The Sims 3 crashing due to "Insufficient Graphics Capability"

[NandaCeloCillo]

Hello!

I apologize beforehand for the long post, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if I make any mistakes when writing, as English isn't my first language.

I've recently went back to The Sims 3, and I've been having some issues with crashing. When I run The Sims 3 Crash Log Analyzer, it usually says that the issue is "Insufficient Graphics Capability", although sometimes it says "Data Execution Prevention" (I've tried adding ts3w.exe to the DEP exceptions on my PC, to no avail - the crashing still happens.)

I have an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics card, which I know isn't the best graphics card out there, but from my limited knowledge of computer specs, it seems to me it should be perfectly capable of running The Sims 3.

I altered my Graphics Cards.sgr and Graphics Rules.sgr to recognize my graphics card. I did it through TS3_GPU_Addon.exe, which does it automatically. I've already limited my FPS to 60 on the NVIDIA Control Panel and turned vertical sync and triple buffering on. I also 4GB-patched my game. That didn't seem to help much either.

When I run GeForce Experience, it recommends that I turn Advanced Rendering off in my game. When I do that, the crashing does become less frequent (although it doesn't stop happening), but the in-game terrain looks extremely bland and it causes some weird graphical issues, like lot tearing and lots dissappearing and turning blue.

The version of my game is 1.67 (Steam version), and the only mods I have installed are basic NRAAS ones. I have a lighting mod, but removing it from my game didn't make any difference in regards to the crashing.

I attatched my DxDiag and my DeviceConfig.log because those files seem to help people when troubleshooting.

If anyone has any suggestions to help reduce screen tearing, that would help a lot as well.

Thank you in advance!

DeviceConfig.log

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@NandaCeloCillo  Thanks for the dxdiag and the deviceconfig, and you're right, having them makes things a lot easier for those of us who try to help.  The crash log analyzer's conclusions are often inaccurate or misleading, so I wouldn't necessarily trust the info.  Also, for what it's worth, I wouldn't have known you weren't a native English speaker from your post had you not said so.

Your dxdiag shows that Sims 3 is crashing due to an issue with DirectX 9.  That doesn't mean that DX9 itself is corrupt—it's actually more likely to be a game issue—but it's still worth reinstalling the runtime, since the process is simple and won't do any harm.  I wrote out detailed instructions here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10711778#M2478...

Please also tell Windows to run Sims 3 in high-performance mode.  Click Windows key-i, select System > Display > Graphics settings, click the Browse button, choose TS3.exe from the menu, click Options, choose the high-performance option, and save.  This not only assigns the Nvidia card to run the game, as is already happening, it also governs other power settings, which can be especially useful when playing on a laptop.  Speaking of which, please make sure to only play with the laptop plugged in as well.

If the above steps don't help, please test a new save in a clean user folder just to set a baseline for performance.  Move the 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 it yet; just start a new save in Sunset Valley and let me know how it runs.  Please also let me know whether you have Pets and Seasons installed, as these are the most demanding packs and the most difficult for borderline graphics cards to run.

[roberta591]

@NandaCeloCillo I suspect you may have the wrong Video driver installed. I looked up the GeForce 940M and the driver Nvidia has is version 381.65 from 2017. I know it's old but so is the graphics card you have. Make sure the game is using the GeForce card.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@NandaCeloCillo  Thanks for the dxdiag and the deviceconfig, and you're right, having them makes things a lot easier for those of us who try to help.  The crash log analyzer's conclusions are often inaccurate or misleading, so I wouldn't necessarily trust the info.  Also, for what it's worth, I wouldn't have known you weren't a native English speaker from your post had you not said so.

Your dxdiag shows that Sims 3 is crashing due to an issue with DirectX 9.  That doesn't mean that DX9 itself is corrupt—it's actually more likely to be a game issue—but it's still worth reinstalling the runtime, since the process is simple and won't do any harm.  I wrote out detailed instructions here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10711778#M2478...

Please also tell Windows to run Sims 3 in high-performance mode.  Click Windows key-i, select System > Display > Graphics settings, click the Browse button, choose TS3.exe from the menu, click Options, choose the high-performance option, and save.  This not only assigns the Nvidia card to run the game, as is already happening, it also governs other power settings, which can be especially useful when playing on a laptop.  Speaking of which, please make sure to only play with the laptop plugged in as well.

If the above steps don't help, please test a new save in a clean user folder just to set a baseline for performance.  Move the 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 it yet; just start a new save in Sunset Valley and let me know how it runs.  Please also let me know whether you have Pets and Seasons installed, as these are the most demanding packs and the most difficult for borderline graphics cards to run.

[NandaCeloCillo]

@puzzlezaddict I did what you told me to do (reinstalling DirectX 9 and telling Windows to allow higher performance for The Sims 3) and I was able to play a save game for about fifty minutes with advanced rendering on before the game crashed! (I can usually only play this specific save game for about two minutes before the game crashes)

This time when I ran the crash log analyzer, it told me the issue was custom content, so I removed my Sims 3 folder and started a new save with a new folder in Sunset Valley, like you said. I was able to play normally and the game didn't crash.

So it seems there was either a problem with DirectX 9 or my Laptop wasn't allowing the game to run because of battery life management (even though I play and always have played with my computer plugged in). Either way, the "Insufficient Graphics Card" issue appears to have been solved, and now I have some sort of problem with my mods or my CC, of which I have very little installed.

