Sims 3: Unable to identify hardware/Video card not recognized.

[Alizarin214]

I'm trying to save the settings in my options menu for sims 3 but they just wont save. I've tried looking on other sites for help but my device config is empty, and usually the first step is editing device config. 

DeviceConfig.log

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Alizarin214  Okay, DISM and sfc did their job.  Next, try running Sims 3, and Origin if you use it, as an admin: right-click on the desktop shortcut and select "Run as administrator."

If that doesn't help, please check whether you have Controlled Folder Access enabled.  If you do, either disable it entirely or set an exception for TS3.exe (Origin install) or TS3W.exe (disc or Steam install), as well as Origin.exe if you play through Origin.

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html

If that doesn't help, please create a new admin Windows account on your computer and try playing there.  Make it a local account, as in, don't sign into Microsoft, and don't sync with any other services you normally use.  You'll be able to launch Sims 3 without needing to reinstall anything.

[puzzlezaddict]

@Alizarin214  I don't know why the instructions you found are suggesting you edit deviceconfig.log.  That file is just output—a summary of the hardware and options as the game detects it—and any change you made would be overwritten the next time you launched the game anyway.  The only necessary edits are to the two .sgr files within the game's program files.

Anyway, the fact that deviceconfig.log is empty is indicative of a problem, but it could be any number of things.  Since your dxdiag lists a few Windows errors, it's a good idea to run a couple of basic checks on your Windows system files:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes, and enter
• The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
• After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
• Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)”
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes, and enter
• Post the message you receive here

Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the box to check for updates.  If any install, restart again afterwards.

Next, please update the driver for your graphics card.  You can get the newest driver here:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/190552/en-us/

Choose the custom install route and check the box to perform a clean install.  Restart your computer when you're done.

Please also let me know what antivirus you use, if any, and whether OneDrive is active and syncing the contents of Documents.  Here's how to check:

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

[Alizarin214]

Hello! Okay so there was no error when it reached 100% for the first one, I copied what the message was for the second PowerShell in notes. I also installed the driver you provided. The only anti-virus I have is windows security. 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Alizarin214  Okay, DISM and sfc did their job.  Next, try running Sims 3, and Origin if you use it, as an admin: right-click on the desktop shortcut and select "Run as administrator."

If that doesn't help, please check whether you have Controlled Folder Access enabled.  If you do, either disable it entirely or set an exception for TS3.exe (Origin install) or TS3W.exe (disc or Steam install), as well as Origin.exe if you play through Origin.

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html

If that doesn't help, please create a new admin Windows account on your computer and try playing there.  Make it a local account, as in, don't sign into Microsoft, and don't sync with any other services you normally use.  You'll be able to launch Sims 3 without needing to reinstall anything.

[Alizarin214]

I tried running sims 3 as admin and I received those two warnings at start up, same as when i made a local account.  i also disabled Controlled folder access through settings.

[puzzlezaddict]

@Alizarin214  Sorry for the late reply.  The second message is normal for graphics cards that aren't in the game's database, and it shouldn't affect your ability to play.  The first message might still be a problem though.  Can you load a save, and if so, how does it look?

If you can load a save at all, please do so and put the game in windowed mode, open the Task Manager, and let me know what kind of GPU load and temperature you see.  If you can't load a save, do this at the Main Menu, although the load should be pretty low there.

[Alizarin214]

@puzzlezaddict Update: THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Everything is working finee now!! I am now able to play and my options menu saves all the changes I make. Thank you so muchh

[puzzlezaddict]

@Alizarin214  That's great to hear.  Do you know which step or steps helped you specifically?  I'd like to be able to tell the next person with your issue, which is uncommon but not unheard-of.

[Alizarin214]

@puzzlezaddict I made another local account without syncing and launched sims 3 from there without any issues! The steps you gave me in #4 worked.

[teedr23]

Hi, 

I might be experiencing the same issue and I'm trying to resolve it. I recently brought a gaming laptop with a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU. I installed my Sims 3 packs from my Origin account. Upon launching the game, I got the "Unable to identity hardware" and "Unrecognized Video Card" warning; the worlds were greyed out; and the game completely froze during gameplay after CAS. I attempted to run it in the appropriate compatibly mode. That didn't work. Changed the vertical sync in the NVIDIA Control Panel to "On" for the TS3.exe file (running 1.69 patch) as suggested by other forums. That didn't work. So lastly, I checked the DeviceConfig file and it only has 2 lines:

 === Options ===
=== Default Options ===

I'm not super tech-savy so I'm desperate to figure out what to do to get my game to run properly at this point. Please let me know if you can help. 

Thanks,