem, because it immediately reverts to having that box checked. I click to clear it, click "Apply," it spends a couple of minutes apparently going through to apply it to everything, I click "OK" . . . but if I click "Properties" again, it comes up with the read-only box checked again.
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retired moderator
#7 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 5:31 PM
The read only box will always be checked for folders in XP upwards- that is by design:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...ttributes-of-fo
Quote:
The Read-only and System attributes is only used by Windows Explorer to determine whether the folder is a special folder, such as a system folder that has its view customized by Windows (for example, My Documents, Favorites, Fonts, Downloaded Program Files), or a folder that you customized by using the Customize tab of the folder's Properties dialog box. As a result, Windows Explorer does not allow you to view or change the Read-only or System attributes of folders. When a folder has the Read-Only attribute set it causes Explorer to request the Desktop.ini of that folder to see if any special folder settings need to be set.
Scholar
Original Poster
#8 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 7:04 PM
Hmm. So I tried going through files individually: none of the lot files was set to read-only, and I did the first 50 character files (of about 450) without finding a read-only file.

The game is definitely trying to reset houses by returning the original occupants, and having looked at the occasions when the problem has or has not arisen, the circumstances do seem to be very specific:

- The house must be vacated completely. Individual Sims can move out as long as someone stays behind; it is only when the last Sim moves out that the problem is triggered.
- It is pulling back the original occupants, and only the original occupants. The Roths had a puppy with them when they moved out; the puppy is not being pulled back but Sandra (who moved out for college 7 rotations earlier) is.
- It is only the houses that Maxis set up as occupied that are affected by the problem. Sims who started out in the family bin can vacate the houses I put them in without any problems.

Any ideas? I'm using Tarlia's version.
Alchemist
#9 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 7:36 PM
Quote: Originally posted by BlueAlien
I really hope it's not the anti-virus. I already had to get McAfee removed and completely uninstall and reinstall the game because of all the mess that made. I switched to Emsisoft because it's supposed to cause fewer problems. I'm starting to think antiviruses aren't worth having.


I've used Emsisoft for years. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any function that does anything like what you're describing.
Instructor
#10 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 8:13 PM
BlueAlien, Is this particular hood a subhood? This could be read-only file issue, but it sounds to me that the game is overriding you hood due to its reading info from another source. The other source is overriding the status of your hood files.

If you can check to see what hoods you have in your program files\open for business\NeighborhoodTemplate folder. If any of those hoods have the same number as the hood in your EA Games\Neigbhorhoods folder there are some overwriting going on. That could be possible why sims are returning to their original state and home.



There's no drama, like Sims drama.

Currently Playing: Sims 2 again!




Scholar
Original Poster
#11 Old 10th Dec 2018 at 10:36 PM
Thanks, Monijt1! It does indeed seem to have been a duplicate folder issue. When I was trying to install Tarlia's version of Riverblossom Hills, I originally put it in the Downloads folder - so I had Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 Double Deluxe/Neighborhoods/G001 and Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 Double Deluxe/Downloads/G001.

I took the G001 out of the Downloads folder and the Roths are back where they should be. I played them through 24 hours, exited, went back in, and they're still there, so it looks as though that was the problem.

So, no corruption or antivirus mischief, just an incompetent organic interface. Phew! Thanks, everyone!
Instructor
#12 Old 12th Dec 2018 at 2:40 PM
Quote: Originally posted by BlueAlien
Thanks, Monijt1! It does indeed seem to have been a duplicate folder issue. When I was trying to install Tarlia's version of Riverblossom Hills, I originally put it in the Downloads folder - so I had Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 Double Deluxe/Neighborhoods/G001 and Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 Double Deluxe/Downloads/G001.

I took the G001 out of the Downloads folder and the Roths are back where they should be. I played them through 24 hours, exited, went back in, and they're still there, so it looks as though that was the problem.

So, no corruption or antivirus mischief, just an incompetent organic interface. Phew! Thanks, everyone!


I'm glad you were able to fix it. The reason I guessed that was the problem because It sounded like something that happened to me when I used one of Talia's subhoods as a mainhood, while still have the subhood folder in my Program Files\Open for Business\NeighborhoodTemplate. I moved a few sims in together and they ending up all dying. When I went back to the neighborhood view, they were all alive and back in their original homes. After a while, I figured out that the game reset the hood every time I went to neighborhood view because it using the B999 folder in the NeighborhoodTemplate.



There's no drama, like Sims drama.

Currently Playing: Sims 2 again!




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