Sims 3 crashing on new gaming laptop [ Edited ]

[Harriet13]

Hi everyone,

I've just splurged on a brand new gaming PC after running Sims 3 on my Macbook (mid 2010) for 10 years. While the gaming quality is excellent and feels like I'm playing a brand new game, it constantly crashes without warning - no dialogue boxes explaining the error and no common theme to the crash - just exiting to desktop. Can be a few minutes in, can be a few hours in, very inconsistent. For reference, I run most of my games off Origin as I couldn't get Sims 3 base game to work off the disc alone.

I've been searching for days on the forums and YouTube for answers - seems a lot of people have a similar issue - but no matter what I try I can't get the crashing to stop. 

Here is a list of all of the Troubleshooting I've tried, my computer specs, plus have attached my DXDiag. I'm not very computer savvy so I've only done what I feel comfortable with.

Computer Specs:

HP OMEN Laptop 15-ek0005na NVIDIA® GeForce

• Intel® Core™ i7-10750H Processor
• RAM: 16 GB / Storage: 1 TB SSD
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 MaxQ 8 GB
• Full HD screen / 144 Hz

- Running Windows 10

- No other games installed other than Sims 3 and 4 (which I just can't get into fun-wise), hardly any other files, and only Discord, Origin, Steam, and Spotify downloaded other than Sims.

Sims 3 games:

Base game

Late Night

World Adventures

Generations

Pets

Seasons

Showtime (installed post-crashing)

University Life

Ambitions

Town Life Stuff (installed post-crashing)

Outdoor Living Stuff (installed post-crashing)

Master Suite Stuff

- Patch 1.69

Things I've tried:

- Removed all mods

- "Repaired" game through Origin

- Disabled DEP (some files wouldn't allow DEP to be disabled)

- Removed all save files (to see if a file had corrupted and caused the crash)

- Turned off WiFi

- Checked all drivers are up to date

- Run in compatibilty mode (XP, Vista, 95, 8)
- Checked CPU, Memory, GPU usage while running game in Task Manager, never particularly high amounts being used 

Because of the amount of money I spent on this laptop with the main purpose of running the Sims 3, I'm feeling pretty stressed about these crashes! If anyone could offer any guidance I would appreciate it greatly! Thank you in advance!

[puzzlezaddict]

@Harriet13  There are a few different issues in your dxdiag that might be contributing to the crashes.  Among the errors are failed Windows updates, a couple crashes of the Origin update tool, and some crashes of an audio service that comes installed on HP laptops.  Start with the Windows issue: you can run a couple of basic checks on your Windows system files, then manually run any updates that might currently be failing.

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, and enter
• The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
• After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
• Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator)”
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
• Post the message you receive here
• Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.

For the Origin crashes, clear its cache and uninstall it "the hard way," which shouldn't affect Sims 3.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

Reinstall Origin using the full installer, and run it as an admin: right-click on the download and select "Run as administrator."  This is a direct download link:

http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe

Please also link the driver download page for your laptop.  Even if all the drivers are updated, I'd still like to see what software is offered, especially if you need to uninstall and reinstall something.  But I can't find exactly the right page from the info in your dxdiag.  So please go here:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

Enter the serial number for your laptop, and you'll land on the driver download page.  Please link it here.  The page doesn't have any information about your own laptop, just its model.

And please undo any compatibility setting: it's not necessary to use one for Sims 3, and having one makes troubleshooting a bit more complicated.

If the above steps don't help, what world(s) are you playing in?  Do you use mods or custom content?  It's fine if you do; just let me know either way.

Perhaps the most important step for Sims 3 itself is making sure your in-game framerates are capped.  To see what kinds of numbers you're getting, bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes.  A number will appear in the upper right corner, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your screen, in this case 144 Hz.  If it's consistently higher or fluctuates wildly, that could account for the crashing, and it could cause all kinds of other issues as well.  It's easy enough to limit fps manually if necessary; just let me know whether this is an issue.

[Harriet13]

@puzzlezaddictHi, thank you so much for your response!

I will reply in stages as I do what you said to do in order to not lose any of the information

Step 1:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\windows\system32> DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.572

Image Version: 10.0.19041.572

[===========================84.9%================= ]
[===========================88.7%=================== ]
[==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.
PS C:\windows\system32>


Step 2:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\windows\system32> sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
PS C:\windows\system32>

-- Sytem is now up to date after restarting with your instructions. Moving onto Origin next!

[Harriet13]

@puzzlezaddict

Ok, Origin uninstalled, cache cleared, reinstalled.

Here is my driver download page:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/omen-15-ek0000-laptop-pc-series/32827267/model/3476...

All compatibility settings undone!

I'm playing in:
Sunset Valley, Twinbrook, Starlight Shores, Apaloosa Plains, Bridgeport. I also have Rivereview & Roaring Heights downloaded but the problem started before I had installed either.

I don't use any custom content besides what came with the Riverview & Roaring Heights downloads.

