My Sims 3 crashes in map view

[VildaCullen]

Even if The sims 4 is the main sims now and Sims 3 has become more "irrelevant" and "outdated" (not in my opinion though...) I still hope I can receive some help with my problem.

My sims keeps crashing, just completely shutting down everytime I enter map view. This is a recent problem but hasn't solved itself yet.

I play on a Lenovo ideapad 320 laptop with extern reader for the CD. i5-7200U 2.50GHz 4,00 RAM 64bit

I have the: World adventures, ambitions, late night, generations, pets, supernatural, seasons and university- expansions installed. I have moved the "options"file to my desktop to allow better grafics and details in the landscpae of my sims (it was all blurry before). I know that a lot of expansions make the game heavier to run but it worked fine for a while so I'd still like to keep them all.

Please help!

[puzzlezaddict]

@VildaCullen  Outdated or not, I still play TS3 and enjoy it very much, as do many others who are active on various sims forums.

When you listed your specs, you didn't include your graphics card.  The ideapad 320 has a number of potential configurations, so it would be helpful to see a dxdiag and confirm exactly what hardware you have.  You can run one and attach it here using the "browse" button.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/HOW-TO-DxDiag-PC-Only/m-p/1049584/thread-id/47181

But based on your other specs, I think you may only have an Intel 620, which is an integrated card, and not a particularly powerful one at that.  The most demanding EPs—Pets, Seasons, then IP and ITF—really do require a strong dedicated card to run properly.  Your card is probably already overstressed trying to render your home lot, and Map View may be pushing it over the edge.  I understand that this is a new problem, but it's entirely possible that you've already damaged your card by trying to run TS3.  It's also possible that choosing higher graphics options increased the load on your card to more than it can handle.

It's also entirely possible that the crashes are due to your computer running out of memory.  You also only have 4 GB RAM installed, which isn't enough to run more than the base game and a couple of packs.  (The minimum to play with all or most packs is 6 GB, with 8 recommended.)  Windows will take up some of your 4 GB for itself (my Windows 10 takes about 1.5 GB on startup), leaving less for TS3 than it needs.  Pets and Seasons require a lot of memory to run, and the small spike in RAM use from entering Map View may push your system over the limit.

This is less critical, but it should also be noted that your processor is U-series, for ultra-low power, meaning it's designed to throttle power, perhaps below what TS3 needs to run properly.

I'm really sorry to say this, but I don't think you should be playing TS3 on this computer.  It's just not built to run a moderately demanding game like TS3.  The base game and a couple of early packs on low graphics settings might be fine, but trying to run Pets or Seasons, and maybe even Supernatural or University, is probably more than it could handle.  Even putting the crashing issues aside, continuing to play could do serious damage to your hardware.

[VildaCullen]

brb gonna kill my boyfriend for recommending this computer for after "checking" all the requirements

Thank you so much for your help though. Might uninstall  Pets if it helps (although I really love the stuffs that comes with it, animals not so much)

[puzzlezaddict]

@VildaCullen  In (sort of) defense of your boyfriend, the requirements for the base game alone were much lower when it was originally released.  EA still has those specs posted where they're easy to find.  Between the numerous expansions and the even more numerous patches, the minimum and recommended specs have increased dramatically in the last nine years, to the point where computers that would have run the base game and the first couple of packs without issue might not even launch your collection of EPs at all.

I hope you can get the game to run to your satisfaction on your computer, but I'm not sure that's possible.  It's really not built for the demands of TS3, and while you can lower the stress the game puts on its hardware, you might not be happy with the results.  Playing only a couple of early packs on the lowest graphics settings is not what most people have in mind.

If you're ever in the market for a computer that can run TS3 and all its packs, you can always ask, either here or in this thread on the Sims forums specifically dedicated to helping new members.  Laptops that can run the entire game start at $900, although sales can bring the price down a bit; desktops will be somewhat cheaper.

[roberta591]

@VildaCullen  if you need the disc to play the game you do not have the game updated to the latest version. If you have the game installed and patched with the manual super patch, Origin will patch the game to version 1.69 (latest and greatest). With version 1.69 there is no SecuROM (no 3 limit install) and there is no SafeDisc (a disc in the drive to play). You do not need the external optical drive as you can get the digital download version and w/o SafeDisc you do not need the proper optical disc to play. This is because the Windows and OS X no longer support these methods of DRM. The DRM for this game is now Origin. You really need to post your computer's dxdiag to give a proper recommendation. With 64 bit gaming becoming the norm 4Gb of ram is old school. Even though The Sims 3 is a 32 bit application, the game will run better with more memory as the graphics (I think your using the Intel integrated graphics chip) will use high memory for the frame buffers instead of the lower 4Gb if the system is seeing enough dedicated video memory. If your computer only has the integrated video chip setting the graphics higher then default will effect the performance. If the game is crashing when you enter the map mode, I'm guessing your running out of resources. Does your computer have a ssd for the system storage device?  New Ideapads have better specs (faster I5 Intel cpu and 8Gb of memory) so I'm guessing you have an older model. 3D graphical games seem to have issues with Intel integrated video chips running running demanding graphics. Again w/o a dxdiag it is hard to give a proper recommendation.

[VildaCullen]

I can't really play via origin even if it way more efficient, this is due to some of the expansions are already registred to other origin accounts as I bought them from others. I bought this computer 3 months ago but maybe it still doesn't classify as new (?) Yes the graphics card is integrated.

Sorry for insufficient information I don't know a lot about the workings behind the game basically just gameplay... :/

Here is my DxDiag

[puzzlezaddict]

@VildaCullen  Playing through Origin isn't more efficient; in fact, it's enough of a pain that many of us go out of our way to avoid it, playing via disc or Steam instead.  But the problem here really is your computer, not the manner in which you play.  Your dxdiag just confirms what I thought—you have only a weak integrated graphics card, one that can't be expected to handle more than the base game and a couple of early packs. New or not, this computer was never going to run the heavier packs very well.

By the way, this isn't the cause of your current issues, but you're going to run out of storage before too long.  Windows 10 really needs about 35 GB free to operate, and with a 128 GB hard drive, you'll need to manage your free storage very carefully.

I'm sorry I don't have better news, but there's really no way to play the way you want to on this computer.  In fact, if you keep giving it more than it can handle, you risk damaging the hardware and even destroying it altogether.  If you want to keep playing TS3, it might be best to try to find a computer that will run the game better than this one.

[roberta591]

@VildaCullen  IMO you can not run a gaming computer with only a 128Gb ssd with out issues. 50Gb is not enough free space for the operating system and applications (games) to create the files they need to run properly. At a minimum you need a data drive to install applications so they don't consume the limited resources of the 128Gb ssd. Games like The Sims 3 will just consume more storage space as you add expansions and you don't have a lot to spare. Once you run out of free space the game can not generate the temp files it needs to execute the game and the game may not run right or crash. The Windows operating system bloats - that is just the way it was and probably ever will be. Prior to the DRM for this game becoming Origin, the DRM was extremely loose and you were able to "share". With Origin an expansion pack (or stuff pack) can only be activated to one Origin account and that account holder "owns" that software. It can not be activated to another account. Once an activation code is used that item is locked to the Origin account in use at the time of activation. The Sims 3 was released with the DRM of SecuROM and SafeDisc. In 2012 Windows and OS X will no longer support the poorly supported DRM of SecuROM and SafeDisc so EA had to replace the DRM with Origin. You no longer have a 3 install limit and you don't need a disc in the optical drive to play once you have the game in Origin and the game updated to version 1.69.