Ok, for starters, I have Deluxe Edition (basegame + Nightlife), University, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Family Fun Stuff, Glamour Life Stuff, H&M Fashion Stuff, Happy Holiday Stuff, and Mansion and Garden Stuff. My problem is that the Uni espresso bar is missing -- it was never in any of the lots it was meant to be in, there was just an empty space. I finally noticed the coffee shops had no coffee, so I did the whole FAQ, to no avail...and then I Googled "Sims 2 coffee bar missing". Well, I discovered I'm not the only one with this problem; here's a thread on here about it, and here's another one. They both involve people with the Store Edition, but the actual problem is identical to mine. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be much of an answer besides "don't use Store Edition" which is inapplicable to me, since I don't have it. I'm going to put my backup back in, but am I doomed to play with self-serve coffee shops? It's not that I really care, I'm just annoyed now by a puzzle I can't figure out.

EDIT: From further searching, it seems it's an M&G issue, which was my original suspicion. Do you think cloning it in SimPE would work, or should I just live without it? (I am not taking out M&G.) And why the [BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP] isn't this more known about?

I don't think it's an M&G issue. I have an AGS with all EPs and SPs, no cc and the coffee bar shows up on a community lot in Appliances / Misc.

I don't have any problems with M&G, either. Therefore, I'm going to guess that the problem isn't better known because there are very few people who experience it.

When you say that you did the entire FAQ, I assume that you mean that you have the problem with a newly installed game and a newly generated save game with no CC at all?

Not newly installed -- I backed up, pulled Downloads, no coffee bar. Exited, pulled entire Sims 2 folder, no coffee bar. Got annoyed, went on a Googling binge, and found those threads and a few unanswered questions on Yahoo and Gamefaqs with the exact same issue. Since all the posters who listed their EPs had M&G and not AL, I restored my backup and checked SimPE...and there was the espresso bar! Making a clone of it hasn't worked, but it is there, so I guess my installation is fine...but if you really think it'll help, Moo, I'll spend hours reinstalling tonight. And then I'll be really mad if it's still not there.

No, I won't remove M&G; I'll gladly swap the coffee bar for all the M&G stuff. I'm just cross that it's not one of the better-known bugs, which would have saved me annoyance and worry.

So, you've got the espresso bar now? In that case, I wouldn't bother to reinstall, unless you see some other indication that your installation files are corrupt. I usually check the dates on the objects.package files. If an objects.package was modified more recently than other files in that installation folder, that would indicate that there may be a problem.

One other option is to get a fresh copy of each objects.package from your DVD, then re-patch your games. That won't solve corruption in any other file, but the objects.package is the file that's most likely to become corrupt.

Sorry, I meant that I have it in SimPE though I can't see it in the game (I'm typing this on a tablet screen, it takes an effort to be coherent!). I cloned it and put the clone in the Downloads folder, but still no luck... Something I noticed is that it is supposed to be in Appliances\Misc, and there's no Misc sub-category to Appliances in my game; isn't this starting to look like a Maxis mess-up?

Oh. This is starting to look like you have a corrupted installation. Maxis didn't screw up, since it works perfectly for most of us.

Check the modified dates on your objects.package files (in all EPs and SPs). If the dates look wrong, restore from DVD and patch. If that doesn't resolve your problem, then I'd suggest that you try reinstalling everything.

Oh, Moo, I suspect I'm going to hate you for life...until I use the subhood fix, that is. Just checked all objects.package files, and all was well -- even checked they were still read-only, and they are. I'm loath to reinstall everything, since I think it is going to do absolutely nothing but waste my time, but I will if you really think it may help...so I can say that I did it and prove this is another M&G-without-AL bug that was never reported because it's linked to some rare EP/SP combination and the few others who had the same problem were unable to express themselves literately enough.

Like I said, at this point I don't care about the stupid espresso bar! I'm just doing this for the sake of research...I'll try loading it after I install Uni, then after I install the rest except for M&G, then after I install M&G, then after patching. And just to be sure...putting my backup in shouldn't mess it up, should it?

I've seen a few posts around on this issue and I believe it was a problem related to the store addition. That thing has caused other problems and I would'nt go near it with a barge pole, but if you have Double Deluxe I think that comes with Store Addition. It's a GUID conflict and if you clone the coffee bar you would need to deselect 'include in store'

It's Deluxe that I have, not Double Deluxe...and it alone is not the problem! Just took everything off, got it and Uni back on on, ran it (in a test neighbourhood, because I feel squicky opening any without patching), added SSU...and there was the espresso bar at the coffee shop. I don't have the patience to do it for every EP (I'd rather learn to use AGS!) so next stop is everything but M&G... FOR SCIENCE! (Or at least the records...)

So you are sure you don't have store addition at all? Because many of us have M&G and we all have our coffee bars.

Yep, I'm sure... Just tried OFB even though I wasn't going to, and that coffee bar is still there...

Jo, I'm pretty sure Freefall's experiencing a Mansion & Garden sans Apartment Life problem. Although, the Store Edition released with Apartment Life, Fun With Pets, University Life Collection, Best of Business Collection, and Double Deluxe. Do you have any of those?

I don't have any of those -- Deluxe Edition is the only combo pack I've got. I've been thinking it's M&G minus AL all along, but I had to try it for the sake of the record. The answer shall come very soon, because I've got the coffee bar with everything except M&G, which I'm about to start installing.

EDIT: It's official; this is an as yet unacknowledged M&G-without-AL bug! The coffee bar was there at H&M stuff -- it wasn't with M&G, and neither was the Misc sub-category of Appliances, which it should be in. I'm not angry, really; this is what I half-expected all along, and while the coffee bar did look nice, I can make self-serve coffee shops. I've spent a lot of time and energy confirming my suspicions, and I'm glad I did; all those questions that popped up in my searching didn't have answers, and now I've found the answer. Hopefully this thread will show up in the searches of others...and maybe you could put a word in with some people who can do more than clumsily clone things, Moo? Remember, I'll stop hating you once I get back to playing and see your subhood selector fix...

Oh, and can I make something about this into my signature? I know I'm not the only one who still has this combination...

Now, to get the patches, put my objects.package files to read-only, and get my backup back in!

That's a very interesting find Freefalldreams and it should be more widely known. I wonder if a modder could fix it? Sorry you had to do all that uninstalling and reinstalling for nothing but evidence.

Heh, well, I get bragging rights for discovering it, right? (See my sig.) Look, at least I know about backups and how to explain the issue so others can understand it, and I do have a somewhat rare configuration of E/SPs. Testing it was almost a civic duty...and if I hadn't, I'd have never stopped wondering why that happened...

Sorry, what is a coffee bar look like? Is it a community item?

It's the coffee bar that came with Uni. When it's placed on a community lot it generates an NPC who will make and serve your sim espresso if they go a buy coffee.

So I setup an AGS with your exact setup. The Appliances / Misc section was, and not missing as you say. But the espresso bar certainly was gone. No idea why as the files that come with M&G appear to be correct.

I've made this mod, give it a try.

I think, there is a custom coffee bar which has a unique GUID. Which works in the same way as the original.