"Help! My Sims 3 game won't work!" I read this sentence and others like it often online, especially since I have bumps now and then in my game. Here are some helpful things you can try before going through a full re-install of your game. Re-installs are, most of the time, totally unnecessary. I'm surprised people recommend doing it so often since it can take quite a while to re-install, especially if you have expansion packs.
Also, a lot of game problems are caused by things outside of the game, or by mods you may have added (by accident or not) to the game. Honestly, troubleshooting TS3 can take a while and be pretty annoying. But since you're here, I'm assuming you like the game enough to try a few things before giving up.
This guide is a work in progress, meaning I will add to it when/if necessary.
Fixing Your Sims 3 Problems
1. Check the game's system requirements. This may be a no-brainer for a lot of people, but I know I'm guilty of buying a game or two without checking if it can run on my poor laptop. To check and make sure your game is compatible with your computer, go to EA's new Origin store. About halfway down the page you'll see a box with two tabs. One of the tabs says "System Req" on it. If you have no idea what any of this means, try asking someone tech savvy. If you don't know anyone like that, contact EA's customer service. They should be able to help you find out if your computer can handle this game.
As a side note, I found that TS3 didn't run very well on Windows 7 64-bit. It wasn't unplayable, but I eventually got the 32-bit version and it worked much better after that.
2. Make sure none of these programs are running on your system, as they are known to cause conflicts with The Sims 3:
- Daemon Tools
- Instant messengers and e-mail checkers (Such as Windows Live MSN, Google Talk, Skype, Yahoo Instant Messenger, etc.)
- Torrent programs (Such as uTorrent, Azureus, BitTorrent, etc.)
- Movies or music - C'mon now. Don't make your poor computer suffer any more than it has to. =)
- Desktop widgets that check e-mail, weather, have picture slideshows, etc.
- Desktop wallpaper slideshows.
- Programs that monitor system resources.
- Antivirus/Anti-Spyware programs (Such as AVG, Norton, Spybot S&D, etc.) - You may need to turn these off while playing, but don't forget to turn them back on when you're through! Some programs won't let you fully turn them off without uninstalling them. I can't use them personally because they always interfere with TS3. You'll have to decide for yourself.
- Browsers with a lot of tabs open - One or two should be fine, but more than that can cause crashes, especially if you have websites open that have music, videos, Flash content, etc. Internet Explorer should not be open at all while playing TS3. You may need to close Firefox or Chrome if you have a lot of addons.
- Any other games - Also, if you know how, check your Task Manager and make sure no games are still open in the Processes tab. Steam games such as Half-Life will sometimes stay open after you've quit the game. Sometimes other games such as MMOs will ghost around in there too. If you're not sure what I'm talking about simply restart your computer, then start up your game again. If that didn't help, continue on to the steps below.
- Game platforms/downloaders (Such as Steam, EADM, etc.)
3. Alt-Tabbing can put stress on your game if you do it constantly. I know this from personal experience. Try running your game without doing it for a while to see if that helps. If you don't know what I'm talking about move on to the next step.
4. Is your game just very laggy? If it is, try loading the game until you are at the Main Menu. Click the button that says "..." and then click on Options. Turn "Reflection Quality" to "mirrors only", or turn it all the way down. Turn "High Detail Lots" to 2 or lower. Set everything else to Medium or Low. You may have to play around with this a few times to get things working right.
Try setting your game to run in window mode by removing the check mark next to "Enable Fullscreen Mode", or vice versa if you're already in window mode. Sometimes switching to one or the other will do the trick.
You can also try moving your Sims to a smaller lot, and removing things from your Sims' home lot such as ponds, pools, and larger fish tanks.
You can also try moving your Sims to a smaller lot, and removing things from your Sims' home lot such as ponds, pools, and larger fish tanks.
Alright, now run your game and see if it's working well. If not, continue on to Step 5.
5. DEP (Data Execution Prevention) is widely known to cause crashing (CTD) problems for TS3. For those with Windows 7 and Windows Vista, this is one of the biggest problems I think TS3 has seen, so we'll get this out of the way. Please follow these instructions carefully. They are taken from The Sims 3 site, but I added Generations and Late Night. For future reference, it's pretty much the same for any EP, and this may also work for other games that are giving you trouble.
