@igazor nevermind. It's working now. My fps is being limited to 60 fps. Thanks for the help.
That's great, you're welcome. Might be worth keeping an eye on that fps rate in-game if it's going to be on and off again fussy, this does happen sometimes.
@BluebellFlora - Should I be worried that I am now craving a Grilled Chalk Sandwich for dinner? And no, before anyone asks, am pretty sure that I am not pregnant. I haven't heard that chalk and cheese expression in decades, it's just not very common over here.
Hi, not new to the forums, but I haven't been on in a long time. I recently went back to Sims 3 and started having issues almost immediately. Was able to load up the game initially after updating mods and cc. I did get an unrecognized video card message and adjusted the settings, restarted the game and all was well. Played for about 2 hours and then the game crashed with a generic Sims 3 has stopped working. Noticed an exception "ACCESS_VIOLATION writing address 0x00000000
address: 0x71cd72d7 "C:\WINDOWS\WinSxS"
Restarted the game with no issues and played for several more hours. The next day, the game would not load at all, the launcher launched but as soon as I pressed the play arrow it shut down with no error message. No more exceptions noted.
I took out the Sims 3 folder and let it build a new one, this didn't work. Made sure all drivers were updated, checked virtual memory, tried to bypass the launcher but couldn't. It would always load and same problem, tried running as administrator, tried different compatibility settings and nothing worked. I then tried to play one last time and it loaded. Readjusted video settings again and restarted game after loading my previous Sims 3 folder. It played just fine, saves were there, all downloaded cc, mods and store content and EPs and SPs. Played again for several hours saving often.
So, I was afraid to turn off the game and decided to leave it running overnight (bad me) and came back the next day and it was running fine. Played for awhile, it started to get laggy so I restarted and it didn't load. launcher would start, but game wouldn't load. repeated everything I did the day before, no go.
Then the fun began. I uninstalled Sims 3 using Revo Uninstaller and checking with cccleaner to be sure. Re-downloaded (took hours! I'm on wireless) reinstalled all games. Same deal. Uninstalled and reinstalled Origin, didn't work.
I can post dxdiag if needed.
Please help!
Hi
What antivirus are you running? you may want to disable it while running the game.
I also noticed allot of realplayer errors in your dxdiag, You may want to uninstall that and see if that helps the issue.
Also try doing a clean boot to see if there is any software/apps conflicting https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
As the others said your card is old.. but i do not think that's the issue here.
If you want to upgrade the card i can suggest one that may fit, However you may also need to upgrade the power supply also.
I was helping someone a while ago with the same sort of alienware, they had constant crashes and once they got their system cleaned it stopped, so i would open the side panel and clean the pc out of dust. (couldn't hurt LOL)
I'm not completely sure but i think that alienware uses a external power supply.. the same as laptops because it simply does not have the room for a internal one.
If you want to upgrade the graphics card then i would ask Dell what you need in terms of power supply, If your tower was a standard mid tower then i could easily tell you, But i'm just not sure what type that Alienware uses.
As for the card i would recommend either the 1050ti or 1060 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500411 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500402
@BluebellFlora - Should I be worried that I am now craving a Grilled Chalk Sandwich for dinner? And no, before anyone asks, am pretty sure that I am not pregnant. I haven't heard that chalk and cheese expression in decades, it's just not very common over here.
Hey everyone, just a quick question. I received the message that my graphics card is not supported and I get that it's because it's a newer card and all that good stuff. No big deal I know how to edit the .sgr files. My question is if I set up my Nvidia card to run the sims 3 do I really have to mess with the files? I have a monitor that tells me what my Nvidia card is being used for and sims 3 is indeed showing up as in use when playing the game. Thanks for any and all input.
Hey everyone, just a quick question. I received the message that my graphics card is not supported and I get that it's because it's a newer card and all that good stuff. No big deal I know how to edit the .sgr files. My question is if I set up my Nvidia card to run the sims 3 do I really have to mess with the files? I have a monitor that tells me what my Nvidia card is being used for and sims 3 is indeed showing up as in use when playing the game. Thanks for any and all input.
