Package folder (in Sims 3\Mods) vanished after installing new EP

[tilted_logic]

I've had a plethora of issues with this game, but generally with some patience I could figure it out. However... I'm completely at a loss with this one.

I installed the latest EP (Katy Perry's Sweet Treats) last night, and after starting up the game fine and loading my sim, it gave me the "some objects could not be loaded and were replaced" message.

So I quit the game, took a gander through my Sims 3 folder (in documents); every save is there, my downloads folder is all well and good, but when peeking at my Mods folder.... There is no package folder inside.

Alright, so.. weird. I have every expansion/stuff pack currently, and I was playing Showtime fine with all my mods just minutes before installing Katy Perry's Sweet Treats.

I head to my backup folder, which is stored on another harddrive, and which I had made a few hours prior to installing the new stuff pack, but here's the thing... The Package folder was also missing from my backup Mods folder.

So in essence... It appears to me installing the new EP has somehow wiped my Package folder from my computer. I was unable to find it via a multiple harddrive explorer search, it's not in the Recycling Bin... I could understand if it was simply gone from my Documents.. but for it to have also vanished from my backup folder?

I simply cannot seem to track it down again. It was there and working just prior to installing this Stuff Pack... so where on Earth could it have gone?

I'm truly dreading the thought of trying to track down every item I've downloaded before, but I'm completely at a loss for what to do. Would the DCBackup have anything I'm looking for? I haven't cleaned it out in quite some time, and there are a fair share of package files hanging out in there. (Not as much as I had in my original folder, however).

My next step would be uninstalling the SP, for whatever good it would do. At this point I'm grasping at straws and willing to try anything just to at least rule it out.

Using Windows 7 32-bit, brief system specs are below if it'll be of any help.

------------------
System Information
------------------

Time of this report: 6/16/2012, 14:16:14
Machine name: ALI-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120330-1504)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP-Pavilion
System Model: KC880AAR-ABA m9150f
BIOS: BIOS Date: 10/23/08 21:39:17 Ver: 5.32
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3328MB RAM
Page File: 4341MB used, 2311MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 550 Ti
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1244&SUBSYS_838C1043&REV_A1
Display Memory: 2385 MB
Dedicated Memory: 977 MB
Shared Memory: 1407 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: VP912b
Monitor Id: VSC661A
Native Mode: 1280 x 1024(p) (60.020Hz)
Output Type: DVI
Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Driver File Version: 8.17.0013.0142 (English)
Driver Version: 8.17.13.142
DDI Version: 11
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 5/15/2012 06:26:00, 15322432 bytes

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------

Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0888&SUBSYS_103C2A6F&REV_1001
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6343 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 4/6/2011 15:33:48, 3464104 bytes

------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------

Drive: C:
Free Space: 44.3 GB
Total Space: 343.4 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: ST3360320AS
Any input is greatly appreciated.

[whiterider]

If the folder is gone from your backup as well, then it was deleted before you installed the SP - which most likely means you or someone else deleted it by accident. Do you have an older backup? Have you tried using the "Previous versions" tab in the Properties tab of the Mods folder?

Files from Mods/Packages aren't copied anywhere, not DCBackup or anywhere else - I'm afraid that if they're gone, they're gone. :/

[tilted_logic]

No previous versions of the Mod folder, and no one else but myself has access to this computer - I can guarantee I didn't delete the folder, especially from the backup, which I didn't lay a finger on after creating.

I did a full reinstall of the games prior to adding the stuff pack, and my mods were available with Showtime when I tested it... They were simply gone as soon as I installed Katy Perry's Sweet Treats.

I'm utterly perplexed and baffled, but at this point I suppose I'll resign myself to tracking down the CC again.

Thank you very much for the input.

[Ghost sdoj]

Did you use copy/paste to back it up? You might have forgotten to paste.

(If you haven't copied anything since then, it might still be in the clipboard? I know. That's an awfully thin straw to grasp at.)

[whiterider]

Sorry - what I meant was that the installation process cannot delete anything which is not in a TS3 default directory. So, for the folder to be missing from your backup, it must have been deleted (whether by you or in some other way) before you made the backup, but after the last time you played.

You didn't install CC Magic in the intervening period, did you? That's the only thing other than user error, or I guess potentially hard drive issues (though they'd have to be rather oddly specific ones), that I have ever heard of deleting a Mods/Packages folder.

[tilted_logic]

No, I've never used (or even heard of) CC Magic. I've used TSR's Merlin, and Delphy's Dashboard is a staple... But if I had disabled things via the Dashboard, they generally still show up, simply in a disabled format.

It just seems so peculiar to me that the Mods folder, as well as the resource.cfg and Overrides folder within were still there.

[tilted_logic]

Just thought I'd finish up and say thank you for all the input/suggestions. I was unable to locate that specific backup, but I was able to redownload the store items easily enough, and it turns out I had a backup of the rest of my CC in my backup downloads folder. Had accidentally sorted them into sub-folders so I hadn't noticed them in my initial scan; was just a matter of pulling them out and reinstalling them.

Phew, I was not looking forward to site surfing for a while. Thanks guys!