N001_User00000 is fine, it's just sim number 0. TS2 counts from 0 not 1.

The small files, in themselves, are not necessarily ripped sims. They might only be sims that haven't yet fully initiated or possibily those instances where the game makes a second copy of the sim file because of some problem or other issue (less likely in a new hood). You can find out which sims they are by looking at the number in the filename and finding the sim displayed in SimPE with the same number.

If I got $10 for every time we read a post from someone who thought, "Oh, I deleted this Sim from the family bin, but I'm lucky. See? Nothing happened!", I'd be able to buy the Sims 4 base game and Outdoor Retreat right now, and have plenty of change left over to start on the Sims 3 series.

Others have explained the technical stuff much better than I ever can. Let's look at the actual effects.

I thought I was lucky, too, when I did VBTs. Ah, the lure of self-deception! It took a few years for my corruption to make itself known. But when it did, it spread quickly and aggressively. Sims started disappearing, replaced with $Subject Memories in my game. Recently-created Sims slid into user_data spots previously assigned to the missing Sim. Houses that were once occupied were empty now, and I couldn't do much with them. My game started crashing more frequently..

When Ghost sdoj informed me that I corrupted my game, I went into denial. No. I couldn't have done this. There must be a way to reverse this.

Nope. My hood was toast.

My daughter didn't fare as well. She started getting frequent crashing two weeks after she deleted Sims.

Just don't delete from the Family Bin. Period. Be careful using custom NPCs. Period. (It's not a problem using them. I have some and really like them. Just realize you're in it for the long haul with them, unless you want to do an across-the-board reset/deletion of all your played hoods.)

As I see it, programs like Sim PE and Hoodchecker are important tools, and essential to your game. But relying on them to always save your butt every time you do a VBT is not a great idea. Just don't do that stuff in the first place!

Please, anyone reading this thread .... you are not a special exception if you do VBTs. You may luck out for a little while, but you did not dodge corruption.

Thanks for replying. I went it to SimPE and looked for the file in Sim browser. They were some kind of NPC's and I thought TS2 counted from 1 so the 0 was the first cas I created.
(Strangely, it seems like SimPE treat the mail/newspaper teens and Hobby sims as NPC. Thats a little bit strange because arent they treated like townies? )

To everyone on here. I know its bad to delete CC NPC's, but what about their sim shells? Ive a group of PT's installed and they gave me some extra simshells in bodyshop. Does CC npc's function without them?

Thanks all. Very interesting thread. And yes I have a .1 in one of my hoods which I was a bit alarmed about, but now I know what it does. Cheers!

A working definition of what we tend to mean by an NPC is a sim with a specific role and/or function. Both mail/newspaper teens and hobby sims fit that description. They, basically, have extra coding attached to them. Think of townies as just moving hood decoration.

You can move (most) NPCs and townies into a lot and make them playable though. That functionality is the same for both types (with some exceptions as I'm sure you're aware).

Yes, even 1kb is fine for character files as long as they're Sims with duties, particularly since the extra 9kb is related to the Sim's head-shot/picture.

Try opening those 1kb files in SimPE and see what's in it.

Well, I was planning on leaving them well alone, but after reading Maxon's post about NIDs I'm not sure. I've looked at them in SimPE and they do have SWAFs, albeit an incomplete set. At the moment the 'hood seems to be playing very well, but, left alone, there seems to be a risk of their old NIDs being allocated to new Sims, who would then get these SWAFs. I've just read a rather confusing thread about NIDs and Object IDs, but when I look at my Sims in SimPE, I can see neither a NID nor an Object ID, only a Sim ID and an Instance number. There is also the number used for the Character File, which is different again. Possibly it's a case of SimPE using a different name for these things (in the same way as it calls a Popularity aspiration "Reputation") but I'm very confused, Can I see the Sim's NID (which I now understand means "Neighbourhood ID") in SimPE, and if not, is there anywhere where I can see it? If my "unlinked" Sims are still linked to their SWAFs, does this mean that they still have NIDs?

I think I'll go by the opinion of more knowledgeable and experienced Simmers on this matter. After all these two Sims are already unlinked and half deleted (by me using the Delete button immediately after creating them). I may already have had Nounlinkondelete when I deleted them; it was just around the time that joandsarah77 was making me aware of such things. Unfortunately not quite aware enough! (My fault, not Jo's!)

And, even if I do "properly" delete the two unlinked Sims that I'm responsible for, there's still the 53 unlinked by Maxis. They do have family relationships and are used for the family trees, so I don't think I would dare to delete them.

If you've already deleted Andrew, it's too late. I'd leave it alone till the hood caves. You never know, you might get lucky.

I learned just last night that the 19 Strangetown files are the Specter's tombstones/ghosts.

I swapped out the Specters house with a new one I'd made for them - carefully putting the 19 tombstones into Olive's inventory before moving the family temporarily to the family bin, bulldozing their old house and replacing it with my new one. When I moved them into their new house 19 tombstones generated along the street - they were the named tombstones and I put them back in the graveyard. Olive can mourn them whenever she wants to. I thought I might have borked everything though because Olive still has all 19 tombstones in her inventory - I'm not sure what to do with them? I was relieved (and a bit startled!) to run Hoodchecker and find absolutely no problems in Strangetown! I checked the files in SimPE - and everything looks right

Anyone have an idea about what to do with the 19 blank tombstones still in Olive's inventory? As far as I can tell, they are not connected to any sim data. *shrug*

These are the generic "Rest In Peace" tombstones. Two options: 1) Put them on the ground and they'll be gone the next time you load the lot or 2) Delete them from inventory.

Ah! Thank you, esme
I think I will "plant" them and let the game deal with them however it chooses. The Specters LOVE their new mansion ~ and I'm extremely happy to have NOT borked my shiny new hood :D

This is true. In the beginning, I had a handful of VBTs happen but I have been running the same hood since 2007. I know its corrupted but ever since I learned about it, I have taken the steps to download mods that help maintain it. So far nothing debilitating has struck making the hood un-playable.

Just to elaborate on the VBT actions that happened....

Tarlia uploaded "fixed dead" versions of Veronaville, Pleasantview, and Strangetown in which she gave character data to all the dead Sims - which means they can be safely resurrected. I just reinstalled, so I was thrilled to come across these and put them in. Pleasantview is available as either a main or a subhood but the other two are subhoods only.