Generally, no. But make sure your FPS is limited to your monitor's native refresh rate. You can check your FPS in TS3 with the cheat 'fps on'. If your FPS is high, you can limit it by either using vsync in Nvidia options (if you play in full screen) or by using Nvidia Inspector to set the Frame Rate Limiter of the TS3 profile to your monitor's refresh rate (which is what I do since I play in a window).
Hey everyone, just a quick question. I received the message that my graphics card is not supported and I get that it's because it's a newer card and all that good stuff. No big deal I know how to edit the .sgr files. My question is if I set up my Nvidia card to run the sims 3 do I really have to mess with the files? I have a monitor that tells me what my Nvidia card is being used for and sims 3 is indeed showing up as in use when playing the game. Thanks for any and all input.
Generally, no. But make sure your FPS is limited to your monitor's native refresh rate. You can check your FPS in TS3 with the cheat 'fps on'. If your FPS is high, you can limit it by either using vsync in Nvidia options (if you play in full screen) or by using Nvidia Inspector to set the Frame Rate Limiter of the TS3 profile to your monitor's refresh rate (which is what I do since I play in a window).
The player has already taken care of that as of a couple of days ago on this same thread.
@April - An unrecognized card is not the same thing as an undetected card. When a card is unrecognized but still clearly being used, the side-effects can be (a) an improper set of default graphics settings in Game Options settings for the card and (b) the game may unnecessarily throttle the sending of inactive sims to community lots to conserve processing power if it ranks the undetected card as lower in strength than it really is. The unsupported warning should only appear on-screen once, and then it should stop unless you update the card's drivers. For (a), this isn't a real problem as long as you can adjust the Game Options the way you want them and they stick. For (b), many players aren't bothered by that. But even if we take you through the steps to force recognition, I'm sorry but the GT 940MX is not a very strong card by TS3 standards and it's just going to get down-rated anyway. If we force it to work harder than it really can, that will lead to instability and crashes. If your game is behaving the way you think it should and its fps rates stay capped, then this isn't really worth worrying about but eventually, especially with all EPs in play, you may end up running into limitations as to far you can take the game on that one. Different players' experiences (with different play styles) vary with that card and those in that range.
Thanks igazor. I know that the 940mx isn't a very strong card but I've been one of the lucky ones who is having a pretty good gaming experience with it. I have everything set to very high and I'm not experiencing any lag or freezing and I have every expansion pack and stuff pack. I'm very happy with it but I knew when I bought it that it was a gamble. I guess for me the gamble paid off :smiley:
One last question I promise, lol. I have an HP "gaming" laptop. It's advertised as gaming but it's not really a gaming laptop. As far as temperature and heat is concerned how hot is too hot? While playing the sims I get up to around 75 degrees C. I have decided to stop playing until I can order a cooling pad (this Friday). I have it narrowed down to 4 possibilities. I can't post links so I'll add stars where the link begins. All from Amazon since I have Amazon Prime and get free 2 day shipping. What is your take on the options? If you have other suggestions I'm more than open to them.
I have a question about expansion packs and bundles that include expansions that you already have installed.
I play TS3 using physical disks. I am able to bypass Origin when loading the game, which I really like doing, and am patched up to 1.67.
I already have a physical disk of World Adventures installed. I want to, at some point soon, install a physical disk of Generations. I notice that it is "easier/cheaper" to buy the Generation/World Adventures bundle, since a physical disk copy of Generations is getting more difficult to find. If I already have World Adventures installed, is there anything I need to know about installing the Generations/World Adventures bundle on top of that? I would like to continue avoiding Origins on load up.
I have a question about expansion packs and bundles that include expansions that you already have installed.
I play TS3 using physical disks. I am able to bypass Origin when loading the game, which I really like doing, and am patched up to 1.67.
I already have a physical disk of World Adventures installed. I want to, at some point soon, install a physical disk of Generations. I notice that it is "easier/cheaper" to buy the Generation/World Adventures bundle, since a physical disk copy of Generations is getting more difficult to find. If I already have World Adventures installed, is there anything I need to know about installing the Generations/World Adventures bundle on top of that? I would like to continue avoiding Origins on load up.
Thanks for your help!
If you use any downloads though origin you will no longer be able to bypass the launcher and you will be on the 1.69 patch.
To stay at 1.67 and bypass the launcher you need to play all disc. If you find a used copy in good condition with the code it should work. Amazon or Ebay may have new sealed copies .
