Fix for those missing sims 3 protocol (cant download purchased content)

[Koudelka919]

Anyone who purchased Sims 3 on Steam will not be able to download purchased store content from www.thesims3.com more than likely.

I did some searching and found something that worked for me. I had to change it a bit since it was a fix for the retail version and not Steam.

When you install retail Sims3 it automatically adds an application protocol in your web browser that tells it what program to use for .sims3 files. Steam doesnt do that so you need to do it manually.

This is the fix that works for Firefox, i cannot vouch for IE.

Step 1: go to this website http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/The%20protocol%20is%20not%20associated%20with%20an y%20program

Step 2: in the same window as the website above, erase the address bar and put in:

javascript:navigator.registerProtocolHandler('sims 3','http://support.mozilla.com/value=%s','Sims3Launcher');

****There is a space above in the line ('sims 3' , remove this line so it looks like ('sims3' for an unknown reason it keeps showing up with a space after editing multiple times.******

Press Enter.

Step 3: A dropdown should appear, click yes to accept program for the specific protocol.

**normally this would be enough for the retail version, but since the Launcher is in a different spot because of steam nothing will happen yet if you try to download**

Step 4: Go into Tools > Options > Applications.

Step 5: Find sims3 in the list, and right next to it under 'Actions' click on it to see the dropdown menu. It will already be selected to use Sims3Launcher, but its assuming you have retail and the filepath is wrong.

Step 6: Select Use Other, then click Browse. The correct launcher you need is located in your Steam folder. Steam > steamapps > common > the sims 3 > Game > Bin .

Step 7: There will be 3 launchers listed: S3Launcher, Sims3Launcher, and Sims3LauncherW. Select Sims3Launcher and Apply. click the box to always use this as default.



You should be good to go now for downloading purchased online content from their website :) Just be sure you already have Sims 3 Launcher open when you click to download.

Hope this helps someone else! :)

EDIT:

You may want to go into Applications again and change the action for sims3 to Always Ask if youre clicking to download your content and its taking a while to show up in Launcher. Seems to be a delay for an unknown reason. But if you select Sims3Launcher.exe manually each time you download it works without delay.

Cheers!

[somebody]

If this works, I will rep you so hard!

[Koudelka919]

Hehe, it worked for me. Hope it does for you as well!

[eamil]

Not working for me. I can get stuff to download and "install" via the launcher but once I get in-game none of it is actually there.

You posted in another thread saying this fix would work for the issues going on in that thread but you seem to be talking about a completely different issue.

[Koudelka919]

Not working for me. I can get stuff to download and "install" via the launcher but once I get in-game none of it is actually there.

You posted in another thread saying this fix would work for the issues going on in that thread but you seem to be talking about a completely different issue.

I just tested it again. Made a new sim family and new town and bought and placed furniture i downloaded from thesims3.com, saved the game and exited out entirely. Loaded the game back up and all my downloaded furniture is still there.

Not sure why its not working for you. I clicked to play Sims3 from Steam to open up the launcher, then i went to my Purchase History on thesims3.com to look at all my stuff. I clicked the download link that is under each piece of purchased content and watched the launcher download it. Then I installed it through the launcher of course.

This fix is only for .sims3 purchased content. This is not a fix for Sims3 Mods.

If youre talking about saved games from a retail version not working with Steam, i dont know anything about that.

All I can say is that it does work. I'm using Windows 7 and Firefox.

After the installer downloads it and you select to install it, all of the files should end up in C:/Users/Username/My Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Downloads folder. Not sure what it is for other versions of Windows though.

**none of this was done by using the in-game shopmode or while game was running. i was completely closed out of the game aside from the launcher being open. perhaps it has an effect. i just know that if done exactly as above, downloaded from the website in FF, outside of the game, it works**

EDIT: I'll test in-game shopmode later on.

Good Luck!

[eamil]

This fix is only for .sims3 purchased content. This is not a fix for Sims3 Mods.

If youre talking about saved games from a retail version not working with Steam, i dont know anything about that.

It's neither of those things. The problem I'm having (along with everyone else in the thread I mentioned) is that any content downloaded from the EA store via the launcher doesn't appear in-game. This includes free promotional stuff. I can't make a new game in Riverview - because it was a post-release free download rather than included with the game, the town won't load.

I probably should have taken this up with you in that thread rather than this one. I'm just trying to say you're offering a fix for a completely different issue from the one those of us in the other thread are having.

