launcher bug

[Indiasong]

I was tinkering with the working launcher, and after the launcher bugged noticed that everything I installed from the store has disappeared. The arred content appears as installed but not the rest. I tried to reinstall a few items but I get an error 0x6224dd27 and the launcher can't start the game.
If I start the game, I only have an old save in Egypt. My last save was Riverview.
Do you have any advice on getting the launcher to work again, the working prepatch one, or the Hels one , neither can't start the game.

[KickAss]

EA crapped up the launcher. Just start it from the games install directory. Lesson 1- Never mess with the launcher or EA will eat your game!

[Indiasong]

I had to download again, and delete the old ebc. And I decided to install my other packs again, and ended with a nice big dbc. I was just trying to delete a few items when it bugged and I had to kill it, and the bought store items were eaten. The rest resisted.

[Indiasong]

And now... a new development: everything has disappeared from the launcher. I was trying to install the new store packs, it kept hanging, so I had to kill it, and now it is completely empty. Everything is still in game, I think, but how am I to install if nothing appears? I was using the working launcher method. The Hels launcher is empty too.
Any idea on how to get everything back, except reinstalling the packages, again!

[Zazazu]

I'm wondering why you are even bothering with the launcher at all. Are you not using Awesomemod? With Awesomemod, you don't need to go through the launcher. You can start with the last EP/SP's .exe. Otherwise, gamecopyworld.com seems to have a fixed .exe for all latest patches.

As for installing Store items, all mine are "acquired" and I use the .dbc archives set up by other uploaders. If for some reason the .dbc archives won't work for you (if you like to pick and choose), download the .package versions. All are available.

[Indiasong]

I only use the launcher to install things, not to start the game, and my dbcs appear in game. But the last things I put in the downloads folder to install disappeared along with the rest.
The launcher seems to lose the path to the cache folder, or to not recognize the files in it.
And if I want to not depend on people converting for me, I need the launcher. Or go the more complicated route with converting to packages and merging them.

Edit: consider this thread as an ode to my stupidity: the launcher had sent my downloads folder to the bin, replaced by a virgin one, and that was why it was empty.
My initial problems were real though.
Sorry for wasting your time. 

[RobinMollyBlue]

Or go the more complicated route with converting to packages and merging them.

I find that's easier than fixing the launcher.  After all,  EA will just break it again with the next patch.

[Trystiane]

I was doing the s3pe merge process until Pes put the decrapify option in the s3rc tool.  It really works and its really easy and fast.  Just run all your save games and library (house) files through as well as your sims3packs (before installing) and everyhting works like it used to.

[Indiasong]

Just tried it for the new update, didn't work: original/working launcher=needs an update compressed/working launcher= hangs forever decrapified/normal launcher=says success but not installed decrapified/working launcher= hangs forever (I decrapified by dragging, and then through DOS).

Edit: in fact, even though they don't show as installed, they are. I can see them twice, as I put a big package in mods.
I tried to install cc, and it won't show as installed, same as ea content.

[Indiasong]

Latest discoveries: no cc I install gets the installed state, even though they are a success. But I had a look in my cache folder, to see if something had changed, and I have 15 dbcs, some with exactly the same size, and a few minutes apart. I think they all get installed, and the launcher doesn't realize they are already installed when I try again.
Any suggestions?

[wizard_merlin]

Stop double posting and use the modify button.