Your other option is to buy the whole game on Steam during a sale and play the steam version to stay at 1.67. You can't mix steam with an origin version of the game. Steam I think has a sale on the game right now
@funkeeferret - No matter how they are packaged, EP bundles like that one are still separate installs. You can't really install Generations and WA together in one step, they would somehow be providing you with two separate EPs that just happen to be sold together. In this case then, two separate discs. You could install one and not use the other as you already have WA installed.
If you use any downloads though origin you will no longer be able to bypass the launcher and you will be on the 1.69 patch.
To stay at 1.67 and bypass the launcher you need to play all disc. If you find a used copy in good condition with the code it should work. Amazon or Ebay may have new sealed copies .
Your other option is to buy the whole game on Steam during a sale and play the steam version to stay at 1.67. You can't mix steam with an origin version of the game. Steam I think has a sale on the game right now
Thanks very much phoebebebe13. I was going to try to keep it all disc if possible. The added info is very helpful.
@funkeeferret - No matter how they are packaged, EP bundles like that one are still separate installs. You can't really install Generations and WA together in one step, they would somehow be providing you with two separate EPs that just happen to be sold together. In this case then, two separate discs. You could install one and not use the other as you already have WA installed.
Igazor, I didn't know there would be two discs. Thanks for the info.
@funkeeferret your very welcome. i too play origin free. Igazor moved to steam to play origin free. At least you know you have other options should you have issues with your discs down the road.
Hi @chesterbigbird - Thanks so much for looking at my issue. I'm running AVG for anti-virus and I have been disabling it when I try to run Sims 3. Wasn't aware of the realplayer errors and have uninstalled it, not sure when or why I originally installed it. Did not help the no loading problem.
Next, I started in safe mode (getting it to run a wifi connection was complicated and oddly hidden by Windows support) and it worked!!! Tried it with changed graphics, no problem. Loaded all the EPs and SPs, no problem and finally loaded my saved Sims 3 folder with no problems.
So, not sure what I'm supposed to do from here, because I can't figure out how to determine what software/app is causing the problems. Any help would be wonderful.
Regarding upgrading the video card, this pc does use an external power supply and it's only 240w. This was the main reason I went with the card I did. I'm upgrading the power supply to 330w and the card to the 1050ti. Thanks so much for the suggestions.
Hi @phoebebebe13, thanks for the reply. I checked on the cards @chesterbigbird suggested and the 1050 ti only requires a 300 watt. The 1060 unfortunately needs 400 watts which my pc can't handle.
After about a year break, I started playing Sims again in September. Right at the beginning I was getting frustrated because it would start loading but go to a black screen until I hit the Windows button on my laptop. When I click to go back into the game, it would be on the next loading screen, but not do anything until I press the windows button again, then click back onto the game and yet again it would be on the next loading screen. I have to do this between each loading screen, and when the game opens, between each click. So I upgraded my driver and that seemed to fix the problem and I played smoothly up until last week. I went to open it one day and it was doing it all over again! Everything is updated in the game, and on my computer. Nothing has changed. I am so frustrated because nothing that anyone suggests seems to work. I can't really blame my laptop since it was working just fine for almost 2 months. I am hoping someone out there might have some tips for me to try because I am really missing my Sims :-( I have uninstalled and reinstalled, and I recently reset my computer to original settings as well.
After about a year break, I started playing Sims again in September. Right at the beginning I was getting frustrated because it would start loading but go to a black screen until I hit the Windows button on my laptop. When I click to go back into the game, it would be on the next loading screen, but not do anything until I press the windows button again, then click back onto the game and yet again it would be on the next loading screen. I have to do this between each loading screen, and when the game opens, between each click. So I upgraded my driver and that seemed to fix the problem and I played smoothly up until last week. I went to open it one day and it was doing it all over again! Everything is updated in the game, and on my computer. Nothing has changed. I am so frustrated because nothing that anyone suggests seems to work. I can't really blame my laptop since it was working just fine for almost 2 months. I am hoping someone out there might have some tips for me to try because I am really missing my Sims :-( I have uninstalled and reinstalled, and I recently reset my computer to original settings as well.
