I got The Sims 3 (along with University, Pets and Loft) for christmas and downloaded Origin. And whenever I would try to play it it would always say to insert disc when the disc was already in my computer. And whenever i actually get a chance to play the game it always crashes after a few minutes (especially when i am trying to create a sim)
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TS3 on either platform can only utilize 800 MB of video memory. That's not like the RAM restriction that leads to instability and crashes, and there's nothing wrong with having more capable cards than that, but the rest of the video memory just won't be usable by the game.
On the Windows side, it is not necessary to install the EP/SPs in any kind of order. This may have been true in the very beginning up until Ambitions or so but things changed along the way. The sequence usually goes base game, Super Patch to 1.67 (but not if on 1.69 as Origin will manage the patch level), play the game to make sure it's working. Then add the EPs as desired, they don't need to be put in all at once unless the player wants it that way. Finally, if intending to stay on 1.67, Super Patch at the very end before playing again. If on 1.69, there is no Super Patching as Origin manages things like that by itself. Forcing the Super Patch to run on a 1.69 Origin for Windows managed game will break the install -- this is kind of a new thing as of Jan 2016.
NRaas has moved!
Our new site is at http://nraas.net
https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/4756624#M4
Since you posted in the mac section, I'm assuming you're on a mac, but if not, please list your specs anyway. It would also be good to know which packs you have installed.
Since we're talking specs, how much free storage do you have? You can check under About This Mac > Storage.
The other question is in which worlds you're playing. Does the game run better in a clean folder, with only NRaas mods present, in a well-made EA world like Sunset Valley? Or are the problems present no matter where you play?
Finally, if you do have a dedicated card, it's worth checking to make sure the game is using that and not the integrated one. You can copy and past the first 40 or so lines of your deviceconfig here; delete your machine and usernames if you like, but include everything else up to where the game options start.
Please post the first 40 lines of your deviceconfig, as described above, and the overall specs of your computer, as described here:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/4756624#M4
The other point to make is that TS3 for mac can only use up to 2 GB RAM at a time, no matter how much you have installed. Depending on your playstyle and the worlds you prefer, it's easy to come close to the RAM limit almost as soon as you load the game, especially with so many EPs in play. You can monitor memory use in the Task Manager and purge RAM via Terminal, but this only helps a little bit. The only thing to do when you're close to the game's RAM limit is to quit to desktop (not to the Main Menu) and reload.
https://bluebellflora.com/resetting-ram-during-gameplay/
It should also be noted that while most NRaas mods end up lowering the game's RAM use by cleaning up errors and glitches, StoryProgression will actually add significantly to overhead. If you have SP installed, you might try removing it, especially when testing a new game.
The other possibility is that your laptop is wearing out and is struggling to run TS3 as well as it did before. This is why I keep asking how well a new save plays in SV (or Riverview, or Twinbrook). If it runs well, then this becomes an issue of keeping demands down in your existing saves. If not, then you might need to lower your graphics and take other steps to protect your system. But it's also possible that your computer might not be able to handle the game at all any more. After all, it is six years old, and laptops aren't really built to last much longer than that.