Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

by StineStonSton
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Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

★★★★ Novice

 

When I try to launch the game through Orgin or the game itself it says "unknown error occurred" and shuts down. I have tried reinstalling every game and now I only have the base game installed and it still does launch. I have also tried the basic troubleshooting steps but it does not work. When I go to the Electronic arts folder in Documents the Sims 3 folder is empty. 

 

What should I do? 

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Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

★★★★ Novice
Thank you, and sorry for my late response. I just got my game to work, I just did not install the late night game. Thank you so much to both of you for your help!

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Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

[ Edited ]

@StineStonSton  First of all, you don't need Origin to run TS3 on a mac.  You never need to have it open unless you're installing a new pack.  Also, you won't have a TS3 folder in Documents until you successfully launch the game for the first time.

 

I'm not sure what you've done so far, so I'll just list the various steps to troubleshooting from where you are now.  Since you've uninstalled and reinstalled, it might be a good idea to do a clean uninstall and start over.  The uninstaller that comes with the game often misses files; here's a list:

 

https://bluebellflora.com/how-to-do-a-clean-uninstall-and-reinstall-on-a-mac/

 

Then you can reinstall only the base game and run the Super Patch (digital download version).  Even if the game thinks it's already patched, it may not be, and running the Super Patch won't hurt.

 

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-manual-super-patch-for-mac-1-67/

 

Try launching the game before installing any packs.  If you still get the unknown error message, you may have a processor/graphics card combination that's incompatible with TS3.  (Since you haven't listed your specs, I don't know for sure if this is the case.)  Some people can still get the game to run by editing the .sgr files, but it doesn't always work.  Check the guide below to see if your hardware is listed, and if so, you can follow the instructions to edit the files.

 

https://bluebellflora.com/fix-for-incompatible-graphics-for-the-sims-3-on-mac/

 

Once you get the base game running, you'll still get an unknown error if you install any of Ambitions, Late Night, Fast Lane, or Outdoor Living.  There are two fixes, and you may need to apply both, but they're relatively simple.  The first is to create an alias for any pack that doesn't already have one in your Applications folder, alongside the alias for the base game.

 

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-packs-not-showing-as-installed/

 

The second is to copy files from one of the packs I listed into the folder for your newest pack by release date.  The link below has a very helpful embedded video to guide you, as well as a discussion on the unknown error issues in general.

 

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/CURRENT-ISSUE-Sims-3-Unknown-Error-in-El-Capitan-Sierra-High/...

 

If you follow these steps and still can't run the game on your mac, please post your specs here, and someone can offer more advice.

 

gather mac specs:  https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/475...

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 22 (1,116 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

★★★★ Novice

Hi and Thank you so much for your responds. I did some research myself and did do the clean uninstall which acually helped. After that i installed the games in the right order and tested if i could launch the game after each one which i could until i Got to the late night game. I then tried following the guide bluebellflora had made which did not work. And now i have uninstalled every game because i could not get the other games to work after uninstalling late night. So now i am back to Where i started. 

 

I have the Macbook pro 13” with the touch bar. 3,1 GHz, i5, 256 GB

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Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

[ Edited ]

@StineStonSton  If I'm understanding correctly, you could play properly with the base game and a pack or two, but after installing Late Night, you got the unknown error?  If this is the first pack you installed of the four I mentioned (the others are Ambitions, Fast Lane, and Outdoor Living), then at that point, the only thing you'd need to do would be to create an alias for LN in your Applications folder.  Then the game should launch.

 

https://bluebellflora.com/sims-3-packs-not-showing-as-installed/

 

If you already had one of the other three packs listed above, then you'd need to copy files from that pack or packs into the folder for LN, or whatever your newest pack by release date is, as described in the embedded video I linked.

 

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/CURRENT-ISSUE-Sims-3-Unknown-Error-in-El-Capitan-Sierra-High/...

 

Also, the clean uninstall process applies to individual packs as well, so hopefully you deleted the appropriate files when uninstalling LN.  If you're not sure, you can always uninstall the entire game (a drag, I know, but why not be thorough) and start over.

 

https://bluebellflora.com/manually-uninstalling-an-expansion-or-stuff-pack-in-the-sims-3-for-mac/

 

If this is not what you're seeing, please let me know.  From your description, it sounds like your computer should be fine, although a model number or a more complete list of specs would still be helpful.

 

P.S.  Could you list which packs you'd like to install, for my own clarity?  It would be helpful to me to refer to them by name, rather than "the newest by release date" or "one of the four problem packs."

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 22 (1,123 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

[ Edited ]
★★★★ Novice

I have some difficulties logging in to origin but I will try to install the games again and then I will get back to you.

The order I installed the games in was:
The Sims 3 base game
World adventures
Ambitions
Fast Lane stuff
Late night

And then I want to install:
Outdoor Living stuff
Generations
Pets
Master Suite
Seasons
University life
Island paradise
And Into the future

Message 5 of 22 (1,083 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

★★★★ Novice

Thank you so much for your help! My game now launches without problems

Message 6 of 22 (1,078 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

★★★★ Novice
Okay, new problem. I just got the fast lane game to work after it showed the unknown error but now I tried doing the same thing with late night which did not work so I tried following the video by Corey_0414’s but that did not work either. Do you have an idea what I should do?
Message 7 of 22 (1,071 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

@StineStonSton  Do you now have an alias for each installed pack in Applications?  I guess that would be four packs now, three of which are problematic.  And at this point, while following the video instructions, you'd have needed to copy the appropriate files from both Ambitions and Fast Lane into the folder for Late Night.  Each time you install a newer pack, you'll need to redo this step for all affected packs, as the newest pack runs the game in some ways.  So if you did install all of your packs, you'd need to copy files from Ambitions, Fast Lane, Late Night, and Outdoor Living into the ITF folder.

 

I have to say, though, that I'm not sure how well your mac is going to be able to handle all of those EPs.  (Stuff packs don't add much to overhead.)  Regardless of your specs, TS3 for mac OS has a hard limit of 2 GB RAM, whereas the Windows version can use ~3.5 GB.  Pets and Seasons are particularly demanding of RAM (and hard on integrated graphics cards, but that's another discussion).  To give you an example, I played for years with only the base game and Ambitions.  On my newish computer, a new game would use just over 1.5 GB at startup, and I could play for hours without worrying about RAM.  But a few sim-weeks and some additions to the family later, I'd be over 1.7 GB at startup and close to the limit after an hour.  I ended up Bootcamping so that I could play the Windows version, and it's working out great.

 

Obviously, your experience will depend on your playstyle.  But there aren't that many people who can run the entire game in mac OS and be satisfied with the results.  If you want to check your RAM use, you can do so in the Activity Monitor:

 

https://bluebellflora.com/resetting-ram-during-gameplay/

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 8 of 22 (1,057 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

★★★★ Novice
What does ITF means? Standard smile
Message 9 of 22 (1,053 Views)

Re: Unknown error occurred - Sims 3 - Empty sims 3 folder - Mac

@StineStonSton  Into the Future.  Sorry, I get lazy typing everything out.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
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