Hi there. Your problem descriptions about "The Sims" and these loading screens seem awfully generic. Which version of the game are you playing, TS3, TS4, or one of the others? TS3 doesn't have loading screens in-game unless you are traveling your sims to foreign worlds, but maybe I am not clearly understanding what you are describing there.
I guess I have to leave a message here since I cannot start a new thread or find an already existing one regarding this matter that I can comment on. MY QUESTION IS = Does SP3E allow you to organize custom content in game, that ends up in the misc tab catalog tab? My CC is very well organized on my laptop but that makes no difference at all to in game, which is where the problem is. I have spent days online reading tutorials etc but none are overly clear at explaining this factor. I would like to be able to put curtains in curtains and desks in desks as so much CC seems to end up in the misc decor. Thanks so much for any help.
@Roxy1xox - This is probably more of an MTS crowd type of question, but I'll take a stab at it.
I believe that the answer is yes for package files provided that FunctionCategoryFlags fields under the OBJD resource are open for editing. The problem is that the various catalog categories are all hex codes and I have no idea which codes correspond to which Build/Buy categories. Possibly you could open other CC packages that are categorized better to see what those fields contains for more clues.
For example, I just randomly opened up a CC painting that should obviously be Wall Decor (and it is), the value that I see there is 0x00000080 with a subcategory of 0x0000000040000000. So I would expect that something else that should show up under Wall Decor should also have the same FunctionCategory and Subcategory values. Then I opened up a CC refrigerator and see that the value is 0x00000002 with a subcategory of 0x0000000000000008. So I would expect something that should show up under Large Kitchen Appliances should have those two values.
Similar category and subcategory codes exist for the Room assignments, for when Build/Buy is viewed that way as opposed to by function (Kitchen, Bathroom, etc.).
If there is some translation device or document that tells us more definitively which codes correspond to which categories and subcategories without all of the poking around, that would be valuable but I wouldn't know if such a thing exists.
For Sims3pack content, a different tool such as TSR Workshop would have to be used.
Thank you igazor for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate your help. I have never used SP3E or TSR Workshop before so not very knowledgeable or experienced however just by searching online I do understand what you are saying and you have helped a lot. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction and I will keep researching and learning how to use these programs. Thanks again :smile:
Ever since I created a new game folder to resolve a mod problem all of my saved outfits, custom hair colors, custom eye colors, etc. have vanished even though I copied my old folder back over the new one I made, replacing all the new files with the old ones. Not only that, but any new colors I make are deleted every time I leave CAS. I clearly did something wrong since there were no problems before I made the new folder. What did I do?
Comments
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Hi
What antivirus are you running? you may want to disable it while running the game.
I also noticed allot of realplayer errors in your dxdiag, You may want to uninstall that and see if that helps the issue.
Also try doing a clean boot to see if there is any software/apps conflicting
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
As the others said your card is old.. but i do not think that's the issue here.
If you want to upgrade the card i can suggest one that may fit, However you may also need to upgrade the power supply also.
I was helping someone a while ago with the same sort of alienware, they had constant crashes and once they got their system cleaned it stopped, so i would open the side panel and clean the pc out of dust. (couldn't hurt LOL)
I'm not completely sure but i think that alienware uses a external power supply.. the same as laptops because it simply does not have the room for a internal one.
If you want to upgrade the graphics card then i would ask Dell what you need in terms of power supply, If your tower was a standard mid tower then i could easily tell you, But i'm just not sure what type that Alienware uses.
As for the card i would recommend either the 1050ti or 1060
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500411
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500402
16GB hyper X fury
MSI GTX 1080
MSI gaming M5 mobo
Evga 750 supernova
Corsair hydro h110i GT
Corsair obsidian 750D
500GB SSD
6TB Seagate Barracuda Pro
LG 34" ultra wide
Must be showing my age then
Generally, no. But make sure your FPS is limited to your monitor's native refresh rate. You can check your FPS in TS3 with the cheat 'fps on'. If your FPS is high, you can limit it by either using vsync in Nvidia options (if you play in full screen) or by using Nvidia Inspector to set the Frame Rate Limiter of the TS3 profile to your monitor's refresh rate (which is what I do since I play in a window).
