Have I completely lost my game? Help, please!!

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Okay, I am completely clueles with tech issues so sorry if I'm making a complete dunce of myself.

I started my game and when I was at the menu, my saved game was there except there was no picture of my family and their house. There was a sort of default 'cut out' picture there. The description I had written for the household was still there, though. I clicked the tick to load my game but it told me that a serious error had occured when trying to load my game. I decided it was just my laptop being silly and went back half an hour later but it kept doing the same thing. So, I had a look at the tech board on here and tried to 'clean my game' by deleting the contents of the DC Backup folder, etc. but to no avail. So I looked at the 'lost saved game' thread written by Carl and tried the instructions on there but I think I have made a massive mistake.

Here is what I did:

Went to the documents/electronicarts/thesims3/saves folder and copied everything there to another folder I made which I placed in the sims 3 folder. What I copied into the new folder was the entire contents of the Saves folder which was two sunsetvalley.sims3 folders and two sunsetvalley.backup folders and one called sunsetvalley.sims3.legacy (sunset valley is the name of the one saved game I am playing). Then, I deleted the two sunsetvalley.sims3 folders and renamed the backup ones to sunsetvalley.sims3

I then tried to re-launch my game, but there is now nothing there as if my game has been deleted. The menu for starting a new game comes up.

Have I done something fatal? Is this it? Can anyone give me instructions to get my game back please? My system is Windows Vista.And yes, I made a backup which I saved to a disc but when I put the disc in and clicked on the documents in it the same thing is there, as if I deleted the folders from there as well (which I didn't, so it must have done it automatically (?)).

Sorry if any of this is unclear. If it is, I will try and explain again. Please, please help me!  

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Just to say, I have went back to the recycle bin and got the new folder I created with all the files, including the ones I deleted, in. I'm not going to touch anything else, though, in case I make a mistake again. Can anyone guide me through from here, please?

[Lol@Sam]

The only thing I can think of is that the back up file must also be corrupted, which means that that's you, I'm afraid. Delete all those files in the saves folder and start from scratch again. I'm sorry. This sucks for your legacy.

[Lol@Sam]

Sorry to double post.

Did you do anything specific with the laptop before launching the game? Just out of interest. And also, have you ran the dxdiag diagnostic solution to see if something's up with the laptop?

[xFezIsAFreakx]

:O Omag, noooo! I demand a second opinion. This can't be it!!

I just ran dxdiag. It found no problems.

The only things I did was add seven tracks to the custom music thing.

[Saltypaws]

Try this .  This saved my games more than once and it works great.  Good luck

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Try this .  This saved my games more than once and it works great.  Good luck

Yeah. That's what I did do. I was refering to this thread when I mentioned the saving game thread written by Carl. I must have done something wrong or, as Sam says, the backup folder must also be corrupted.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Hmm.. also, before I added the custom musics I was fixing the laptop. The laptop had shut down and the 'blue screen of death' thing came up. Mum told me to leave it for half an hour then go and switch in on again, so I did. A little repair thing came up and I followed the instructions, then it told me that it would be recommended that I let the system go back to a time where it was working properly. Like, it kind of resetted itself, if you know what I mean. It warned me that some programs might not work properly, but as it was the only option, I clicked yes. It was probably that that corrupted my game. AND it's backup files. I guess this is it for Lori and the Pendragons..

[Lol@Sam]

I'm really sorry.

Delete the custom music files and try again? Just as a last resort. Also, have you downloaded anything from the Exchange?

[xFezIsAFreakx]

I have. No difference.

Yes. A 'kinda pink skirt'. That is all. I downloaded it ages ago..

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Hey, btw. Can anyone explain to me what the .sims3.legacy file is? Carl's thread doesn't mention this file?

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Okay what I am trying to do is use the backup I saved to a disc. Thing is, I made this backup after the thing with the laptop happened, but before I added the custom musics. I do hope I manage to get my Lori back. If not, I shall just have to make a new one and the legacy shall re-start.

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Erm.. right. So I've uninstalled and reinstalled the game. I have replaced the 'The Sims 3' folder with my copied and pasted backup from the disc I saved it on. It is not taking notice of this. When I load the game it just acts as if it's a new game. Lori and the Pendragons are not there. What now?

[Hosfac]

First of all, going back to a restore point doesn't actually change any data in any files.  It just removes recent downloads and reverts your registry to what it was when the restore point was made.  Theoretically, it shouldn't have any affect on game files.

A sims3.legacy file appears to be a copy of a game save that is made by game when installing a patch.  It's basically the same as a sims3.backup file, with the only difference being that this particular backup is a version of the save as it existed prior to the patch (my guess is in case the patch is wonky).  It can be used to restore a save in the same way a sims3.backup file can.

And I apologize if this sounds like a dumb question, but have you actually looked inside the saves folder to make sure that the save files themselves are loose inside it, and not still in the saves folder that you copied originally (i.e. the old save folder inside the new one)?

[xFezIsAFreakx]

And I apologize if this sounds like a dumb question, but have you actually looked inside the saves folder to make sure that the save files themselves are loose inside it, and not still in the saves folder that you copied originally (i.e. the old save folder inside the new one)?

I don't really get what you'e saying? When I click on the saves folder and go inside, I have the files there. The back up one, the original and the legacy. I also had two other ones which were dated from today (even though this problem started yesterday). I didn't put the old save folder inside the new one. Was I meant to?