Editing Openai/696fd81d-e8e8-8002-b9cb-9c2f9e76828e (section)

=== Assistant: You didn’t permanently delete her Sims 4 saves, but you did almost certainly cause Steam / EA App to look in the wrong … ===
You didn’t permanently delete her Sims 4 saves, but you did almost certainly cause Steam / EA App to look in the wrong save location and possibly sync an empty folder over her real one. This is a very common Sims 4 + Steam + multiple Windows users issue.

The good news: the saves are usually still on the PC.

==== What likely happened (in plain English) ====

The Sims 4 stores saves per Windows user, not per Steam account.

When you:
* logged into your Windows user
* launched Sims 4 via Steam Family Library
* started a new game

…the game created a new Sims 4 folder under ''your'' Windows profile.

Then when your wife later:
* logged into her Windows user
* launched Sims 4

Steam / EA App likely:
* pointed the game to a fresh, empty Sims folder
* or cloud-synced the empty folder, hiding her real saves

So the game thinks there are no saves.

==== Step 1: Do NOT start a new game on her account yet ====

Starting a new game can overwrite or cloud-sync again. Close the game completely.

==== Step 2: Find her original save files (most important) ====

On her Windows account:
# Open File Explorer
# Go to:

<syntaxhighlight>Documents
└── Electronic Arts
    └── The Sims 4

</syntaxhighlight>

Look for these folders:
* saves
* Tray
* Mods

If the saves folder exists but is empty or very recent, the originals are likely elsewhere.

==== Step 3: Check YOUR Windows user’s Sims folder ====

Log into your Windows account and go to:

<syntaxhighlight>Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4

</syntaxhighlight>

If you see:
* her old save filenames (Slot_0000000X.save)
* older timestamps
* lots of files

Then that’s the missing data.

==== Step 4: Restore the saves ====

If you find her saves under your user:
# Copy the entire saves folder
# Switch to her Windows user
# Paste it into:

<syntaxhighlight>Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4

</syntaxhighlight>

Overwrite when prompted.

Do the same for:
* Tray (households & lots)
* Mods (if she uses them)

==== Step 5: Disable Steam Cloud for Sims 4 (very important) ====

Steam Cloud causes this exact problem.

On her Steam account:
# Library → The Sims 4
# Right-click → Properties
# General
# Turn OFF Steam Cloud

Do this on your account too to avoid future sync conflicts.

(The Sims 4 does not need Steam Cloud; it breaks multi-user setups.)

==== Step 6: Launch the game and verify ====
* Start Sims 4 on her Windows user
* Load Game (not New Game)
* Her saves should reappear

==== If the saves aren’t in either folder ====

Try these backups (in order):

===== Sims automatic backups =====

<syntaxhighlight>Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves

</syntaxhighlight>

Look for .save.ver0, .save.ver1 files
Rename one to .save and try loading it.

===== Windows Previous Versions =====

Right-click:

<syntaxhighlight>Documents\Electronic Arts

</syntaxhighlight>

→ Properties → Previous Versions

==== How to avoid this in the future ====
* Only play Sims 4 on one Windows user
* Keep Steam Cloud OFF
* Never mix Family Library + Sims 4 across users
* Backup Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4 occasionally

If you want, tell me:
* Windows version
* Steam or EA App only?
* Whether Steam Cloud was enabled

and I’ll walk you through exact recovery steps for your setup.