I feel like the dumbest person ever, because I can't figure out how to post my own question/problem... so sorry about posting here! But....
I have windows 10 on a Lenovo laptop. I have sims 3 1.69, Supernatural, High-End loft, Late Night, and University life expansions. I also have downloaded some items from TSR. SIMS3 has worked perfectly fine up until 2 days ago. Now I get the launcher, press play, and the screen turns black with a loading mouse, and stays like that until I force shutdown my laptop. I've tried restarting the computer, I've deleted the items I downloaded from TSR recently before it stopped working, I went to installed content and checked the "Run without custom content", but to no avail.
Do I have to uninstall/reinstall? How do I reinstall (I bought the packs online with a code- no actual disc)? Will this make me lose everything I've done in the game???
I don't know ANYTHING about tech to know what do to fix this- and everything I find online is from years ago... so Please help! (with as many details in instructions as possible... I'm talking "An Idiot's Guide" level explaining)
@jenncarr Just so you know, you can't make your own discussions (or post links or pics, or quote other posts properly, etc.) as long as you're a new member—something about spambot attacks. This is a thread for new members to post their game issues, but as long as you're already here...
Okay, I'm not a tech expert by any means, but there are a few steps you can take to help narrow down the source of your issues.
First thing's first. Do you delete the five caches in your documents folder from time to time? You should always do this whenever you add or subtract anything from your game folder or update your game. But even in the absence of updates, the cache files can accumulate useless old data and should be trashed regularly. They're in Documents\EA\The Sims 3\ and they are:
CASPartCache.package
compositorCache.package
scriptCache.package
simCompositorCache.package
socialCache.package (deleting this one is optional, but it can't hurt)
You might not see the .package label, depending on how you've set your preferences. The files will regenerate each time you play.
Did you recently update anything at all? You installed and uninstalled some custom content, but how about the game itself? Mods? Origin? Did Windows update itself when you weren't looking? The Creator's Update from last summer gave players fits. There's a post somewhere with instructions on how to disable it, but if you've already addressed it, I'm not sure why it would suddenly be a problem now. Then again, you're dealing with Microsoft, so nothing should really be surprising.
Sometimes an element in your TS3 folder—the one that resides in documents—can get corrupted. Perhaps even the entire folder. The best way to tell if this is the case is to pull that folder out of documents (not just pieces, but the whole thing) and place it somewhere safe, like sitting on the desktop with a new name. Then try to launch the game. You won't have access to your downloaded content or saves for the moment, as they'll stay in your old folder, but they'll be undisturbed by the move. Without a Sims 3 folder in documents, the game will be forced to generate a new one when you launch. If you can play successfully using this clean folder, you can start to add some of the files from your old folder back in a little bit at a time, like, say, your mods folder or a particular save you want to test. If after adding something back in you run into the same problem as before, you'll know what's probably been causing it.
Another thing to try is to uncheck all the boxes for your expansion and stuff packs in the launcher before you try to play. You'd have to start a new game, since your existing ones would likely refuse to load without the packs enabled. But again, whether this works might give you a better idea of where the problem is.
If these approaches don't work, you could also uninstall and reinstall only Origin itself. This is much simpler than uninstalling the entire game, a process that would require you to run a program that cleans your computer's registry before you reinstall. The complete uninstall is kind of a last resort and a real pain to deal with. But no matter what you have to uninstall, your product codes will remain registered to your account, and you'll be able to redownload everything you bought.
There are plenty of other ways to troubleshoot, but people responding here are going to want to know what you've already tried. In particular, forcing the game to generate a clean folder is the consensus first or second step in attempting to fix your game. It would also be helpful if you posted your computer's exact specs—processor, RAM, graphics card, what drive the game's installed on, etc. as TS3 plays more nicely with some setups than others.
@jenncarr Allot of Lenovo laptops are lower end and not designed to run this game. What Lenovo laptop model do you have?
what world are you playing?
Can you post your computer specs please. Windows key + R will open the run box in the lower left hand corner of your computer. In the run box type DxDiag, hit OK , let it load and choose the save option. You will now have a DxDiag text file in your documents folder. Please upload your DxDiag text file to http://pastebin.com . Once you upload the DxDiag to pastebin, please post the pastebin link here. Since you are a new member you will have to break up the pastebin link. Example h.t.t.p//
I clean cookie and cache can't login on Sims 3 game launcher help
Are you clearing the cookies and cache on Internet Explorer in particular, even if you never use it as a browser yourself? It's good to clear them on Edge, Firefox, Chrome, whatever else you may use, but usually Internet Explorer is the important one even if the now older browser is hidden from regular view.
I agree i still have to do this from time to time and find that i have to clear in both firefox and internet explorer. Also on my pc and in game i clear out all the script errors i get too. I also remove the CASpartcachem compisitorcache, Scriptcache etc.. i find when i do remove everything, reboot my machine it tends to work for me.
Although as @phoebebebe13 - has mentioned above i cannot seem to purchase simcredits atm, i keep getting issues when wanting sim store to load, but it's not a priority atm i guess.
