Sims 3 stopped working

[khobimaholmes]

I have started a new save file and I do have the nraas master controller, overwatch, error trap, portrait panel and story progression mods in my mod folder, everything had been running smoothly until I tried to move some sims out of my household. Error trap classed it as a moving error and stopped the whole process while still taking the simoleons. I then went to edit town and tried to move the two sims out via that method, saved before I went in. Then I resumed the game and everything was fine for a few minutes until it crashed. I reloaded the game and now it won’t even go past the second loading screen, as soon as the game shows up it immediately shows “the sims 3 has stopped working” message and exits. I was afraid that maybe I accidentally deleted files while deleting featured items or dcbackup files but everything that was supposed to be there was. I tried to get origin to repair the game thinking that would fix the issue but no as well. I’m at a loss and I think my save file may have corrupted the game or something 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@khobimaholmes  It does sound like your save data might be corrupted.  You may have better luck loading a backup copy.  Even if you've never made one, the game keeps the files from the second to last time you saved.

Go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Saves, and you'll see a folder with your save name, plus another one with a .backup extension.  So if your save is SunsetValley, the main save folder will be SunsetValley.sims3, and the backup will be SunsetValley.sims3.backup.  Delete the extension and rename the backup (e.g. SunsetValley1.sims3), and you'll be able to load it from the Main Menu.

Before you do anything else, it's a good idea to copy your saves elsewhere, just in case you need an extra copy.  Delete the five cache files in your Sims 3 user data folder (the one in Documents\Electronic Arts) as well.  These files should be deleted regularly anyway; while troubleshooting, delete them every time you quit.  For reference, they are:

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

In the same folder, please open CurrentGame, and delete anything you find in there.  This folder should always be empty unless Sims 3 is running and you have a save loaded, but sometimes the files don't get deleted when the game crashes.

Try to load the backup save, and if it doesn't work, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.  By the way, one of the causes of the "serious error" message is having the user data folder open, or more likely a subfolder within it, so please close them before launching.

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

If it does load, let the game clock run for a few sim-minutes, then use "save as" to rename the save, so you have a new copy to experiment on.  Try to move out the sims as before.  If it doesn't work, quit without saving, delete the cache files, then reload the save (under the new save name).  Let the game clock run for a couple sim-minutes again, then use MasterController to reset the world.  Click on City Hall and select NRaas > MC > Town Options > Reset Everything.  This may take a few minutes.

Normally, you can exclude your active household from the reset (NRaas > MC > Settings > Include Active Lot in Reset Everything > False).  But it's a good idea to let your sims be reset too.  They'll keep their jobs, relateionships, and I believe their promised wishes and opportunities too, perhaps minus a borked opportunity if there is one.  But their dream managers will restart, just so you're aware.

Once the town has been reset, let the game clock run a bit longer, save as again, quit, delete the cache files, reload, and see whether you can move out the sims.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@khobimaholmes  It does sound like your save data might be corrupted.  You may have better luck loading a backup copy.  Even if you've never made one, the game keeps the files from the second to last time you saved.

Go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Saves, and you'll see a folder with your save name, plus another one with a .backup extension.  So if your save is SunsetValley, the main save folder will be SunsetValley.sims3, and the backup will be SunsetValley.sims3.backup.  Delete the extension and rename the backup (e.g. SunsetValley1.sims3), and you'll be able to load it from the Main Menu.

Before you do anything else, it's a good idea to copy your saves elsewhere, just in case you need an extra copy.  Delete the five cache files in your Sims 3 user data folder (the one in Documents\Electronic Arts) as well.  These files should be deleted regularly anyway; while troubleshooting, delete them every time you quit.  For reference, they are:

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

In the same folder, please open CurrentGame, and delete anything you find in there.  This folder should always be empty unless Sims 3 is running and you have a save loaded, but sometimes the files don't get deleted when the game crashes.

Try to load the backup save, and if it doesn't work, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.  By the way, one of the causes of the "serious error" message is having the user data folder open, or more likely a subfolder within it, so please close them before launching.

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

If it does load, let the game clock run for a few sim-minutes, then use "save as" to rename the save, so you have a new copy to experiment on.  Try to move out the sims as before.  If it doesn't work, quit without saving, delete the cache files, then reload the save (under the new save name).  Let the game clock run for a couple sim-minutes again, then use MasterController to reset the world.  Click on City Hall and select NRaas > MC > Town Options > Reset Everything.  This may take a few minutes.

Normally, you can exclude your active household from the reset (NRaas > MC > Settings > Include Active Lot in Reset Everything > False).  But it's a good idea to let your sims be reset too.  They'll keep their jobs, relateionships, and I believe their promised wishes and opportunities too, perhaps minus a borked opportunity if there is one.  But their dream managers will restart, just so you're aware.

Once the town has been reset, let the game clock run a bit longer, save as again, quit, delete the cache files, reload, and see whether you can move out the sims.

[khobimaholmes]

Thank you I will try this tomorrow and update you if it works ^^

[khobimaholmes]

It worked!!! Thank you! It was my save file and I didn’t know there was a roll back like that, I also was in the showtime world and that seemed to be causing issues after reloading the backup so I moved them to sunset valley and now everything is back to normal. Again thank you Bc I was about to give up 

[puzzlezaddict]

@khobimaholmes  I'm glad to hear your backup save is working again.  From now on, you may want to periodically use "save as" to rename the save, so you have extra backups in case you ever need them.  I "save as" every sim-day, although many people would consider that excessive, and I delete the older backups (all but 3 or 4) when I know I won't need them.

If you want to play in Starlight Shores again, it would help to add NRaas Traffic.  Showtime introduced a career performance limo for sims to use, and the limos can spawn out of control and cause lag or even make a save unplayable.  Overwatch cleans them up every night, but it's often not enough, especially when there can be tens of thousands of vehicles spawned in a single day.  Traffic prevents them from spawning by default.

I'm not saying this was the cause of your borked save—there are many reasons something like this can happen—just that it's one potential cause, and preventing the limos from continuously spawning can only help.