The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

by Guest Sat 18 Jun 2016, 18:19

Hello everyone,

I torrented The Sims 3 Complete Edition a while ago. I installed it, and it ran perfectly. However, I recently re-installed it and now it won't work. I am able to play the game for only a few minutes or so before it crashes with a generic "The Sims 3 stopped working" error message.

I have applied the ultimate fix and followed all the seven possible fixes listed here on the forum to no avail.

I don't know what to do and am really disappointed since the game worked perfectly before. I haven't changed or modified my PC in any way.

Thanks,
Moonbunny

by Guest Sat 18 Jun 2016, 20:41

Run an Uninstaller (like Revo).
Delete all traces of sims3 games and re-install.

by Guest Sat 18 Jun 2016, 21:56

Tarac wrote:Run an Uninstaller (like Revo).
Delete all traces of sims3 games and re-install.

Hi Tarac,

I've already tried uninstalling and re-installing. I even recently formatted my PC and then installed it again Sad

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:00

Hello,
This problem has a lot of different reasons why it happens. It could be as easy as clearing your cache files, or trying a factory reset.

Delete the Cache Files
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20732.msg401809.html#msg401809

Factory Reset
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20732.msg401814.html#msg401814

Add The Sims 3 to DEP
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Data_Execution_Prevention/TS3W

When this has happened to me, I usually just back up my Sims 3 folder, and do a factory reset. Start a new game to test to make sure things run smoothly, and if so, copy my saves and other files and folders over.

Here's a few tips to try:

Game Crashes (Sims 3 has stopped working)
http://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/error-game-crashes-ctd.html

[FAQ] Game Crashes
http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/FAQ-Game-Crashes-CTD/td-p/656

A couple other helpful tips to try:

Turn Off Interactive Loading Screens
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20732.msg401807.html#msg401807

Clear Family and Individual Inventories
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20732.msg401810.html#msg401810

Turn Off Memories
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,20732.msg401805.html#msg401805

Try these tips, if you haven't already. Let us know if they work, if not we'll see if we can dig a little deeper.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum! Very Happy

by **☠ ~ Aɳɳ ~ ☠** Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:02

Hello,

Also, have a look at this post.
Let us know if any of our suggestions work!

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:13

Edin ElDi wrote:Hello,

Also, have a look at this post.
Let us know if any of our suggestions work!

Hello!

Sorry, none of them work. I've tried every single one of the suggestions, but none of them change anything.

//EDIT

simmer_tony wrote:Try these tips, if you haven't already. Let us know if they work, if not we'll see if we can dig a little deeper.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum!

Hello there,

I've tried these suggestions, and still, nothing works. In fact, the more I mess with my files, the worse the problem gets. Now the screen freezes and the game crashes after only a minute or so.

My PC used to run the game perfectly, and I have bought copies of The Sims 3 and The Sims 3 Supernatural which also run perfectly. I think my PC is capable of running the game and that the problem lies within the torrented files.

I really don't want to have to re-download the torrent, however. It was huge and took me ages to download.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:40

Now, go to C:\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 and rename folder The Sims 3 to TheSims 3_backup. Try now running game and see if this helps you.

//EDIT

Have you tried all the stuff here: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/FAQ-Game-Crashes-CTD/td-p/656/?

What is your operating system?
At what point does your game crash ? Any regularities ?
How long can you usually play?
Which EP/SPs do you have installed?
Are you using custom content and mods in your game?
It's also good to include your DxDiag: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/HOW-TO-DxDiag-for-Sims-3-PC-Only/td-p/1049584

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 10:56

simmer_tony wrote:What is your operating system?
At what point does your game crash ? Any regularities ?
How long can you usually play?
Which EP/SPs do you have installed?
Are you using custom content and mods in your game?
It's also good to include your DxDiag

Re-naming the file had no effect.

I'm running Windows 10. When I posted to the forum, the game would crash within about ten minutes of gameplay, whether it be in Create-A-Sim or in the neighbourhood. It seemed like it was on a timer because it would always crash after a certain point. The game worked perfectly fine until the crash.

Now, after trying all the fixes, the game sometimes freezes and displays weird colours. It crashes in about half the time now and I can't even get to my neighbourhood.

