just a couple of questions

[Bev in NY]

i am curious about these 2 things...

if i removed my downloads folder from my game how come the houses i downloaded still show up in the game? i concluded they must be put in a different folder and was wondering where...

second i was just wondering what the thumbnails folder was...when u open it u get a list of what's in it...
build mode thumbnails
CANH objects thumbnails
CASthumbnails.package
design mode thumbnails
object thumbnails.package
and it shows the size of KB's in each of them...
i seen somewhere that u can delete different folders to help your game run better without problems occuring ...ex. accessory cache...cigen...groups cache...
and i did see something about thumbnails can be deleted also as these others i mentioned...i've delete the others before i start my game each time....
is the thumbnail the one i just mentioned ? or something else....whatever it is i would appreciate some more info. about it...and if it is safe to do....thanks in advance for any help....

[EKozski]

Your houses are in a different folder called, neighborhood..... N001, N002....

The thumbnails are what holds information on what you have in your buyable catalog, build catalog, skins/clothing. You don't want to delete the folder, just the thumbnails. The game regenerates them when it starts up.

[Prudensh]

It is quite safe to delete all the content of My Documents/EA games/The Sims 2/Thumbnails as ekozski said and also the files called accessory cache, cigen.package, content registry and groups.cache.  The game will create them all at the next startup. Don't worry if you don't have some of the files in your game, just delete the ones you have.

[MissDoh]

Houses you downloaded are place in the lotcatalog folder, not in the downloads folder.

Right after you install house, they are temporarely place in the teleport folder until you start your game so they can properly be place in the right folder afterward.  

Weither you have cc enable or not does not change the fact the houses themselves are put in the lotcatalog folder. If some are coming with cc objects/walls/buildmode etc which are place in the downloads folder, and you remove your downloads folder, expect to see a lot of items flashing in blue if you place some of those houses you download in your hood since they are missing the cc/meshes from your downloads folder.

So to make it more clear:
Houses are put in the lotcatalog folder
CC stuff that are in those cc houses are place in the downloads folder

Deleting thumbnails files is only useful if you have items or sims thumbnails not showing properly in your game.  If you are not experiencing problems there is no use in deleting them.

[Bev in NY]

thanks everyone for your answers...u guys r always very helpful and quick to respond....insim has great people here to help as usual....