[Koudelka919]

Ah. Nobody mentioned it was from the EA store. I didnt even know you could buy downloadables for sims3 from EA. Strange to sell it on their main website and through EA.

Hope you get it working!

[uecasm]

Wait, now I'm confused. Does this mean that Riverview may or may not work, depending on how you downloaded it in the first place, or that it won't work at all? (I really like Riverview...)

[eamil]

Ah. Nobody mentioned it was from the EA store. I didnt even know you could buy downloadables for sims3 from EA. Strange to sell it on their main website and through EA.

Hope you get it working!

I actually meant the Sims 3 store. I just called it the EA store because it was the first thing that came to mind. (I don't actually buy stuff off it usually, my problems have been with the free downloads)

Wait, now I'm confused. Does this mean that Riverview may or may not work, depending on how you downloaded it in the first place, or that it won't work at all? (I really like Riverview...)

As far as I can tell it won't work at all, unless there's some way to get it besides downloading via the launcher or in-game download panel. (If this issue happens to you, that is. I thought it was happening to everyone but the OP doesn't seem to have that problem so I guess not)

If you have an existing save from a retail install that uses Riverview, it seems to load fine but says that some items are missing. I didn't do enough looking to figure out exactly what though.

[somebody]

It worked for me as well. I followed the steps in OP's post, but I changed the protocol handler to this

javascript:navigator.registerProtocolHandler('sims 3','http://support.mozilla.com/value=%s','Sims3Launcher');
Then I just downloaded & installed everything through the start-up program.

[Koudelka919]

I actually meant the Sims 3 store. I just called it the EA store because it was the first thing that came to mind. (I don't actually buy stuff off it usually, my problems have been with the free downloads)



As far as I can tell it won't work at all, unless there's some way to get it besides downloading via the launcher or in-game download panel. (If this issue happens to you, that is. I thought it was happening to everyone but the OP doesn't seem to have that problem so I guess not)

If you have an existing save from a retail install that uses Riverview, it seems to load fine but says that some items are missing. I didn't do enough looking to figure out exactly what though.

Just download the items you want from www.thesims3.com. Dont use the ingame shopmode because i havent tried that, i cannot say if it works or not.

Open the launcher, and open the website and download the items you purchased. install them through the launcher, then play the game and it should work just fine.

Riverview works fine for me.

And again, I cannot say anything about previous saved games from retail because i have not tried those either. If you just follow the steps above as i said, it will all work in a new game on steam.

[Koudelka919]

It worked for me as well. I followed the steps in OP's post, but I changed the protocol handler to this

javascript:navigator.registerProtocolHandler('sims 3','http://support.mozilla.com/value=%s','Sims3Launcher');
Then I just downloaded & installed everything through the start-up program.

Yeah its the same protocol i posted above. But for some reason when i posted it, it got split into two lines. But once you copy/paste it into your address bar it comes back as one line with no breaks.

[Koudelka919]

Wait, now I'm confused. Does this mean that Riverview may or may not work, depending on how you downloaded it in the first place, or that it won't work at all? (I really like Riverview...)

Riverview will work just fine in Steam version of Sims3 if you follow the directions in my first post.

I believe eamil is just a bit confused and downloading/installing the items incorrectly. Also he's trying to load previous saved games which i cannot vouch for either. I never kept any of my old games from retail so i cannot test this.

Cheers!

[uecasm]

Riverview will work just fine in Steam version of Sims3 if you follow the directions in my first post.
Ok. I use Chrome on my main account; the account I use to play games uses IE (since Chrome is only per-user). So I discovered the following to fix it for IE users:

1. Run Registry Editor.
2. Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, then "Sims3".
3. With the top-level "Sims3" selected, right-click in the right-hand side, pick "New String Value". Give it the name "URL Protocol".
4. That's it. As with Koudelka919's original instructions, with the launcher open you should now be able to click on download links on the TS3 website.

[Sacreddreams]

Riverview will work just fine in Steam version of Sims3 if you follow the directions in my first post.

I believe eamil is just a bit confused and downloading/installing the items incorrectly. Also he's trying to load previous saved games which i cannot vouch for either. I never kept any of my old games from retail so i cannot test this.

Cheers!

Not working for me, i followed all the steps above as stated and still gets the same message shown by firefox. :confused:

[Sacreddreams]

Yeah its the same protocol i posted above. But for some reason when i posted it, it got split into two lines. But once you copy/paste it into your address bar it comes back as one line with no breaks.

well i tried redoing with this code and it finally worked but the Sims 3 launcher failed to download the item >> http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l214/PaRk_JuN/sims3downloaderror.jpg

[Koudelka919]

did you go into applications and change the launcher to the one you actually browsed to in your folders?