I have everything installed except Katy Perry's Sweet Treats and Fast Lane Stuff.

I'm not using any custom content or anything except the torrented game. I wouldn't even know how to begin using that kind of stuff.

//EDIT

I attached my Dxdiag....although I have no idea where it went.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 11:10

I've already tried uninstalling and re-installing. I even recently formatted my PC and then installed it again

Summary: Game worked perfect, after re-install: problems. New installation after formatting: still problems
Question: You formatted your PC, how and did you reinstall Windows ?

Maybe you formatted drive D and the Sims 3 were/are on drive C

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 11:14

Tarac wrote:
I've already tried uninstalling and re-installing. I even recently formatted my PC and then installed it again

Summary: Game worked perfect, after re-install: problems. New installation after formatting: still problems
Question: You formatted your PC, how and did you reinstall Windows ?

Maybe you formatted drive D and the Sims 3 were/are on drive C

I did re-install Windows yes. I didn't do it manually, the computer did it for me.
But I don't think that affected anything since the game was already not working before the format. I saved all the torrent files on a backup drive, and then copied them over to the clean PC to re-install them.

//EDIT

Do you think re-torrenting the game would help? To be honest, I've tried at least 40 different suggestions or fixes at this point and I'm really at my wits' end.

by **☠ ~ Aɳɳ ~ ☠** Sun 19 Jun 2016, 12:06

Hello,

It's definitely not the fact that you torrented the games, and redownloading them isn't going to solve this problem.

You say you're running Windows 10, did you run The Sims 3 on Windows 10 before, or did this problem start occurring after you upgraded to 10? If it did, you may have to check for driver updates. It's possible that there's a conflict somewhere with (one of) your drivers' compatibility with Windows 10, and updating to a 10-compatible driver might do the trick.
This might also be true after reinstalling, since you may not have the latest drivers yet due to the format.

The best way to do this, is to go directly to your hardware manufacturers' website, do no use the device manager.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 13:04

Edin ElDi wrote:Hello,

It's definitely not the fact that you torrented the games, and redownloading them isn't going to solve this problem.

You say you're running Windows 10, did you run The Sims 3 on Windows 10 before, or did this problem start occurring after you upgraded to 10? If it did, you may have to check for driver updates. It's possible that there's a conflict somewhere with (one of) your drivers' compatibility with Windows 10, and updating to a 10-compatible driver might do the trick.
This might also be true after reinstalling, since you may not have the latest drivers yet due to the format.

The best way to do this, is to go directly to your hardware manufacturers' website, do no use the device manager.

I'm not quite sure I understand. Which drivers?

//EDIT

Moonbunny18 wrote:
Edin ElDi wrote:Hello,

It's definitely not the fact that you torrented the games, and redownloading them isn't going to solve this problem.

You say you're running Windows 10, did you run The Sims 3 on Windows 10 before, or did this problem start occurring after you upgraded to 10? If it did, you may have to check for driver updates. It's possible that there's a conflict somewhere with (one of) your drivers' compatibility with Windows 10, and updating to a 10-compatible driver might do the trick.
This might also be true after reinstalling, since you may not have the latest drivers yet due to the format.

The best way to do this, is to go directly to your hardware manufacturers' website, do no use the device manager.
I'm not quite sure I understand. Which drivers?

If you're referring to re-downloading my drivers after the format, I did that. Althought most of the installs returned error messages like "This has already been installed" or "You have a newer version of this already". I don't understand what you mean by drivers. I have everything listed for my PC.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 13:12

Click Start.
On the Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool opens. Click the Display tab.
On the Display tab, information about your graphics card is shown in the Device section. You can see the name of your card, as well as how much video memory.
Write here which graphic card you have and amount of video memory.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 13:21

simmer_tony wrote:Click Start.
On the Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool opens. Click the Display tab.
On the Display tab, information about your graphics card is shown in the Device section. You can see the name of your card, as well as how much video memory.
Write here which graphic card you have and amount of video memory.

Okay, so the card is Intel (R) HD Graphics 4600 and it has 4147 MB memory. I know I also have NVIDIA drivers installed, if that changes anything.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 13:44

Moonbunny18 wrote:
simmer_tony wrote:Click Start.
On the Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool opens. Click the Display tab.
On the Display tab, information about your graphics card is shown in the Device section. You can see the name of your card, as well as how much video memory.
Write here which graphic card you have and amount of video memory.
Okay, so the card is Intel (R) HD Graphics 4600 and it has 4147 MB memory. I know I also have NVIDIA drivers installed, if that changes anything.

