Game: The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection (Digi download)

Device/Operating System(?): Asus laptop, windows 8.1 64bit


Problem: My EA folder is missing from my 'Documents' folder ( The directory: C:\Users\Kararsim\Documents\) There should be an EA games folders but it's simply not there. I've been having compatibility problems with it for a bit but was able to find that out. I was trying to add some mods when I noticed the whole EA folder just upped and disappeared. I am able to open C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection (i.e. Fun with Pets, Uni, AL, etc) and C:\Users\Public\Documents\EA Games\The Simsâ„¢ 2 Ultimate Collection (this public docs directory is the only place I can access, seemingly, the same files as the Documep. But I've been told not to copy/pace or move those files?). Those are still there and I'm able to access it.

Solutions tried: I ran the game, ran fine, turned it off and the file didn't show. I uninstalled the game, reinstalled it. The folder wasn't there, but I ran the game again, turned it off, turned off my computer, but the EA folder is missing. I saved a household, but nothing showed up. (Under 'advice') I've moved the files from public documents to the documents. This worked for a minute then it stopped working!


What should I do? My game seems to be working fine without those files, so there should somewhere (the game would not have run if they are completely gone) and the only reason I want them is to easily add mods/hoods to my game. Can I just create new folders and rename them? Can I use someone else's files?

I've also posted this on EA answers but I "solved it" without a real answer (moving the public documents) but again, it failed to work. Thank you!

Are you the administrator on your computer? If you're using a shared computer with several user accounts, you probably need to install the game via the Admin account (the main one with admin privilegies), or make sure the account you're using is an admin account (should be fixable via settings).

I have a folder in the Public Directory as well, but it's empty (as it should be). This happens both on Win7 and Win10. I think it's an issue with Win8 too.

If you can run your game, the files should be there somewhere. The game wouldn't run if it didn't have access to your saved game.

What happens if you actually click through folders the entire way?
Windows (c) --> Users --> (Your name) --> Documents --> EA Games
Or click on the folder location named "Documents" on the left side (in the folder menu)?
Do you find an EA Games folder there?

Are you sure your game files are not on another drive? my game is installed on C, but my saved games and cc are on D.

You could also do a search of your computer for a folder name.
eg 'Teleport' 'Config' or 'PetBreeds' if you can find those it will show the path.

@simmer22
I am the admin and the only user. The folder just showed up, but only with a folder (and path, C:\Users\Kararsim\Documents\EA Games\The Simsâ„¢ 2 Ultimate Collection) named 'Teleport'.

@joandsarah77
I only have C. And a search for 'PetBreeds' I've only found the PublicDocs and this C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\EP4\TSData\Res\UserData nothing else...

I apologize in advance if I got anyone's hopes up with this reply. This is merely a bump.

I am experiencing the same problem right now, I once got Sims 2 UC working on my machine, but ever since I did a clean install of Windows 10 the Game does not seem to be able to find/access it's user data folder in documents anymore.
For me the only files inside my documents directory (F:\Users\[username]\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection) is two folders: "Logs" and "Teleport". All of the logs inside the first Folder are completely empty, except for the "[deviceID]-config-log.txt" file. The same thing goes for the "Teleport" Folder.

My best guess is that the game somehow lacks proper read and/or write access to this location.
This might have something to do with recent changes to the Windows 10 documents system, has anyone managed to get a fresh install to create these files on Windows 10 Version 1903?


I have already tried the following:
-Repairing the game via Origin
-Rebooting several times
-Completely uninstalling and re-installing the game
-Changing the read and write permissions of the Folder to allow all default user groups access (I don't know if EA uses any custom ones, if anyone knows, please tell me)
-Gaining complete Ownership of the Folder via CMD
-Placing a confirmed working, complete Folder (backed up from my old installation on the same machine) in the directory
-Using graphics rule maker (I did this before discovering the lack of the folder)
-Running the game as administrator
-Running the game windowed (using the "-w"-flag)
-Running the game in compatibility mode (WinXP SP2 & WinXP SP3)

Unfortunately to no avail. If anyone has any suggestions on what else to try, please keep me posted. If I find anything else online to get around this, I will update this post ASAP.