[somebody]

Yeah its the same protocol i posted above. But for some reason when i posted it, it got split into two lines. But once you copy/paste it into your address bar it comes back as one line with no breaks.

It's not the same actually: yours says "sims 3" whereas mine says "sims3"

[Koudelka919]

It's not the same actually: yours says "sims 3" whereas mine says "sims3"

strange.. i posted it as one word 'sims3' and when i go into edit it shows up as 'sims3' but in the post its 'sims 3' with a space.

I'll have to try and fix it later, it keeps showing up with the space tho. thanks for the heads up.

[Sacreddreams]

did you go into applications and change the launcher to the one you actually browsed to in your folders?

i followed all the steps you stated on your first post, or am i missing something? :confused:

[uecasm]

i followed all the steps you stated on your first post, or am i missing something? :confused:
Make sure that when you put in 'sims3' it didn't have any spaces in it.

[Koudelka919]

Make sure that when you put in 'sims3' it didn't have any spaces in it.

^ what he said.

I added a note under that part of the step. this forum is not letting me remove the space for some crazy reason i cannot figure out.

[Sacreddreams]

^ what he said.

I added a note under that part of the step. this forum is not letting me remove the space for some crazy reason i cannot figure out.

i copied the sims3 without space previously and set the launcher, but when downloading the launcher shows failed as in the picture..

[Sacreddreams]

This is the result im still getting.. i tried all the ways as stated even Sims3* with no space. :mad:http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l214/PaRk_JuN/Stillhavingthiserror.jpg

[somebody]

What does the log say?

[Koudelka919]

if i was absolutely sure i was following the instructions correctly i would try re-installing and doing the steps again (depending on your internet connection if its plausable).

because at this point, it would seem there's something wrong with Sims3 and not the protocol to download the file.

I would still mess with the protocol for a while tho. make sure its absolutely correct, try downloading other content, etc.

if you re-install and you get the same error, then you didnt setup the protocol correctly and its not the launcher. or you can also try the IE fix that was posted too.

[Sacreddreams]

What does the log say?

No idea Where the log is located at..

if i was absolutely sure i was following the instructions correctly i would try re-installing and doing the steps again (depending on your internet connection if its plausable).

because at this point, it would seem there's something wrong with Sims3 and not the protocol to download the file.

I would still mess with the protocol for a while tho. make sure its absolutely correct, try downloading other content, etc.

if you re-install and you get the same error, then you didnt setup the protocol correctly and its not the launcher. or you can also try the IE fix that was posted too.

sims 3 site is down will try later. ;)

[Luciain]

I'm having the same issue. When I click download it appears in the launcher but there is always an error.

If you figure it out sacred please let me know, this is really bugging me now.

[LeFoux]

Just posting to indicate that the fix here worked perfectly for me after a reboot, so nic eone, OP :).

But, possibly more useful to those who haven't been able to make this work, before I discovered this I installed Google Chrome as an alternative browser on the advice of a friend - which worked 'out of the box' without any changes whatsoever :).

So possibly try installing chrome and using the store from there as a quick fix if this isn't co-operating?

[Sacreddreams]

I'm having the same issue. When I click download it appears in the launcher but there is always an error.

If you figure it out sacred please let me know, this is really bugging me now.

Seems that Sims 3 On steam had a new update but no infomation on the update, am still unable to find a solution..

Just posting to indicate that the fix here worked perfectly for me after a reboot, so nic eone, OP :).

But, possibly more useful to those who haven't been able to make this work, before I discovered this I installed Google Chrome as an alternative browser on the advice of a friend - which worked 'out of the box' without any changes whatsoever :).

So possibly try installing chrome and using the store from there as a quick fix if this isn't co-operating?

i had tried goggle chrome, safari, firefox, IE.. all having the same Error.

[Morberis]

It's neither of those things. The problem I'm having (along with everyone else in the thread I mentioned) is that any content downloaded from the EA store via the launcher doesn't appear in-game. This includes free promotional stuff. I can't make a new game in Riverview - because it was a post-release free download rather than included with the game, the town won't load.

I probably should have taken this up with you in that thread rather than this one. I'm just trying to say you're offering a fix for a completely different issue from the one those of us in the other thread are having.

This is my problem.