Although as @phoebebebe13 - has mentioned above i cannot seem to purchase simcredits atm, i keep getting issues when wanting sim store to load, but it's not a priority atm i guess.
Just in case you weren't aware, the TS3 Store doesn't handle cash transactions anymore. Store points have to be purchased using the same login credentials through Origin, either the Origin client program or the Origin.com website. After the purchase goes through, the points should show up on the TS3 Store site, when logged in.
I have version 1.67 and normally do not use the launcher to start my game. However, sometimes getting logged into the launcher so I can add another Rflong or My Sim Realty world just will not happen after clearing all caches and logging out of all sim accounts and back into IE with the following link from a guru that I bookmarked: https://www.thesims3.com/popup/launcher/login.html?${omniture_login_var}&p=http:
I go to the EA site and create a new password, and usually within an hour I can get into the launcher once again. I use the above link as my IE log in link. The way to get it into the shortcut you make is to go to the properties of the link, and then paste the odd looking link into the box. Edited to add the link I use when changing my password(it really doesn't matter where you change it): https://signin.ea.com/
This works for me every time with results as late as an hour later. Maybe it will help another person. Changed passwords force your account to reset and knocks it out of the mobius loop it gets into sometimes.
I've owned the TS3 Store since Feb 2015-thanks to the help of many other simmers ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ☆★☆My Page☆★☆ ᴼ -♞- ᴼ Ⅰ ❤ TS3❣
Hi, I have a slight problem... I misread the instructions on a mod download and overwrote my resource.cfg... and I can't even start the sims 3 launcher. I chn't re-install the game because my disk is broken. (i have a no-CD crakc to remedy the broken cd...)
If the resource.cfg is on ...documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/ all you have to do is reset the game folder. Save it by moving it to your desktop, or renaming it to anything like The Sims 3-backup
Then restart your game. It will make a minty fresh Game save folder. After you see the launcher working, start a new game. If you want to use your saves, then turn the game off and put your saves in the save folder. If you have store content and custom content, you can add that back to the folder later.
Hi, I have a slight problem... I misread the instructions on a mod download and overwrote my resource.cfg... and I can't even start the sims 3 launcher. I chn't re-install the game because my disk is broken. (i have a no-CD crakc to remedy the broken cd...)
In addition to what @SemaviLady suggests, if the Resource.cfg is the one that you added yourself to a Mods folder within the TS3 user game folder in Documents so that package based content can be read, just replace it with a fresh copy of the file. http://nraas.wikispaces.com/file/detail/Resource.zip
If it's one of the Resource.cfg files within the Program Files, then all bets are off and sorry but why were you rooting around in the Program Files area anyway ( ). Mods haven't gone in there since before Patch 1.12 around eight years ago.
If a reinstall is required, you would have to obtain a replacement disc or shift to an Origin based one. If the game and the EP/SPs are registered to you as the original owner, then there is no further charge for the Origin version of the game.
No sorry, I am afraid then that there is no solution for this. The Collection described is entirely pirated material dressed up and sold by an unauthorized third party. This is EA's forum, support for that cannot be had here. Or anywhere, really.
And I have to suspect that a system still running XP 32-bit is not going to be strong enough to run TS3 with all EPs in play, the game will be starved for usable RAM very quickly. But that's kind of beside the point right now.
I cleared cookies and cache on Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox but still can't login on Sims 3 game launcher. Please help
Be sure it's IE we are talking about and not Edge (if on Win 10). They aren't the same programs. Also be certain to de-select the option to Preserve Web Data for Favorites, this is the step that trips some players up. https://kb.wisc.edu/page.php?id=15141
And if still no go, have you tried changing your password?
I searched for quite some time to find this thread. . . Thank you so much! It was the "preserve Web Data for Favorites" that was messing my launcher up as well. Hopefully, now I can reinstall my store stuff and get back to playing!
Comments
I have windows 10 on a Lenovo laptop. I have sims 3 1.69, Supernatural, High-End loft, Late Night, and University life expansions. I also have downloaded some items from TSR. SIMS3 has worked perfectly fine up until 2 days ago. Now I get the launcher, press play, and the screen turns black with a loading mouse, and stays like that until I force shutdown my laptop. I've tried restarting the computer, I've deleted the items I downloaded from TSR recently before it stopped working, I went to installed content and checked the "Run without custom content", but to no avail.
Do I have to uninstall/reinstall? How do I reinstall (I bought the packs online with a code- no actual disc)? Will this make me lose everything I've done in the game???
I don't know ANYTHING about tech to know what do to fix this- and everything I find online is from years ago... so Please help! (with as many details in instructions as possible... I'm talking "An Idiot's Guide" level explaining)
Okay, I'm not a tech expert by any means, but there are a few steps you can take to help narrow down the source of your issues.
First thing's first. Do you delete the five caches in your documents folder from time to time? You should always do this whenever you add or subtract anything from your game folder or update your game. But even in the absence of updates, the cache files can accumulate useless old data and should be trashed regularly. They're in Documents\EA\The Sims 3\ and they are:
CASPartCache.package
compositorCache.package
scriptCache.package
simCompositorCache.package
socialCache.package (deleting this one is optional, but it can't hurt)
You might not see the .package label, depending on how you've set your preferences. The files will regenerate each time you play.
