Sims 3 black screen when press play

[s1mmer342]

For the past couple of days I've been experiencing problems with a black loading screen (it goes black and has a loading mouse) when I click play on Sims 3. It also goes grey like I'm downloading something when I click downloads and I cannot download custom content through the launcher anymore as it goes black and loads. I've done a cc check and deleted any cc that is broken. Also a little note when this happens I have to restart my laptop every time - I don't know if many people still play the Sims 3 but please help!! 

[puzzlezaddict]

@s1mmer342  Yes, there are plenty of us that still play TS3.  And there are still plenty of bugs and glitches, too, and the launcher is as unreliable as it ever was.

The first thing to try is deleting the five cache files in your game folder in Documents.  They should be deleted regularly anyway, and each time you install or remove content from your game folder, as well as whenever you have trouble with the game itself.  For reference, the files are:

• CASPartCache.package
• compositorCache.package
• scriptCache.package
• simCompositorCache.package
• socialCache.package

If that alone doesn't help, drag your entire TS3 game folder out of Documents and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game again, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Try loading a new save, just to see if it works.  Then try downloading and installing one or two cc items, and launch the game again.  If everything goes smoothly, you can start transferring your saves and other content into the new game folder from the old one.  Be sure to get rid of the newest .dbc file in DCCache, since it will have the same name (dcdb0.dbc) as one in your old game folder.  Here's a list of all the relevant files:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

It's a good idea to transfer your custom content first, as that may be the source of your problems.  (Deleting cc that was installed in Sims3Pack form isn't always enough; the .dbc file it was installed into can still be corrupt.)  Move a few files at a time, and test to make sure you can still load a new save.  Any batch of files that prevents the game from loading needs to be split and tested until you've found the culprit.  And be sure to delete your cache files every time you quit.  Move your saves over last, when you're sure all the other content is working.

If you can't even load a new save in a clean folder, please run a dxdiag and attach the results to a post here.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

[s1mmer342]

Hi so I deleted those files and it still didn't work. However, I can't move the whole file onto my desktop as its taking up too much space - is there any certain files i should keep and then delete the rest? and thank you so so much

[puzzlezaddict]

@s1mmer342  Is your game folder in OneDrive?  That's the only reason I can think of that you wouldn't be able to move it to your desktop.  Otherwise, moving it would just be an organizational issue; the files would still be on your hard drive, taking up the same space as before.  This is a good time for that dxdiag—it will show how much free and total storage you have.

To answer your question though, you can delete everything in FeaturedItems.  Those thumbnails are just leftover ads from EA trying to sell you store stuff.  Everything in DCBackup can go, except for ccmerged.package.  The other files are only necessary if you want to upload content to the Exchange and would like your cc to stick to the files.  You can also delete any screenshots you don't want to keep, and any recorded videos as well (in Screenshots and RecordedVideos, respectively).  Eventually, you can move everything in Downloads elsewhere, but don't delete it now—you might need those files in case you have to rebuild all or part of your cc collection.

[s1mmer342]

Yeah it is in OneDrive. I have attached the Dxdiag as well

[puzzlezaddict]

@s1mmer342  It's no wonder you couldn't move your game folder to your desktop—you have only 10 GB free on your hard drive.  This is barely enough for Windows to function normally, and not nearly enough to allow you to update your OS.  Unfortunately, a single 120 GB hard drive doesn't really give you any room to maneuver.  If you can, definitely delete anything you don't need off your hard drive, for the overall health of your system.

I can't be totally sure about the immediate cause of the black screen, since using OneDrive for the TS3 game folder isn't recommended.  If it's working for you though, at least generally, it might be best to keep it there, especially considering how little space you have on your hard drive.  What I would guess is that your OneDrive account is running out of space, and the game doesn't have room to create the temporary files it needs while running.  This would also explain why you can't download any more cc, since the downloads also land in your game folder.

After you've deleted the files I listed, can you launch the game?  If so, then it probably was an issue of free space in OneDrive.  You'll run into the same problem soon enough unless you keep your game folder small.  In addition to the files I mentioned, I'd recommend moving everything in Downloads to a thumb drive or external hard drive.  You'll want to keep those files in case you need them later, but there's no reason to keep them in your game folder.  After the content is installed, the files in Downloads are no longer necessary.

If you can't launch TS3 even after cleaning out your game folder, then it's probably an issue of free storage on your hard drive.  Usually, when a game folder is in OneDrive, TS3 can't find it and tries to create a new one.  But with the little storage you have, maybe that isn't possible.  You'll need to free up more space and test to be sure.

It's bedtime for me, but I'll be back later to check on this thread.  In the meantime, try clearing space on both OneDrive and your hard drive and see where it gets you.

[s1mmer342]

So I've tried to delete as much as I can. Also i am trying to move my cc to an external hardrive so i can start up a clean game - do you think this would work? If not should I look into getting extra storage. If all this doesn't work should I reinstall it not in my onedrive? Hope you have a nice rest and thank you so much for the help!! 

[puzzlezaddict]

@s1mmer342  I had a decent rest, thanks, just not long enough.  (That's my own fault for staying up late.)  I think the best thing to do would be to move your entire game folder somewhere else, like an external drive, and see if you can load TS3 with no folder present at all.  That's the usual procedure—get the game running with a clean folder, then start adding content back.  Normally I would recommend not having your game folder in OneDrive at all, but given your lack of free space on your hard drive, and the fact that you could play before, this configuration might work for you.

Whether getting extra storage would help depends on what you mean.  More space in OneDrive is probably a waste of money, and it might not address your current issue anyway.  But if your computer has room to add a second hard drive (and I'm not sure that it does), that would help a lot, with TS3 as well as whatever else you want to do with this computer.  Otherwise, you really need to keep almost everything on an external drive.  Even just having TS3 on your internal hard drive is a tight fit, as you're seeing now.

Once you've moved your game folder to external storage, launch the game a couple of times to see whether it works.  Check both OneDrive and the Documents folder on your hard drive to see where the new game folder lands as well.

[s1mmer342]

Okay thank you so much! I've ordered some external hard drive to store it in and that is probably going to arrive tomorrow, I will update the thread when it comes to see if it works and thank you so so much I am so grateful.