The fix here allowed me to download the content but installing it does nothing. It indicates that is has installed the content but upon loading the content is not available and upon a restart it indicates that none of it has been installed.

[Elfteiroh]

This is my problem.

The fix here allowed me to download the content but installing it does nothing. It indicates that is has installed the content but upon loading the content is not available and upon a restart it indicates that none of it has been installed.

Same here. I contacted EA customers service and got redirected to the senior technicians... Waiting for an email.

[Darthmarf]

Well when i select add to game the launcher opens if closed or the launcher comes to up above my other apps but nothing shows up in the downloads tab.

[sarrik]

For those who owned the game before buying on steam and can't get purchased content to install and show up in the game.
This is what worked for me.
It's about the cache files that the game keeps in your documents folder.
If you don't delete them, then you can't get things working right in the game.
So here's what you need to delete, but remember to back them up just in case this isn't the same problem, oh, and close the launcher first.

*username* refers to your account username on your windows machine.

Open C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCCache
Delete all .ebc files. Leave missingdeps.idx

Open C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\InstalledWorlds
Delete every instance of Riverview.world, and any other world that you can't get to work.

*edit*
Forgot a few files.
In C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3
CASPartCache.package
CompositorCache.package
ScriptCache.package
SimCompositorCache.package
Must be deleted too.
Sorry :)
*/edit*

Pretty much it, though some would tell you to back up and delete all .sims3pack files in C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads as well.
I didn't see the point, since that just means you have to redown everything again.

Open the launcher, reinstall all your stuff from the list (if you didn't delete the downloads), and it should work.

[MisguidedTerran]

Hey guys, this isn't a straightfoward fix, but I found another way of downloading the things.

When in purchase mode INGAME, on the far left is a shopping bag with a plus symbol on it, a button. If you've tried downloading or purchased something from the store, you can find it within this popup menu.

Log in to the same account you used in the website, a small account section should appear in the lower left hand corner. Click on Purchase history. It should show everything you meant to download, so click the appropriate button for your desired effect, (DOWNLOAD) and it will commence doing so. There was no pop up for me or anything, but if you look at the options button back in the main game, (the ellipses button, ...) it should have a broken circle swirling around it.

So yeah, I got my stuff downloaded that way, hope it helps you guys.

EDIT: QUICKER WAY OF DOING THIS.

Follow step one, clicking that button. Upper right hand side of the window, below the close window button is the Download Dashboard. Much quicker to get to what you wanted to get.

[Thongu]

Sorry if this problem was posted already, but when I go into Steam> Steamapps> Common> the sims 3, it's completely empty. What do I do instead?

[Sacreddreams]

Sorry if this problem was posted already, but when I go into Steam> Steamapps> Common> the sims 3, it's completely empty. What do I do instead?

Try reinstalling it?

[avp2501]

For those who owned the game before buying on steam and can't get purchased content to install and show up in the game.
This is what worked for me.
It's about the cache files that the game keeps in your documents folder.
If you don't delete them, then you can't get things working right in the game.
So here's what you need to delete, but remember to back them up just in case this isn't the same problem, oh, and close the launcher first.

*username* refers to your account username on your windows machine.

Open C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DCCache
Delete all .ebc files. Leave missingdeps.idx

Open C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\InstalledWorlds
Delete every instance of Riverview.world, and any other world that you can't get to work.

*edit*
Forgot a few files.
In C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3
CASPartCache.package
CompositorCache.package
ScriptCache.package
SimCompositorCache.package
Must be deleted too.
Sorry :)
*/edit*

Pretty much it, though some would tell you to back up and delete all .sims3pack files in C:\Users\*username*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads as well.
I didn't see the point, since that just means you have to redown everything again.

Open the launcher, reinstall all your stuff from the list (if you didn't delete the downloads), and it should work.

This is the only method that has worked for me.

[Bosko32]

Sarrik's method worked perfectly for me. Thanks a lot.

[GodSpark127]

I still can't believe that we have to do all this runaround and crap because EA is too damn lazy to fix their site and make it compatible with Steam. I can understand them letting smaller games rot and die, but a series as big as the Sims? This is a new low for EA.

[BombayMix]

Never had any problems using the The Sims 3 store with IE. It doesn't seem to work with Firefox but I reckon that cause the addon being blocked.

[umaxtu]

Works Great! Should be stickied!

[rainbow1112]

Does this work for The exchange? cos its not working for me..

[sarrik]

Does this work for The exchange? cos its not working for me..
I never used much exchange stuff, so I don't know.
But I'm glad this fix works for purchased content.