Setting the instructions for DEP in Windows Vista:
1. Open the Control Panel. (Classic View)
2. Click on Advanced system settings.(in upper left green area)
3. Click on the Continue button in the UAC prompt.
4. Click on the Settings button under Performance section.
5. Click on the Data Execution Prevention tab.
6. Click on "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select" and press "Add." You will now add your Sims game, expansions and Stuff Packs to the DEP exception list. Copy-and-paste these "C:" locations in the spot where it says "File Name."
Sims 3 base game:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exe
World Adventures:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 World Adventures\Game\Bin\TS3EP01.exe
High-End Loft Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP01.exe
Ambitions:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Ambitions\Game\Bin\TS3EP02.exe
2. Click on Advanced system settings.(in upper left green area)
3. Click on the Continue button in the UAC prompt.
4. Click on the Settings button under Performance section.
5. Click on the Data Execution Prevention tab.
6. Click on "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select" and press "Add." You will now add your Sims game, expansions and Stuff Packs to the DEP exception list. Copy-and-paste these "C:" locations in the spot where it says "File Name."
Sims 3 base game:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exe
World Adventures:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 World Adventures\Game\Bin\TS3EP01.exe
High-End Loft Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP01.exe
Ambitions:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Ambitions\Game\Bin\TS3EP02.exe
Late Night:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack\Game\Bin\TS3EP03.exe
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack\Game\Bin\TS3EP03.exe
Outdoor Living Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP03.exe
Generations:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Generations\Game\Bin\TS3EP04.exe
3. Click OK. You'll have to restart the computer for this to take effect. It should stop the crashing.
Setting the instructions for DEP in Windows 7:
1. Go to Control Panel/System/Advanced/Performance Settings.
2. Go to the Data Execution Prevention tab. Click on "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select" and press "Add." You will now add your Sims game, expansions and Stuff Packs to the DEP exception list. Copy-and-paste these "C:" locations in the spot where it says "File Name."
Sims 3 base game:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exe
World Adventures:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 World Adventures\Game\Bin\TS3EP01.exe
High-End Loft Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP01.exe
Ambitions:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Ambitions\Game\Bin\TS3EP02.exe
Sims 3 base game:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exe
World Adventures:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 World Adventures\Game\Bin\TS3EP01.exe
High-End Loft Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP01.exe
Ambitions:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Ambitions\Game\Bin\TS3EP02.exe
Late Night:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack\Game\Bin\TS3EP03.exe
Outdoor Living Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP03.exe
Generations:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Generations\Game\Bin\TS3EP04.exe
3. Click OK. You'll have to restart the computer for this to take effect. It should stop the crashing.
6. Clean things up a bit. Deleting your caches can be a good idea. Especially if your Sims files keep getting corrupted.
Go into the Sims 3 folder in your Documents folder. You should find it here: C:\Users\GlamSugar\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3. Once there, find and delete these files:
- compositorCache
- simCompositorCache
- CASPartCache
- scriptCache
Now go into the folder called Thumbnails and delete any files that are in it.
The next step you should only do if you have Windows. DO NOT do this if you are on a Mac!! If you have a folder called WorldCaches, go into it and delete any files there.
Also, it may help to defragment your computer more often (or ever in some cases!) so that your computer will run a little smoother, and therefor your game. You can usually find the defragmenting program on your system by going to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter and running it. After that run Disk Cleanup, found in the same folder.
7. Mods and hidden mods might also be your problem. If you already know you have mods, try removing them and see if your game runs better afterwards. If you have a lot of mods you may want to try removing them all, then add them back one at a time to test the game out.
If you don't know anything about mods, you may still have them. If you have downloaded ANYTHING from The Exchange on the TS3 website, you may very well have mods. Uninstall anything you have downloaded and installed from The Exchange and then try running your game again.
8. "Help! My Sims look like monsters from Silent Hill!" Do your poor Sims suddenly have long spider arms and legs? This is caused by mods. Again, uninstall ANYTHING you may have downloaded and installed from The Exchange. In this case, uninstall any Sims or Households you have downloaded. This monster spider look is caused by bad clothing mods. It's a shame that some people don't check their Sims before uploading them because this is a very common problem and ruins otherwise perfectly good Sims.
Hopefully this guide has solved your problem for you. If not, bookmark this page and keep checking in now and then.