Most probably you have not coupled the Sims 3 to your Nvidia graphics card.
Rightclick on an open space on your desktop
In the pop-up menu look for the Nvidia Configuration
Click on 3D configuration
Click on Programs
Add Sims3 (Launcher)

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 13:50

Tarac wrote:
Moonbunny18 wrote:
simmer_tony wrote:Click Start.
On the Start menu, click Run.
In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool opens. Click the Display tab.
On the Display tab, information about your graphics card is shown in the Device section. You can see the name of your card, as well as how much video memory.
Write here which graphic card you have and amount of video memory.
Okay, so the card is Intel (R) HD Graphics 4600 and it has 4147 MB memory. I know I also have NVIDIA drivers installed, if that changes anything.
Most probably you have not coupled the Sims 3 to your Nvidia graphics card.
Rightclick on an open space on your desktop
In the pop-up menu look for the Nvidia Configuration
Click on 3D configuration
Click on Programs
Add Sims3 (Launcher)

I added the Sims 3 to the NVIDIA panel, but still get the crash

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 15:19

Here are latest Intel HD drivers. Download them.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 16:48

I'm sorry to say that sofar I've not found a suitable Intel graphics card for laptops as yet.

by Guest Sun 19 Jun 2016, 19:22

simmer_tony wrote:are latest Intel HD drivers. Download them.

I previously used the Intel Driver Update Utility and downloaded the driver it recommended, but it returned an error message saying my PC didn't meet the minimum requirements and didn't install. I tried downloading the driver from the link you sent and it refused to download. I tried several times, but neither the .zip nor the .exe would download.

//EDIT

Tarac wrote:I'm sorry to say that sofar I've not found a suitable Intel graphics card for laptops as yet.

No games have ever given me problems before on this laptop. I played the Sims 3 with all EPs perfectly the first time I installed it. My laptop's capable o running the game, and it also runs my legitimate copies perfectly, so I think there must be something wrong the the torrent somehow since it can run the legitimate copies perfectly.

by **☠ ~ Aɳɳ ~ ☠** Sun 19 Jun 2016, 23:32

Moonbunny18 wrote:
Tarac wrote:I'm sorry to say that sofar I've not found a suitable Intel graphics card for laptops as yet.
No games have ever given me problems before on this laptop. I played the Sims 3 with all EPs perfectly the first time I installed it. My laptop's capable o running the game, and it also runs my legitimate copies perfectly, so I think there must be something wrong the the torrent somehow since it can run the legitimate copies perfectly.

Again, it can't be the torrent. What you have here, is a coincidence.
You need to look for hardware drivers for Windows 10.

Also, please use the EDIT button when you have something to add. Double posting is frowned upon here.

by **The_gh0stm4n** Mon 20 Jun 2016, 12:14

Moonbunny18 wrote:In fact, the more I mess with my files, the worse the problem gets.

Moonbunny18 wrote:No games have ever given me problems before on this laptop (...) so I think there must be something wrong the the torrent somehow since it can run the legitimate copies perfectly.

Hello @MoonBunny18 and sorry to hear about your problems,

Having played a (fun) game in the past on the same computer, and being confronted with the game as not functioning anymore can certainly be frustrating. Nonetheless it should not diminish the efforts from @Tarac, @simmer_tony and @Edin ElDi to assist you. Smile

I know it probably wasn't your intention, but nonetheless, all previous suggestions were good.

Also, if you really believe that our torrent is defective, then it would be pointless for me to try (too hard) to convince you otherwise. Ultimately, you yourself must believe in the torrent. But let me tell you that I've been using G4TW's items for a long time now, and never encountered any problem with them. As for The Sims 3, the ONLY difference between the (disc-based) legit copies and our torrents here is that the CD-check has been disabled in our torrents. Thanks to the Ultimate fix.

