The sims 3 wont launch

[katsimming]

Hello, It's me again. once again my game isn't working. I'm able to load up the launcher and click play but then im stuck with a black screen and the little loading curser for what feels like forever until I eventually give up. thinking the issue had something to do with custom content I uninstalled the piece of cc I thought was causing the problem and deleted the highest number .dbc file but my game still isnt working (also tried running without cc and that doesn't work either) wondering if this is just a simple fix and I'm being stupid or if my game is broken lol

maybe I need to delete another .dbc file since I've been havinh this problem for months now and messed around uninstalling and reinstalling cc.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@katsimming  Please test the game in a clean user folder, just to rule out any issues that aren't related to user data.  Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just see whether you can get far enough to start a new save.

If the game still hangs or crashes, please stop here, and also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

Otherwise, you can start testing your custom content.  The best way to do so is with Method By Mell on this page:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html

At worst, you may need to delete a .dbc file, but hopefully you'll be able to uninstall whatever content you didn't intend to download and move on.

Once you've tested your custom content, you can move the rest of your files over in batches, still testing to make sure everything works.  It's best to use the files the game has regenerated whenever possible, only transferring unique data like saves.  Here's a description of everything in the user folder:

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

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@katsimming  Please test the game in a clean user folder, just to rule out any issues that aren't related to user data.  Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just see whether you can get far enough to start a new save.

If the game still hangs or crashes, please stop here, and also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

Otherwise, you can start testing your custom content.  The best way to do so is with Method By Mell on this page:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html

At worst, you may need to delete a .dbc file, but hopefully you'll be able to uninstall whatever content you didn't intend to download and move on.

Once you've tested your custom content, you can move the rest of your files over in batches, still testing to make sure everything works.  It's best to use the files the game has regenerated whenever possible, only transferring unique data like saves.  Here's a description of everything in the user folder:

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

[katsimming]

@puzzlezaddict When I go to move the sims 3 folder onto my desktop it says “the action can not be completed because the folder or file in it is open in another program” despite the fact that I don’t have anything/ any programs open and nothing that would be using this folder or a file in it.

[puzzlezaddict]

@katsimming  That message likely comes from OneDrive, which is probably syncing the folder, or trying to at least.  So keeping OneDrive from interfering is the first step.  Before doing anything else, make a copy of the Sims 3 user folder (right-click and Copy, don't just drag and drop) and place it somewhere safe.  Ideal would be an external drive, but even the Downloads folder would work in a pinch—OneDrive doesn't sync this folder.

Next, tell OneDrive not to sync the contents of Documents:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/choose-which-onedrive-folders-to-sync-to-your-computer-98...

You may first need to pause syncing and/or cancel the current sync:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-cancel-or-stop-sync-in-onedrive-4885c27e-3d89-4d69...

Once OneDrive is no longer syncing Documents, it may remove the local copy of the Sims 3 folder, saving only the copy in cloud storage.  But this is fine: just make sure there's no Sims 3 user folder in Documents > Electronic Arts and test the game, as before.  If it works, you have the backup copy of this folder wherever you left it and can start testing your content from there.

[katsimming]

@puzzlezaddict I keep getting this message from one drive. “Sorry your changes couldn’t be saved, some of the items you’ve tried to stop synching aren’t in one drive yet. Please wait for them the finish uploading and fix any synch problems and then try making changes again later” even if I pause synching.

[puzzlezaddict]

@katsimming  Does that also happen if you cancel the current sync, in addition to pausing?

[katsimming]

@puzzlezaddict For whatever reason I don’t have the option to cancel anything. I can pause synching but if I pause it I’m unable to go into my settings and select the folder I want to stop synching.

[puzzlezaddict]

@katsimming  Can you currently stop OneDrive from syncing Documents without pausing syncing first?  The message you saw mentioned trying again later, which may or may not work in your case.

Otherwise, if you have no use for OneDrive, you can unlink it entirely:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe...

You'll still be able to download files from onedrive.com if need be, but the service won't be running on your computer.

[katsimming]

@puzzlezaddict I unlinked one drive and was able to move my sims 3 folder to my desktop. It took a few tries before it would finally let me do it and apparently the issue was with my mods folder. I’m currently installing the ea app so hopefully I will be able to launch my game after this 🙃

[puzzlezaddict]

@katsimming  Alright, that's progress at least.  Let me know if you need more help.