The mods I had were:
NRAAS Error Trap
NRAAS Master Controller
NRAAS Overwatch
NRAAS Story Progression
Nointro
- however I removed them all to see if there was perhaps an issue with one of them. Unfortunately the crashes persisted and I haven't reinstalled them yet.

FPS: absolute mayhem! Running around in the mid-200s even when I limit it to 60hz using the in-game system! That's very interesting to know.

Perhaps I should see if I get another crash and do another DXDiag for you?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Harriet13  Having fps over 200 could certainly cause crashes, although your graphics card is fast enough that it might handle those framerates just fine in the short term.  It's easy enough to manually limit fps and see whether it helps though.  The in-game tool doesn't work at all, but you can use the built-in Nvidia Control Panel instead.  Right-click on the desktop, select the Control Panel, then Manage 3D settings, and under Global Settings, you'll see a Max Frame Rate:

Turn it on, set it to 72 (half of 144) for now, just to see how the game runs, and let me know.  If you get another crash, please do run another dxdiag.  And please test in a new save in Sunset Valley, to set a baseline for performance.  The other worlds should be fine too, but with the exception of Riverview and Twinbrook, they're not as well made and can introduce other issues.

The NRaas mods you mentioned will all help performance, other than StoryProgression, which is quite demanding at its faster speeds.  So as long as you're testing, it's a good idea to remove SP; you can add it back when your game is stable.  Given the packs you have installed, I'd add NRaas Register and Traffic as well, for their improved management of role sims (especially stray pets) and vehicle spawning.

[Harriet13]

@puzzlezaddict thank you so much for all of your advice! 

I'm wondering if this could be part of my issue? Trying to bring up NVIDIA control panel and got the attached message.

I will definitely try all of your other suggestions and get back to you. Thank you again for your help!

[puzzlezaddict]

@Harriet13  That is an odd error—I don't think I've seen it before, at least on a system that did in fact have an Nvidia card and a properly installed driver—but try restarting your computer and opening the CP before you open any apps, especially before launching Sims 3.  If you still can't access the CP, it might just be how the driver or some installed HP software works.  Let me get back to you on that.

In the meantime, you can use RivaTuner Statistics Server to limit framerates instead.  RTSS is a free download from Guru3D; go to the bottom of the page for the real download (as opposed to any ads that might show up).  Once installed, you'll see something like this:

You can set a global limit, or one for TS3.exe (not TS3W, that's for disc or Steam installs).  Set the fps limit (red box), and choose whether RTSS should start with Windows (yellow box).  The other settings don't matter, although you can choose to have RTSS display your real-time fps if you want.

Unlike some other tools, RTSS does need to be running in the background to work, so make sure to minimize it rather than Xing it out.

[Harriet13]

Hey @puzzlezaddict thanks for all your help so far and sorry I haven't come back to you sooner, I haven't been able to play as much in the last week.

So initially all of your guidance worked amazingly. no crashes whatsoever - and then the other day my game started crashing again. The only difference is that because it had been running fine I reloaded Story Progression into my game - so I wonder if it could have been what triggered it perhaps? Needless to say, I've taken that mod back out but am still getting crashes.

I re-did your initial step as well as checked for all updates on my computer. I haven't uninstalled Origin "The Hard Way" again but I can if you think that's still part of the issue!

I also fixed the issue with my NVIDIA control panel telling me it's not enabled, so set my frame rate to 70fps now.

Here is the latest DXDiag:

Here is "Restore Health"

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\windows\system32> DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.572

Image Version: 10.0.19042.572

[==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.
PS C:\windows\system32>

Here is "sfc /scannow"

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\windows\system32> sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

[puzzlezaddict]

@Harriet13  It looks like your system updated to the new Windows build: your first dxdiag listed builld 19041, and this one says 19042.  While the new build may be quite similar to the old one, it's possible that it doesn't (yet) get along with the graphics drivers written for 19041.  Do you have the option to revert?  If so, it's worth trying.

StoryProgression is a heavy mod, and it can be even heavier if its overall speed is too fast or if you use a large number of add-ons.  When adding it to your game, it's best to start with just the base mod, set the speed to slow or snail, and see how the game runs; then adjust from there.

If you can't or don't want to revert to an earlier Windows build, another approach is to try playing in a clean user data folder.  Move your entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to this folder yet; just start a new save and see how it runs.  This wouldn't help at all with a system (driver or Windows) issue, but it's also possible that something in your user data folder has been corrupted and is causing the crashing, and this is a quick test to find out.

[Harriet13]

Hey @puzzlezaddict thank you again for such a speedy response! 

So I actually already tried removing the save files from the game and going off a completely new save, but it didn't change anything unfortunately. I'll give it another go though, just in case.

I will have a go at reverting the update to see if that changes anything also! 

I also have attached a new DXDiag from a new crash last night, as in between me messaging you and your response by computer updated (again). I'm not sure if that's useful to you at all but figured I'd include it anyway.

I'll get back to you if anything changes! 

Thanks again