June 2019 - last edited June 2019
So I have been struggling with this problem for over a year now, and have not found anything close to fixing the problem. I bought a new laptop for the sole purpose of making this game more playable when I run into this problem a few days after setting up my new laptop.
1. My fps was uncapped but now I have a program that keeps it at 60fps.
2. I do have a lot of CC and store content, but I have already attempted to play this game with none of them and it still crashed randomly.
3. I am attempting to get a dxdiag file but the program won't open on my laptop at the moment.
4. The crashes are completely random, they can happen 30 minutes into gameplay or 4 hours into gameplay.
5. There is no error message from the sims 3. The game just completely closes itself out and I am suddenly staring at my desktop.
6. I did look into my Event Viewer and saw a few errors at the same time I was either playing the game or the game crashes. I can post the messages if they are relevant.
7. I do occasionally run into the 100% disk problem in my task management, but Sims 3 only contributes to that when the launcher loads.
Computer States:
Name: Acer Nitro 5
Processor: Intel Core i5 - 83000H 2.30GHz
Ram 8GB (7.85 GB Usable)
System Type: 64-bit
Graphics: Nivida GeForce GTX 1050
Screen: 1920 x 1080 60Hz
Windows 10 1803 Build 17134.829
I have over 659 GB free of 930GB (HDD)
Sims 3 is the only game that I am having this problem with. I also have Sims 4 installed and another open world game that works just fine. If anyone has any suggestions that can help solve this persistent problem I would be totally grateful.
I hope to post my dxdiag file soon. Hopefully restarting my computer will get it to work.
Attached DxDiag.
June 2019
@tbluitt2326 Is this how you're trying to get a dxdiag?
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
If so, and it's not working, then you have bigger issues on your hands than just the Sims 3 crashing. If you happen to have dual hard drives, the first thing to check is how much free storage you have on the presumably small C drive, where Windows is installed. Without enough space to maneuver, Windows itself will have all kinds of problems.
If this isn't the case, let me know whether you can get a dxdiag to run, and I'll start making suggestions.
June 2019 - last edited June 2019
@puzzlezaddict I got it to run. I was attempting something else and of course, it didn't work. I only have one drive and it is HDD with 630 GB of not being used.
June 2019
@tbluitt2326 So then, can I see the dxdiag?
June 2019
@puzzlezaddict I attached it to the original post.
June 2019 - last edited June 2019
@tbluitt2326 Serves me right for just hitting refresh.
Anyway, you have a couple of errors related to OneDrive. It's possible that it's trying to sync your game folder while you play, and that's causing the crashes. Try disabling it to see whether it helps. Also, I take it you've confirmed that TS3 is using your Nvidia card, rather than the integrated chip? You can check the deviceconfig inside your game folder to confirm; the GPU entry starts about 30 lines down.
Since you're keeping an eye on the Task Manager, do you happen to know how much RAM TS3 is using when it crashes? It's a 32-bit app, so if it goes over ~3.7 GB for even a moment, it can crash without warning. This could be an issue if you're spending a lot of time in CAS or Edit Town, or just if you're playing in the wrong world. Some are too large or complicated to stay under the RAM limit for long; others are broken and overstress the game engine with routing errors. Let me know where you're playing, and if you still get crashes, please test with a clean game folder (pull your existing one out of Documents\EA) in a well-made world like Sunset Valley or Twinbrook.
Disabling OneDrive would be a a convenient and simple solution, which is why you should try it first. RAM use can be managed in various ways. If neither of these is the issue though, you might have a corrupt graphics card driver or some other system error. Let me know if you're still seeing crashes, and I'll post instructions for checking your system files, and for a clean driver install.
June 2019
@puzzlezaddict I never signed into OneDrive, so I have no idea why it's trying to access files it shouldn't need too. I can't uninstall it I can only 'hide' it. And to do that I would have to make an account.
TS3 is using my NIVIDA.
At the moment I am playing in the Pets expansion town but the improved version with routing fixes. Current expansions are Generation, Ambition, Supernatural and Pets. I will try to do the vanilla game again and see if it still crashes.
By RAM do you mean the memory? I will make sure to keep an eye on it.
I will report back soon. Thanks for the help! ^^
June 2019
@puzzlezaddict Played Sims 3 vanilla two hours almost three yesterday and today with no crash, but since I have gone four hours with Sims 3 loaded with CC and store content before, I don't think it proves much. :\
I also noticed when I do play the more stable worlds, It takes a few days of playing before I get the random crash (I think). And since the crashes are random, it's hard to 'trigger' it.
I tried to keep an eye on RAM but the moment I minimize sims 3 it instantly starts to do down. I never saw it go over 3000 MB, at it's highest it at 2000 MB.
Do you think getting an SSD will help my problem? I think while I play at some point it gets overloaded and my computer shuts Sims 3 down.
June 2019
@tbluitt2326 If OneDrive is set to launch at startup, it could be throwing errors even without an account to access. Go to Settings > Apps > Startup and disable it, no sign in required.
To check RAM use, you can put TS3 in windowed mode on the fly without minimizing it; the option is with all the other graphics settings. If it's not going over 3 GB, then you're fine in the vanilla version, but you'll still need to check when you go back to your existing game folder and saves. And you're right, playing in SV is only a limited test, but it's still good to get a baselline reading for memory use. Then you can try SV with all your mods and cc, then your current save. No need to play for several hours this time—30 minutes should be enough to see RAM stabilize. If it's too high in your current save, or if it keeps rising for longer than half an hour, you can suspect a temporary spike as the cause of the crashes.
An SSD doesn't prevent crashes or make the game more stable overall. What it does is cut down on the time needed to save as well as load anything, from the game itself and your save to CAS, Build/Buy catalogs, Edit Town, and travel transitions. I'm thrilled with how quickly things load on my SSD and would probably be very frustrated waiting around for an HDD, but it's more a quality of life improvement than anything else. Still, that might be worth it to you.
Having said all that, I asked someone about a couple of items in your dxdiag,
and given the nature of the TS3 errors, it's a good idea to run a couple of cleanup routines on your computer. Here's how:
If everything is fine, then definitely have a look at the memory use in your current save, and let me know what you see.
If you get any crashes without RAM use going anywhere near the ~3.7 GB limit, try a clean boot, just to see if there are any background apps interfering with TS3.
I know it's hard to test with a game that doesn't crash reliably, but maybe it's best to just play normally for awhile and not worry about what's happening behind the scenes, other than memory use. If it crashes with a clean boot, that's helpful to know; if it doesn't crash after several play sessions, that's also helpful, and in the meantime, you've been enjoying your game.
June 2019
@puzzlezaddict This was the message: Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. I was given no errors.
I disbaled cloud from startup.
And I am about to run Sims 3 in Windows mode (Still vanilla since re-downloading over 3,000 CC takes a while) to see how much RAM it uses.
And what do you mean by Clean Boot? Does that mean to restart windows somehow?
At the moment I have most of the packs installed just to see if the crash will happen sooner, and it's running really smooth without CC. It takes less than 10 minutes to start up the game and play it. I was wondering if an SSD would start up the Sims 3 just as fast even with CC?