Maybe the exchange stuff has different cache files that need to be deleted and redowned.
That's my best guess, anyway.

All this could have been avoided by simply purging all sims 3 caches when steam installs the game, but that just doesn't happen.
Jump the hoops, my friend, jump the hoops :)

[raspiral9]

Big props to Koudelka919 and sarrik for their solutions!

I had the dvd-version of Sims 3, but I bought the Steam pack when it was on sale. I registered the games with http://www.thesims3.com/ and then uninstalled my old non-Steam Sims 3. I couldn't get the store to download any of my stuff until I did what was suggested by you guys. I wouldn't have been able to figure that out on my own.

I just wanted to drop a note here for those that use the Noscript addon for Firefox, to follow Koudelka's advice you will need to use an about:config command in the address bar, hit the button "yes I'll be careful", then scroll down to noscript.allowURLBarJS --right click on it and hit "Toggle", to make it True. After you have finished with Koudelka919's instructions make sure you go and Toggle it back to False!

[psyst3m]

My problem is that when inputting the protocol into the firefox address bar, nothing pops up like you state it should.

[KangaxxTheLich]

I have the same problem, nothing shows up after step 2, step 3 never happens.

EDIT:

After some searching, I managed to paste together another way of fixing this problem.

First, paste the following text into Notepad:


REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\sims3]
@="URL:sims3 Protocol"
"URL Protocol"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\sims3\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\sims3\shell\open]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\sims3\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\the sims 3\\Game\\Bin\\Sims3Launcher.exe\" \"%1\""


You may need to adjust the last line, so that it corresponds with the filepath of your Steam folder. Make sure to keep the backslashes doubled when you do.Then save the file as sims3.reg. When this is done, double click on the newly made .reg file to add this data to your registry.

Next, type the following into your Firefox navigation bar


about:config


Right-click in the list that shows up and make a new string named

network.protocol-handler.app.sims3

and as string, add:

D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\the sims 3\Game\Bin\Sims3Launcher.exe

Again, you may need to change this filepath.

When I did this, it started working for me.

[Parcimony]

I always clinch up when messing with the registry but KangaxxTheLich's method above was the only fix that worked for me (firefox or IE).

Thanks.

[SgtMac]

thanks for the info but i think steam should fix this,not the other way around.tried your fix,just sends me back to this page,no drop dwn shows up,my prob is i cant dwnload most exchange stuff,some things dwn load,most dont :(
btw i dont have firefox,wont get it for something like this.

[LifesaverM]

KangaxxTheLich's method works perfectly.

[lto1069]

Anyone who purchased Sims 3 on Steam will not be able to download purchased store content from www.thesims3.com more than likely.

I did some searching and found something that worked for me. I had to change it a bit since it was a fix for the retail version and not Steam.

When you install retail Sims3 it automatically adds an application protocol in your web browser that tells it what program to use for .sims3 files. Steam doesnt do that so you need to do it manually.

This is the fix that works for Firefox, i cannot vouch for IE.

Step 1: go to this website http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/The%20protocol%20is%20not%20associated%20with%20an y%20program

Step 2: in the same window as the website above, erase the address bar and put in:

javascript:navigator.registerProtocolHandler('sims 3','http://support.mozilla.com/value=%s','Sims3Launcher');

****There is a space above in the line ('sims 3' , remove this line so it looks like ('sims3' for an unknown reason it keeps showing up with a space after editing multiple times.******

Press Enter.

Step 3: A dropdown should appear, click yes to accept program for the specific protocol.



Nothing drops down. What do i do?

[poisonedsodapop]

When I try to download my items after following your steps and restarting the computer; I get a popup that says I need to reinstall the base game. ♥♥♥♥ this. I guess I'll have to redeem all the serial codes on Origin and download everything again grrr. Origin should add a working protocol right?

I had this issue before and there was one of the temp files I had to delete. After I deleted that I could download my items again. In fact it worked so well I STILL have 7 Riverrviews in my town select. Let me see if I can find my post cause I honestly don't remember the name of the file.

Found it, sorry, took me a bit:

found a solution to my problem. If anyone is having same issue as me you need to delete your DCCache which is found in
C:\Users\*yourcomputername*\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3

Just delete the entire folder and once you try to install your content agian it should now actually install into the game. I hope this helps someone:)

[amatorskii]

can't get it to work, but i just download it from the site. FF says that it can't open it. then i go in the ingame shop. go to download history and i just download it again and that works :)