Backing up and resetting The Sims 4

Backup and reset the game

Windows

Mac

Back up your game:

1
Go to My Documents.
2
Open the Electronic Arts folder.
3
Find The Sims 4 folder.
4
Right-click on it and choose Copy.
5
Go to your Desktop.
6
Right-click on a free space and choose Paste.
7
Right-click on the copied folder and choose Rename.
8
Change the name of the folder to something you’ll remember like Sims 4 Backup.

Reset your game:

1
Go to My Documents.
2
Find The Sims 4 folder.
3
Right-click on the folder, and select Delete.
4
Confirm you want to delete the folder.
5
Empty your Recycle Bin.
6
Restart your computer.

Test after a reset

After you've reset the game and restarted your computer, launch The Sims 4. The game will start without your save files and mods.
If the game runs normally the problem is due to something in your previously saved games or with content you've downloaded from the Gallery. See the Identify a problem file section for help. If the game doesn’t run normally after a reset, the problem wasn’t caused by any of your save files or downloaded content, and you can restore your backup folder. Check out EA Forums if you’re still having trouble.

Restore your backup

Windows

Mac

1
Go to My Documents.
2
Open the Electronic Arts folder.
3
Click on The Sims 4 folder and press Delete.
4
Confirm you want to delete the file.
5
Empty your Recycle Bin.
6
Go to your Desktop.
7
Right-click on your backup folder and choose Rename.
8
Change the folder name back to The Sims 4.
9
Right-click on the folder and choose Copy.
10
Go to My Documents.
11
Open the Electronic Arts folder.
12
Right-click on a blank space in the folder and choose Paste.

Identify a problem file

You can check for a problem file inside your backup copy of The Sims 4 folder. Copy each of these folders back into The Sims 4 folder one-by-one using the example below.

1
Open the backup folder you created on your Desktop/home screen and copy the saves folder inside it.
2
Go to your Documents.
3
Open Electronic Arts.
4
Open The Sims 4.
5
Paste the folder, and choose the option to replace the existing file.
6
Start The Sims 4.

If it loads, the problem isn’t with one of these copied saves. Copy the other backup folders across one by one, using the steps above, testing the game each time.
If it doesn’t load, the problem is with one of the copied saves.

1
Delete the saves folder from the Sims 4 folder in your Documents, then try copying each individual save file over from your backup, testing the game after each one.
2
When the game fails to load, that means the most recent file you added is causing the issues. Delete this file both from The Sims 4 folder in your Documents and also from your backup folder.

Check to see if a mod is causing issues

If you’ve tried the steps above and you’re still having issues, it could be a mod you’ve downloaded.
Follow the steps in our mods article to check if any of the custom content in your game is causing problems.