Store items refuse to show up in-game, help please! - SOLVED

[TheChronicR]

This started happening after my latest reinstall, about two weeks ago, when Town Life Stuff was released and I patched up to 1.24. It's a very bizarre problem, mainly because it only happens with Sims Store items, not even Swap Shop or CC ones. Everything else is working as it should be. What happens with Store items is:

1. For example, I purchase a dress from the Store, and choose to download momentarily.

2. It opens the launcher, downloads, and then I correctly install it.

3. All of sudden my system crashes due to overheating (for example, i.e. I could just close the launcher and the consequences would be the same).

4. After I start up the laptop again, I open the launcher in order to play the game and check out my newly bought item.

5. Firstly I check the "Downloads" section. The item is there, but isn't grayed out (isn't installed). I think that it's connected to the sudden shut down and reinstall it.

6. Now it's all ok. I boot up the game and go into CAS.

7. I look everywhere. The dress is simply not there.

8. I exit the game without saving in hopes of seeing the dress there by the restart.

9. I open up the launcher, the dress is again "uninstalled" mysteriously.

10. Rinse and repeat, no dice.

I know that this is most likely due to a mistake during the installation process, but I certainly do not wish to reinstall it all again. If there is another (other than reinstalling) way to solve this problem, please help me. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[MissPlumbBob]

Is it possible you deleted ANY item in ANY cache?

I deleted a couple last week, and now Riverview doesn't want to play correctly for some Sims.

Just hoping to help you remember anything you did out of the ordinary that would cause this. I hope what I said or someone else can help.

[TheChronicR]

Is it possible you deleted ANY item in ANY cache?

I deleted a couple last week, and now Riverview doesn't want to play correctly for some Sims.

Just hoping to help you remember anything you did out of the ordinary that would cause this. I hope what I said or someone else can help.

I rarely delete anything but the caches in DCBackup and the initial 4 cache files which are safe to delete... Other than that, all I did was a simple reinstall as noted.

[MissPlumbBob]

Erggg...

All I know is that it might be a Patch issue.

I hope someone else knows more than me about this issue.

[TheChronicR]

Erggg...

All I know is that it might be a Patch issue.

I hope someone else knows more than me about this issue.

Oh Gosh. So does that really mean I should wait till October for 1.25? Somebody shoot me.

[CarlosLordofTacos]

Oh Gosh. So does that really mean I should wait till October for 1.25? Somebody shoot me.

Bang.

Would it kill you to reinstall and not patch? I know, I know... but it's better than waiting until October, right? Right?

[TheChronicR]

Bang.

Would it kill you to reinstall and not patch? I know, I know... but it's better than waiting until October, right? Right?

Actually that's the main problem... I have Town Life Stuff and practically all my games were saved with 1.24.

My machine is not one to cooperate, for the latest reinstall took about three whole days. If there is not another way, I'd rather wait till October, thank you.

[BellaClo]

What do you do exactly to install your downloaded dress with the launcher?

Do you tick the box and then click "install"? When an item is properly installed, it shows up the the "installed" section. Is the dress there?

[CharlotteDaBookworm]

I had this problem a couple months back March/April time after uninstalling and reinstalling my games, another uninstall and reinstall fixed it. Hope that helps.

EDIT: The thread I made is here

[TheChronicR]

What do you do exactly to install your downloaded dress with the launcher?

Do you tick the box and then click "install"? When an item is properly installed, it shows up the the "installed" section. Is the dress there?

It wasn't a dress actually, it was the magic spellbook (which should explain why I want it to work). Well, the first time, I downloaded it from the store, ticked the box, and clicked "install" as you say, and it did show up in the "installed content" section. But when I started playing to test the spellbook, it simply wasn't where it was supposed to be. Same for many free hairstyles and the free memory rewards. No matter how much I install those items, they still keep uninstalling themselves autonomously.

Thanks Char, I did think reinstalling would be a solution, but I'm looking for a solution other than that.

[PJSim]

I've had a similar problem and managed to solve it without reinstalling the game. I'm not entirely sure how I did it, I think what fixed it was uninstalling all downloads (worlds, store stuff, whatever), deleting the DCCache and then reinstalling a little at a time. They should be installed in small batches because the launcher doesn't seem to like handling too many items at a time.

Maybe try a little test first: move the DCCache out of the Sims 3 folder (don't delete it as it stores all your installed downloads). Also move your Mod folder if you have one. Now there shouldn't be any CC in your game.
Delete your caches and try installing a single one of your problem items. See if it creates a .dbc file in DCCache. If it does, see if that item now shows up in your game.

[TheChronicR]

I've had a similar problem and managed to solve it without reinstalling the game. I'm not entirely sure how I did it, I think what fixed it was uninstalling all downloads (worlds, store stuff, whatever), deleting the DCCache and then reinstalling a little at a time. They should be installed in small batches because the launcher doesn't seem to like handling too many items at a time.

Maybe try a little test first: move the DCCache out of the Sims 3 folder (don't delete it as it stores all your installed downloads). Also move your Mod folder if you have one. Now there shouldn't be any CC in your game.
Delete your caches and try installing a single one of your problem items. See if it creates a .dbc file in DCCache. If it does, see if that item now shows up in your game.

Hmm, well, I'll be glad to get rid of all my CC for now if that'll solve something, only one off-topic question... My legacy Sims all have custom skins (default replacement). Will they come out coal black skinned as the skin is a .package file? And I can't Edit them in CAS because they are vampires. Hmm.

ETA: I forgot to note in the first post that since patch 1.22 the game is giving me a warning that I "have some modifications that aren't up-to-date with my current patch", but I have absolutely no mods.

[PJSim]

I don't know nothing about skins.

ETA: I forgot to note in the first post that since patch 1.22 the game is giving me a warning that I "have some modifications that aren't up-to-date with my current patch", but I have absolutely no mods.

I think that may be that spell book, I've heard that it can show as a mod because it comes with extra gameplay. Same with the massage chair.

[TheChronicR]

I don't know nothing about skins.

I think that may be that spell book, I've heard that it can show as a mod because it comes with extra gameplay. Same with the massage chair.

PJ!!!!!!! I love you!! It's there!! All my items!

[PJSim]

 

What did you do, reinstall all your stuff?