Additional Details:
Windows Version: Windows 10 Home Version 1903 (Build 18362.418)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 580
RAM 32 GB DDR4-3000
Sims 2 install directory: "G:\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection" (~15 GB free on this drive)
Sims 2 user files directory "F:\Users\[username]\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection" (~900 GB free on this drive)

Anything in "%localappdata%\VirtualStore\"?

You are aware the game uses at least 14 GB when installing, right? Is the "15GB left" before or after installing? You may want to consider installing the game on the F drive so you have all the files in one place, since this may lead to a bit less bugginess.

Is there any particular reason why you're not installing on the C drive (or whatever is the name of your main drive with the OS installed)? A lot of programs tend to prefer being installed on whatever drive your OS is on since it's often the default setup (but it's not an absolute requirement).

Uninstall/reinstall can sometimes cause issues in the Registry files. Most of the other things you've tried technically shouldn't be necessary. Try one thing at a time. If you do several things at once, you may accidentally cancel out something that would have worked alone.

Have you tried to run the game? Sometimes the folders don't properly show up until the game is running. Windows does occasionally create more than one TS2 folder int he Documents location (often either makes two folders in Documents or one extra in the Public location, possibly elsewhere), so be sure you are checking the correct one. The wrong ones tend to be empty, very occasionally showing one or two folders. Also, if you get your game to run but still have the folder problem, you can be reasonably sure a folder has generated in the great "somewhere" on your computer, but perhaps not in the place you were looking.

Thanks for your responses

There seems to be nothing Sims 2 or at all EA Games related in that folder. Should there be anything in there?

The 14 GB Free is with the game already fully installed.

I usually don't install Games on C for performance reasons, although I am using a fairly fast drive (3000MB/s WD Black-Series) I like to keep games on separate SSDs (500MB/s SATA Drives) so stuff like Windows 10 auto-update downloads and such don't interfere with the game. Usually, I only have documents and large files on F, since it's very slow 5400RPM HDD. I will try installing it on C and F now that you mention it, as I can't remember if I did this back on my old installation (when it was working).

I have thought of doing a registry cleanup, but I figured, if that would be the case, I would at least get some sort of error message if that were to be the case. (or maybe this is a wrong assumption?) The game didn't even run when first installing it in the exact same location it is in now though (after a complete Windows reinstall on a brand new drive)

The folder in "C:\Users\Public\Documents\EA Games\The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection" is also completely empty.
The problem is, I cannot get the game to run. The game just doesn't open properly. When I start it using Origin (or directly through the .exe file) the screen resolution changes to 800X600 on my main monitor (only if fullscreen and with no added graphics rules) and the screen turns black for a split-second (as would normally be the case with fullscreen games) but then I get put back to the desktop (still at 800x600 res.) and the Sims2EP9.exe shows as "Not responding" in task manager.
The game doesn't do anything beyond that point, the CPU, GPU and Disk usage completely stalls after the initial ramp-up during the black screen and the RAM usage stays pinned at just under 1 GB, and then just nothing happens. I have waited for well over 10 minutes in this state, with no additional folders being created and nothing else happening on the screen.

If I start it with the "-w" flag I just get an invisible window in the top left corner of my screen where the game should show up, with a constant loading icon whenever I hover over that area.
If I use graphics rule-maker to change the resolution, the same thing happens, just with a different resolution than 800x600.
If I leave an explorer window open on my other screen during this, I can even see the game re-creating the "The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection" folder, but it doesn't get past creating the Logs and Teleport folder.

Maybe the folder isn't even the issue, and the game crashes because of something else entirely and that's why it doesn't finish creating the files, but I wouldn't know why, because I simply don't get any error messages from the game, and all the logs in the documents folder are blank. Are there some other logs where I might look for any reported errors?

Application Logs in Event Viewer? You'll at least get more details about the crash and where and how. Possibly.

Also, you have an RX 580, an AMD card with 8GB of VRAM, what do you think about this user's journey? Would you be willing to try the D9VK thing this user did to solve their problem with their RX 5700 XT? https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=633748