Also, have a look at this guide here too. I believe it hasn't been mentioned in the thread here yet:
https://games4theworld.forumotion.com/t21716-excessive-fps-rendering-in-the-sims-3-updated-on-16-12-2015

The importance of "vertical synchronization" is often underestimated, in The Sims 3. Make sure to check your NVIDIA settings for that. And in general, if things are not working out as expected, you should let it rest for a day or two. Because (no surprise), the longer you tamper unsuccessfully with something the greater the risks of doing something wrong become.

P.S. if you want to quote multiple posts, please click on the "Multi-quote", on all messages you want to quote. Then scroll down to "post a new reply" to write your message. If you decide to add something to your message later on you can also click on "Edit" - on your post after it shows up.

by Guest Mon 20 Jun 2016, 13:34

The_gh0stm4n wrote:
Moonbunny18 wrote:In fact, the more I mess with my files, the worse the problem gets.

Moonbunny18 wrote:No games have ever given me problems before on this laptop (...) so I think there must be something wrong the the torrent somehow since it can run the legitimate copies perfectly.

Hello @MoonBunny18 and sorry to hear about your problems,

Having played a (fun) game in the past on the same computer, and being confronted with the game as not functioning anymore can certainly be frustrating. Nonetheless it should not diminish the efforts from @Tarac, @simmer_tony and @Edin ElDi to assist you. I know it probably wasn't your intention, but nonetheless, all previous suggestions were good.

Also, if you really believe that our torrent is defective, then it would be pointless for me to try (too hard) to convince you otherwise. Ultimately, you yourself must believe in the torrent. But let me tell you that I've been using G4TW's items for a long time now, and never encountered any problem with them. As for The Sims 3, the ONLY difference between the (disc-based) legit copies and our torrents here is that the CD-check has been disabled in our torrents. Thanks to the Ultimate fix.

Also, have a look at this guide here too. I believe it hasn't been mentioned in the thread here yet:
[...]

The importance of "vertical synchronization" is often underestimated, in The Sims 3. Make sure to check your NVIDIA settings for that. And in general, if things are not working out as expected, you should let it rest for a day or two. Because (no surprise), the longer you tamper unsuccessfully with something the greater the risks of doing something wrong become.

P.S. if you want to quote multiple posts, please click on the "Multi-quote", on all messages you want to quote. Then scroll down to "post a new reply" to write your message. If you decide to add something to your message later on you can also click on "Edit" - on your post after it shows up.

Hello,

I read the thread about FPS that you suggested and turned my Vertical Sync on (I had previously turned it off based on the suggestions included in "The Sims 3 crashes/freezes to Desktop fix" thread). I did notice a difference when I ran the game after doing that; the game loaded much faster and gameplay was much smoother. However, the game still crashed after about five minutes of gameplay.

I don't think that the torrent is defective since I've been using Games4theworld's torrents for a while now. I just think that perhaps there's a file missing or something went wrong with the files on my end (I've copied the files back and forth between my PC and my backup drive because I wanted to conserve space on my PC and recently because I formatted my PC). I have no idea how to find out what could have gone wrong, so I thought obtaining a new copy might help.

Thank you for your advice. I'll try to see if I can solve this problem.

by Guest Mon 20 Jun 2016, 13:45

Edin ElDi wrote:
Moonbunny18 wrote:
Tarac wrote:I'm sorry to say that sofar I've not found a suitable Intel graphics card for laptops as yet.
No games have ever given me problems before on this laptop. I played the Sims 3 with all EPs perfectly the first time I installed it. My laptop's capable o running the game, and it also runs my legitimate copies perfectly, so I think there must be something wrong the the torrent somehow since it can run the legitimate copies perfectly.

Again, it can't be the torrent. What you have here, is a coincidence.
You need to look for hardware drivers for Windows 10.

Also, please use the EDIT button when you have something to add. Double posting is frowned upon here.

Sorry about the double posting, I wasn't aware.

I'm not sure how to go about the drivers solution. After I formatted my PC, I went to the PC manufacturer's website for a list of drivers and download links. I downloaded all of them, but almost all of them returned error messages like "Your PC already has this installed" or "Your PC has a newer version of this installed" or "The files were corrupt". So as far as I know, I have everything that the manufacturer recommends.

Which kind of drivers should I be looking for?

by Sponsored content

The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.

Re: The Sims 3 Stopped Working.