[Mac] Cannot save game after traveling back from France [ Edited ]

[RavenMistwolf]

I use a mid 2010 MacBook Pro with the latest OS and no issues with the computer. I have every Sims 3 Expansion Pack except for Into the Future and almost every Stuff Pack.
I have been having problems saving my sims 3 game for quite some time (a few years). I always just played the game for a couple hours, saving regularly until an error popped up a couple hours later. It is always "error code 12", but I was always able to save a few times over the span of a few hours before the error popped up. I always restart my computer before trying to play sims just to clear everything it was doing that may slow it down. I get a "disc authorization failure" error the first 1-5 times I open the game. I just keep retrying and it eventually goes away. If I hit 5 or 6 disc authorization errors, I restart my computer again.

Recently I decided to start traveling with my sim again. It had been a long time since I traveled. So I went to China, then Egypt a couple times, then France. I always saved with a few hours left in my trip in case I got an error when I returned home. This last time, I have not been able to save after returning from France. If I try to save again after it has already given me the "error code 12" the game just crashes and I have to force quit it. Same with trying to go to "edit town."

The main thing I want help with is the not saving issue, because that essentially prevents me from playing at all anymore. But help with the "disc authorization failure" thing would be appreciated also.

I have tried...
-restarting my computer extra times between games
-ejecting the disc, restarting the computer, and re entering the disc
-using a disc image
-trying to travel home without putting in the testingcheatsenabled cheat (which I usually put in at the beginning of every gaming session)
-waiting until my sim reached the house before trying to save
-trying to save the moment the home world loaded
-making my sim return to the home lot in France before traveling home
-making my sim manually end her vacation a couple hours early
-waiting for the vacation to end on its own
-duplicating my town/game
-resetting my sim before traveling home
-verifying/repairing my hard drive
-disabling the interactive loading screens
-not opening the game for over a week, hoping somehow it would magically get better

I can't think of anything else to try for either problem. I went through some steps online that were supposed to fix the disc authorization error, but they didn't. All that did was make me have to reinstall everything I had bought from the sims 3 store. I would REALLY rather not have to reinstall everything, so if you can think of any solutions I have not thought of, that would be amazing!
 
edit edit sorry
 
 
  please and thank you in advance

[Bluebellflora]

@RavenMistwolf

To fix the disc authorisation error you need to uninstall your most recent EP/SP and reinstall it using Origin. Instructions here.

The Error 12 is a memory issue. TS3 in OS X can only access up to 2Gb RAM as opposed to the 4Gb RAM that it can utilise in Windows. You should regularly purge RAM during gameplay, especially before travelling, after travelling and before saving. You can download apps from the App Store to do this for you or you can do it easily enough yourself with a simple Terminal command. The command is dependant on what OS you are running. You can find instructions here.

Let me know how you get on

[RavenMistwolf]

I tried to play through Origin so I wouldn't have to worry about the disc, but it wouldn't even let me open the game because there was no game disc. So.... Not sure what's going on there..

Will try the RAM purging soon and update on results.

[RavenMistwolf]

I thought I posted this awhile ago. Sorry to keep anyone waiting.

I tried the RAM purging and it did not work. I tried purging before traveling back then saving when I returned, purging after I got back then saving, and purging both before and after traveling then saving. I was still unable to save every time.

I also cleared up an extra 100ish GB on my computer, hoping that extra space would help in some way, but it didn't. I still have not been able to save and pretty much gave up on the game for the time being. It is ridiculous.

I tried to export my family so I could possibly reinstall the games then just download them and start from where I left off, but I have to be in town view to do that, and it crashes when I try to switch to town view (just like when I try to save multiple times in a row. It just crashes and there is nothing I can do). I got to town view one time and tried exporting the family and it said "processing" for nearly 2 hours before I gave up on it and had to force quit. I was considering just moving the family/game file to another location before deleting everything, but if the corruption is in that file, that wouldn't really help...

[Bluebellflora]

@RavenMistwolf

The RAM purging will always help but the frequency with which you have to do it depends on how much system RAM you have. 4Gb is the bare minimum but 8Gb is definitely recommended.

Which exact model Mac do you have? Maybe your graphics card or CPU are struggling. Travelling in the game uses a huge amount of resources. The problem may also be with something corrupted in France. Have you moved your Sims 3 folder out from Documents > Electronic Arts and let the game regenerate a new one? If it works ok then move your Saves back into the newly created folder and see if it still continues to work.

[RavenMistwolf]

@bluebellflora

If the problem was the RAM, then purging it the moment before saving my game should have done the trick. It didn't. And if I generally didn't have enough, the problem would not have started so suddenly after no changes to the game or my computer.

If the problem was my computer itself struggling, it would not have happened so suddenly after no changes for so long and playing so consistently.

I have not tried that. Do I remove everything (causing me to have to reinstall all my stuff from the store, taking forever...) or is there a way to just remove part of it (like... France) and have it regenerate just that?

[Bluebellflora]

@RavenMistwolf

The RAM issue affects every single Mac user because of the game's inability to access any more than 2Gb RAM, regardless how much RAM you have installed. The Launcher alone uses nearly 2Gb just when it opens! Your Mac will allocate a ton of RAM to the game but the game ignores it. Purging the RAM frees up your system RAM so it can keep making it available for the game, drastically cutting down on the Error 12 messages which is a known in game memory issue. However, if you have only 4Gb RAM in your Mac it is always going to struggle. It's ridiculous I know.

Have you installed anything else on your Mac recently? Or downloaded anything from the Exchange? Installed anymore EPs?

Before uninstalling and reinstalling you could try downloading and applying the super patch (linked in my signature). If you do uninstall you can save your Store stuff by keeping the Downloads folder from Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3. Bear in mind there will also be any erroneous stuff you may have downloaded from the Exchange unknowingly in there too.