Regarding your question: yes, I do have both Pets and Seasons installed.

I'm going to attempt removing and re-adding mods and CC to see what may be causing the problem now, but thank you so, so much for reaching out and helping me!

@roberta591 My game is running using the NVIDIA card, and I installed the most recent drivers through NVIDIA Experience. I was actually having issues with the game's FPS before because my drivers hadn't been updated since 2018. Isn't it always recommended to use the most recent drivers? Anyway, thanks for your reply!

[puzzlezaddict]

@NandaCeloCillo  If I had to guess, I'd say that the high-performance mode was what helped initially, but you do still have an issue with mods or custom content.  If you'd like help sorting that out, just ask.

You might also have problems running Pets and Seasons, or perhaps just Pets.  With Seasons, pay attention to how the game runs during inclement weather (rain, snow, hail), and if performance is bad, consider turning off those effects or at least lowering the graphics settings in winter.  It can also help to avoid long-haired pets and horses, both of which take more resources to render than the rest.

And yes, you should be using the latest graphics driver from Nvidia.  When a laptop is very new, it's best to use whatever drivers the laptop manufacturer offers, as those are often tuned to the particulars of that machine better than the more generic driver from Nvidia or whichever other company supports a particular component (e.g. Intel, Realtek, etc.).  But by this point, the drivers from your laptop's manufacturer are years out of date, so Nvidia is the right source.

[NandaCeloCillo]

Thank you! 

I did notice that during winter, my game lags more. My game was also more prone to crashing when I was playing with a household that had dogs and horses in it, or when I played in Appaloosa Plains.

I'm going to see if I can sort out the CC/Mods issue. I might even uninstall the Steam version and redeem my game on Origin to get the 1.69 update and be able to manage my EPs and SPs more easily.

[puzzlezaddict]

@NandaCeloCillo  I'd strongly suggest keeping the Steam version of Sims 3 rather than installing through Origin.  It's much easier to manage overall, and not running Origin or Steam in the background will leave more of your laptop's resources available for the game itself.  You can also bypass the launcher: double-click on TS3W.exe (with the W) to go straight to the intro.  If you do want to use the launcher, double-click on Sims3LauncherW.exe.  You can make a shortcut for each one so you don't need to go diving into the game's program files.

There's a way to manage which packs load in a Steam install.  It's more complicated than the Origin launcher's pack selector but also more reliable.  If you'd like to know how, just ask; it's what I do with my Steam install.  Just be aware that it involves editing your computer's registry, so you need to be very precise.

[NandaCeloCillo]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so much for the tips! I'll most definitely use them.

Honestly, I am interested in knowing how to manage packs when using a Steam install, can you tell me the steps of how to do that?

Edit: Do you have any tips on how to install Create-a-World for Steam? I watched James Turner's video on it, and it also involves going into regedit (which I've already done once before to alter the language of my game). I just want to know if the method he teaches interferes with the pack management method you mentioned, because apparently he tells you to create a new Sims 3 registry file. I haven't done this yet.

[puzzlezaddict]

@NandaCeloCillo  This is the guide I link for getting CAW to run in a Steam install, and I'm told it works well:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=277022926

Before editing the exported registry file, make a backup copy, just in case you need it later.  Importing is as simple as double-clicking the file.

When I want to disable a pack, I delete the two registry entries for that pack, which are located here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sims(Steam)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Electronic Arts\Sims(Steam)

Each installed pack has one entry in each category, although the (Steam) part will obviously not be there if you've already edited the entries to work with CAW.

If you want to use both of these workarounds, I'd strongly suggest making a copy of both of the original Sims(Steam) categories, then making another copy of the edited version once you've tested and you know it works.  Then you can delete the registry keys for the packs you don't want to play with, and when you want those packs to load again, you can simply import the prior version of each section of the registry.

I've been doing this for three years without problems, and it's now easy for me and takes a trivial amount of time.  But if it's more work than you want to do, you might prefer to just use the Origin version.  The one problem you may run into is that the Edit in-game feature doesn't always work properly in the Origin version of CAW.  I don't believe there's a fix, just workarounds that don't fully cover all the missing tools.

[NandaCeloCillo]

@puzzlezaddict Sorry, I'm a bit confused.

After editing the regedit files to install CAW, I was left with two folders: "Sims" and "Sims(Steam)". Which one should I edit if I choose to uninstall a pack? Should I delete the "Sims(Steam)" folder?

Edit: Apparently it was just a fluke and the crashing issue hasn't been solved : (

After creating the new Sunset Valley save yesterday and everything seeming to work, I decided to move that save to my old Sims 3 folder. After experiencing some crashes and the Crash Log Analyzer telling me the issue was custom content, I tested removing some of it bit by bit, but the game still crashed. I then decided to create a new Sims 3 folder. I didn't add my mods to that new folder and played with the Sunset Valley save I started yesterday. The game still crashed often, especially in map mode.

Finally, I created a new Sunset Valley save and switched rapidly back and forth between map mode and regular camera mode, as well as moving and spinning the map quickly from side to side (because the crashes usually happen when I move the map). I did this for about twenty minutes and the game didn't crash. The Sunset Valley save that I started yesterday I've played for about two in-game weeks. Maybe my computer can't handle when a save gets too heavy? Could it be that save somehow got corrupted when I re-installed the mods? I don't know, it doesn't seem likely.

For what it's worth, I'm using the Smooth Patch by Lazy Duchess, could that be causing the crashing?