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Sims 3 Game Help Categories:

Custom Content  | Installation  | Gameplay Guides  | Technical & Graphics Issues  | Miscellaneous Issues

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Causes

Most common install failure is caused by broken file during transmission due to interrupted connections or possibly a timeout issue. Other reasons may include, but are not limited to:

  • browser settings, or
  • firewall settings, or
  • busy site traffic,
  • etc


These are some suggestions to overcome this issue. You may need to try the first suggestion in the Actions list or you may need to try all of them.


Actions

Update or Use a Different Browser

Ensure your browsers, flash and java versions are all current.

Some sites perform better in certain browsers. If the download fails, stalls or results in incomplete files, switch to a different browser. For instance, if you primarily uses Microsoft's Internet Explorer, other options are


IGS link

If the item is from the EA Store, there's an alternative site: the direct in-game store page. This seems to help players on Mac OS the most, as there isn't a separate EADM app that OSX players can download.


Get a new file

Step 1a. Clear caches and temp folder

Shut down all applications and clear out your browser caches and temp folders.

Windows On PCs, you can use a utility like ccleaner. This is the most straightforward method, without having to find out the different ways to do it in different browsers and temp folder setup.


OS X On Macs, you can do the following:

  • Go to /Users/<User>/Caches/ folder
    • delete anything with *sims3* in its name
  • Go to /Users/<User>/Library/Preferences/ folder
    • delete anything with *sims3* in its name
    • delete "The Sims 3 Preferences" folder
  • Start DiskUtility, ie /Applications/Utilities/DiskUtility
    • click on the "Repair Permissions" button


Step 1b. Verify Firewall settings

Ensure you've set your firewall application to allow access and downloads from thesims3.com site. One drastic measure to test if your firewall is blocking it is to disable it and test.

If you're able to download properly, it may mean that the firewall needs specific settings tweaked. Remember to re-enable it before you continue surfing the 'net.

You can search the Internet for instructions on how to allow your firewall to access certain sites, as there are simply too many to list all of them here.


Step 1c. Redownload

The first and always automatic troubleshooting tool in your arsenal. Take note of the filesize posted in the item's download page, and make sure the file that is in your download folder match it. Any download item should not be in 1kb or 0kb in size!


Use SaveAs

Another option is, instead of simply clicking on a link, you can right-click on the link and select "Save As" or "Save Link As".

If you're using Download Managers (like FlashGet, or a Firefox extension, or the like), some sites block this feature, so use Save As. Or you can tweak the Download Manager to only download in single chunks.

For example, [http:/www.modthesims.info MTS] has a "3 downloads at a time" policy. What this means is that you can - download 3 files simultaneously if you use SaveAs or do not have Download Managers, or - download 1 file at a time if broken up into 3 separate chunks per downloading file


Testing

Once you have a new downloaded file, install the item according to its file format.

Then, load a NEW game.

  • Does the content now show up in a new game?
  • You can Quit without saving now.


If when loading a NEW game, the content shows up, try next on one of your save games.

  • Does the content now show up in your save game?
  • You can Quit without saving here, too.


Results

All the above suggestions don't work?


Next Step

If the item is still missing, there are two paths branching off from here.
You may want to proceed to ensure the unpacking is OK if the downloaded file needs to be extracted first, or you might want to jump ahead to troubleshoot by its file format.

RightArrow.gif

Properly unpacked?


RightArrow.gif

Not in rar/zip format? Let's verify compatibility



See Also


Sims 3 Game Help Categories:

Custom Content  | Installation  | Gameplay Guides  | Technical & Graphics Issues  | Miscellaneous Issues

MTS Help Q&A Forums