Sims 3 Pets Glitch [ Edited ]

[ThatPersonChase]

I have this problem and I can't really update my graphics card unless you can get it for free. I also have a Windows 7 I think so that might also be the problem. I would really love to fix this.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@ThatPersonChase  I split your comments into their own thread, because the answers for the previous thread (maybe it's your mods, get a new graphics card, etc.) aren't relevant to you.

The issue here is that your system isn't really strong enough to handle Pets.  Rendering animals is very hard on a graphics card, especially a decade old integrated model.  The fur coats of long haired cats and dogs, plus anything to do with horses, is probably more than your card can manage.  Plus, animals tend to get stuck in all kinds of places, and the game engine will tax itself and your processor trying to reroute them.  And running the pack takes a lot of RAM as well, perhaps more than your system can provide once Windows takes its share of the 4 GB you have installed.  Because of these issues, Pets is considered the most demanding of TS3's packs, and the recommended hardware to run it is much stronger than yours.

The graphics glitches you're seeing are the inevitable result of trying to play with pets on a system that's not capable of keeping up.  You might be able to improve a bit on the margins by turning the graphics to low, only having short haired pets, and disabling wild horses (if the game setting doesn't work, a mod may be more effective).  You should also update your graphics card drivers.  There certainly isn't a current version for your card, but still offers the latest one, from 2013.  You want the Windows 7 64-bit version, the "Catalyst Software Suite":

https://www.amd.com/en/support/graphics/integrated-motherboard-graphics/ati-radeon-2xxx-series/ati-r...

In the end though, trying to play Pets on this system may well be a losing proposition.  With a processor, graphics card, and RAM that fall far below the recommendations, there's not a whole lot you can do to make it run the way it should.  This computer might be able to handle the base game and a couple of early packs, but that's about it.

Also, it may or may not have anything to do with this issue, but your dxdiag doesn't list your hard drive at all.  I checked, and even your build of Windows 7 will normally list the drive.  This could be a sign of a failing hard drive, or there could be some other cause, but either way, you may be in for more serious problems before too long.  At the very least, make sure to back up everything important to you, and soon.

[puzzlezaddict]

@ThatPersonChase  Please run a dxdiag and attach the results to a post here.  This will show what kind of hardware you have, whether it needs to be upgraded (or even can be), or whether maybe something else is wrong with your game.

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

Please also list the packs you have installed besides Pets.

[ThatPersonChase]

I did that, and I have Late Night, Seasons, Generations, Ambitions, University Life, Supernatural, and High-End Loft Stuff.

[puzzlezaddict]

@ThatPersonChase  Can you please attach the dxdiag to a post?  It's not meant to solve anything, it's just an efficient way to gather information about your system, so I can look for a number of potential issues at once.

[ThatPersonChase]

I hope this works.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@ThatPersonChase  I split your comments into their own thread, because the answers for the previous thread (maybe it's your mods, get a new graphics card, etc.) aren't relevant to you.

The issue here is that your system isn't really strong enough to handle Pets.  Rendering animals is very hard on a graphics card, especially a decade old integrated model.  The fur coats of long haired cats and dogs, plus anything to do with horses, is probably more than your card can manage.  Plus, animals tend to get stuck in all kinds of places, and the game engine will tax itself and your processor trying to reroute them.  And running the pack takes a lot of RAM as well, perhaps more than your system can provide once Windows takes its share of the 4 GB you have installed.  Because of these issues, Pets is considered the most demanding of TS3's packs, and the recommended hardware to run it is much stronger than yours.

The graphics glitches you're seeing are the inevitable result of trying to play with pets on a system that's not capable of keeping up.  You might be able to improve a bit on the margins by turning the graphics to low, only having short haired pets, and disabling wild horses (if the game setting doesn't work, a mod may be more effective).  You should also update your graphics card drivers.  There certainly isn't a current version for your card, but still offers the latest one, from 2013.  You want the Windows 7 64-bit version, the "Catalyst Software Suite":

https://www.amd.com/en/support/graphics/integrated-motherboard-graphics/ati-radeon-2xxx-series/ati-r...

In the end though, trying to play Pets on this system may well be a losing proposition.  With a processor, graphics card, and RAM that fall far below the recommendations, there's not a whole lot you can do to make it run the way it should.  This computer might be able to handle the base game and a couple of early packs, but that's about it.

Also, it may or may not have anything to do with this issue, but your dxdiag doesn't list your hard drive at all.  I checked, and even your build of Windows 7 will normally list the drive.  This could be a sign of a failing hard drive, or there could be some other cause, but either way, you may be in for more serious problems before too long.  At the very least, make sure to back up everything important to you, and soon.

[ThatPersonChase]

Oh, that is not very good news. The Microsoft website says they're going to stop supporting Windows 7.  And I'm downloading the Windows 7 64-bit now. Thanks for your help.

[ThatPersonChase]

That could also explain why while playing the Sims 3 my entire computer crashes sometimes, but it doesn't crash while I'm not playing the Sims 3.

[ThatPersonChase]

So is getting a new computer the only thing I can do to fix the glitch?

[puzzlezaddict]

@ThatPersonChase  Yes, unfortunately there's no way to make your current system run TS3 any better than it's already doing.  The crashes only confirm that your computer is already overworked with TS3 as it is.  I'm not sure you could upgrade the hardware—for example, I doubt any modern graphics card would be compatible (although I'd have to check)—but even if you could, it would probably cost the same amount to just get an entirely new system.  I'm sorry I can't offer any real solutions.

If you want help looking for a new computer, let me know.  I can usually find a desktop to run TS3 and all packs on high settings, monitor not included, for under $700 U.S., although sales fluctuate a bit.  Laptops will be more expensive, but there's always something available for under $900.  If you're interested, just list your budget and country, as well as anything else you want to do with this computer (play other games, run Photoshop, store lots of large files, etc.), as well as whether you'd prefer a desktop or laptop.