ok so my parents think its a good idea to get rid of our PC, and they wanted me to back up my sims on another computer before they do. So i went to my documents/EA games/sims 2 and right clicked on that folder and sent to to myself

then i went on my laptop and downloaded it onto my desktop and it wasnt my sims 2 folder from my PC, it was a shortcut to my sims 2 folder on my laptop

i tried 3 more times (well, 3 different things) and it still didnt work, so is there a different folder i should be sending myself?

That's the one you want to keep. The problem is convincing the computer that you want the folder, not the shortcut.

Have you tried compressing the folder from the desktop before you send it across? You should be able to right-click the folder and have an option to "add to archive". (rar is smaller than zip). Then you can try moving the rar or zip over and opening it.

Alternatively, if your two computers are networked, you can "Share" the folder on the desktop, and "Map Drive" on the notebook, and just move the folder from one machine to the other. Details depend on what OS the two computers are running.

I'd suggest plugging a USB memory stick into the computer and copying the Sims 2 folder onto it. Much simpler.

Indeed. Shoulda thought of that myself.

I would have but i dont own one

They aren't very expensive; you can often find a small one (2G) for under $10. Alternatively, perhaps you could borrow one from a friend?