Did you recently update anything at all? You installed and uninstalled some custom content, but how about the game itself? Mods? Origin? Did Windows update itself when you weren't looking? The Creator's Update from last summer gave players fits. There's a post somewhere with instructions on how to disable it, but if you've already addressed it, I'm not sure why it would suddenly be a problem now. Then again, you're dealing with Microsoft, so nothing should really be surprising.
Sometimes an element in your TS3 folder—the one that resides in documents—can get corrupted. Perhaps even the entire folder. The best way to tell if this is the case is to pull that folder out of documents (not just pieces, but the whole thing) and place it somewhere safe, like sitting on the desktop with a new name. Then try to launch the game. You won't have access to your downloaded content or saves for the moment, as they'll stay in your old folder, but they'll be undisturbed by the move. Without a Sims 3 folder in documents, the game will be forced to generate a new one when you launch. If you can play successfully using this clean folder, you can start to add some of the files from your old folder back in a little bit at a time, like, say, your mods folder or a particular save you want to test. If after adding something back in you run into the same problem as before, you'll know what's probably been causing it.
Another thing to try is to uncheck all the boxes for your expansion and stuff packs in the launcher before you try to play. You'd have to start a new game, since your existing ones would likely refuse to load without the packs enabled. But again, whether this works might give you a better idea of where the problem is.
If these approaches don't work, you could also uninstall and reinstall only Origin itself. This is much simpler than uninstalling the entire game, a process that would require you to run a program that cleans your computer's registry before you reinstall. The complete uninstall is kind of a last resort and a real pain to deal with. But no matter what you have to uninstall, your product codes will remain registered to your account, and you'll be able to redownload everything you bought.
There are plenty of other ways to troubleshoot, but people responding here are going to want to know what you've already tried. In particular, forcing the game to generate a clean folder is the consensus first or second step in attempting to fix your game. It would also be helpful if you posted your computer's exact specs—processor, RAM, graphics card, what drive the game's installed on, etc. as TS3 plays more nicely with some setups than others.
what world are you playing?
Can you post your computer specs please. Windows key + R will open the run box in the lower left hand corner of your computer. In the run box type DxDiag, hit OK , let it load and choose the save option. You will now have a DxDiag text file in your documents folder. Please upload your DxDiag text file to http://pastebin.com . Once you upload the DxDiag to pastebin, please post the pastebin link here. Since you are a new member you will have to break up the pastebin link. Example h.t.t.p//
I agree i still have to do this from time to time and find that i have to clear in both firefox and internet explorer. Also on my pc and in game i clear out all the script errors i get too. I also remove the CASpartcachem compisitorcache, Scriptcache etc.. i find when i do remove everything, reboot my machine it tends to work for me.
Although as @phoebebebe13 - has mentioned above i cannot seem to purchase simcredits atm, i keep getting issues when wanting sim store to load, but it's not a priority atm i guess.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
https://www.thesims3.com/popup/launcher/login.html?${omniture_login_var}&p=http:
I go to the EA site and create a new password, and usually within an hour I can get into the launcher once again. I use the above link as my IE log in link. The way to get it into the shortcut you make is to go to the properties of the link, and then paste the odd looking link into the box. Edited to add the link I use when changing my password (it really doesn't matter where you change it): https://signin.ea.com/
This works for me every time with results as late as an hour later. Maybe it will help another person. Changed passwords force your account to reset and knocks it out of the mobius loop it gets into sometimes.
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ☆★☆ My Page ☆★☆ ᴼ -♞- ᴼ Ⅰ ❤ TS3❣
Then restart your game. It will make a minty fresh Game save folder. After you see the launcher working, start a new game. If you want to use your saves, then turn the game off and put your saves in the save folder. If you have store content and custom content, you can add that back to the folder later.
For more detail, see crinrict's blog:
https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/06/tutorial-resetting-the-game-to-factory-settings-without-reinstalling.html
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ☆★☆ My Page ☆★☆ ᴼ -♞- ᴼ Ⅰ ❤ TS3❣
http://nraas.wikispaces.com/file/detail/Resource.zip
If it's one of the Resource.cfg files within the Program Files, then all bets are off and sorry but why were you rooting around in the Program Files area anyway (
If a reinstall is required, you would have to obtain a replacement disc or shift to an Origin based one. If the game and the EP/SPs are registered to you as the original owner, then there is no further charge for the Origin version of the game.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
:(
I'm starting to consider buying a new copy
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ☆★☆ My Page ☆★☆ ᴼ -♞- ᴼ Ⅰ ❤ TS3❣
And I have to suspect that a system still running XP 32-bit is not going to be strong enough to run TS3 with all EPs in play, the game will be starved for usable RAM very quickly. But that's kind of beside the point right now.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I searched for quite some time to find this thread. . . Thank you so much! It was the "preserve Web Data for Favorites" that was messing my launcher up as well. Hopefully, now I can reinstall my store stuff and get back to playing!