@April - An unrecognized card is not the same thing as an undetected card. When a card is unrecognized but still clearly being used, the side-effects can be (a) an improper set of default graphics settings in Game Options settings for the card and (b) the game may unnecessarily throttle the sending of inactive sims to community lots to conserve processing power if it ranks the undetected card as lower in strength than it really is. The unsupported warning should only appear on-screen once, and then it should stop unless you update the card's drivers. For (a), this isn't a real problem as long as you can adjust the Game Options the way you want them and they stick. For (b), many players aren't bothered by that. But even if we take you through the steps to force recognition, I'm sorry but the GT 940MX is not a very strong card by TS3 standards and it's just going to get down-rated anyway. If we force it to work harder than it really can, that will lead to instability and crashes. If your game is behaving the way you think it should and its fps rates stay capped, then this isn't really worth worrying about but eventually, especially with all EPs in play, you may end up running into limitations as to far you can take the game on that one. Different players' experiences (with different play styles) vary with that card and those in that range.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
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I play TS3 using physical disks. I am able to bypass Origin when loading the game, which I really like doing, and am patched up to 1.67.
I already have a physical disk of World Adventures installed. I want to, at some point soon, install a physical disk of Generations. I notice that it is "easier/cheaper" to buy the Generation/World Adventures bundle, since a physical disk copy of Generations is getting more difficult to find. If I already have World Adventures installed, is there anything I need to know about installing the Generations/World Adventures bundle on top of that? I would like to continue avoiding Origins on load up.
Thanks for your help!
My Top Five
My Thank You Thread
My Studio
If you use any downloads though origin you will no longer be able to bypass the launcher and you will be on the 1.69 patch.
To stay at 1.67 and bypass the launcher you need to play all disc. If you find a used copy in good condition with the code it should work. Amazon or Ebay may have new sealed copies .
Your other option is to buy the whole game on Steam during a sale and play the steam version to stay at 1.67. You can't mix steam with an origin version of the game. Steam I think has a sale on the game right now
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Thanks very much phoebebebe13. I was going to try to keep it all disc if possible. The added info is very helpful.
Igazor, I didn't know there would be two discs. Thanks for the info.
Both of you have been very helpful.
My Top Five
My Thank You Thread
My Studio
Next, I started in safe mode (getting it to run a wifi connection was complicated and oddly hidden by Windows support) and it worked!!! Tried it with changed graphics, no problem. Loaded all the EPs and SPs, no problem and finally loaded my saved Sims 3 folder with no problems.
So, not sure what I'm supposed to do from here, because I can't figure out how to determine what software/app is causing the problems. Any help would be wonderful.
Regarding upgrading the video card, this pc does use an external power supply and it's only 240w. This was the main reason I went with the card I did. I'm upgrading the power supply to 330w and the card to the 1050ti. Thanks so much for the suggestions.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
I believe that the answer is yes for package files provided that FunctionCategoryFlags fields under the OBJD resource are open for editing. The problem is that the various catalog categories are all hex codes and I have no idea which codes correspond to which Build/Buy categories. Possibly you could open other CC packages that are categorized better to see what those fields contains for more clues.
For example, I just randomly opened up a CC painting that should obviously be Wall Decor (and it is), the value that I see there is 0x00000080 with a subcategory of 0x0000000040000000. So I would expect that something else that should show up under Wall Decor should also have the same FunctionCategory and Subcategory values. Then I opened up a CC refrigerator and see that the value is 0x00000002 with a subcategory of 0x0000000000000008. So I would expect something that should show up under Large Kitchen Appliances should have those two values.
Similar category and subcategory codes exist for the Room assignments, for when Build/Buy is viewed that way as opposed to by function (Kitchen, Bathroom, etc.).
If there is some translation device or document that tells us more definitively which codes correspond to which categories and subcategories without all of the poking around, that would be valuable but I wouldn't know if such a thing exists.
For Sims3pack content, a different tool such as TSR Workshop would have to be used.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Ever since I created a new game folder to resolve a mod problem all of my saved outfits, custom hair colors, custom eye colors, etc. have vanished even though I copied my old folder back over the new one I made, replacing all the new files with the old ones. Not only that, but any new colors I make are deleted every time I leave CAS. I clearly did something wrong since there were no problems before I made the new folder. What did I do?
Thanks!