Frozen Game

[Caramia]

I am having a problem similar to this - for the last 3-4 days.  I will be playing a file, it will freeze completely (not just lag) and either crash to the desktop, or if I check task manager, it will say that sims 3 is not responding and I have to force quit the application. 

In the last few days, I've tried the following solutions, and have still had the problem:

Factory reset

Complete uninstall and reinstall (I have base game, WA, Ambitions, Generations and a few store items - riverview, baby swing)

My current game file had this happen numerous times before I attempted these fixes, and crashed again this morning after, so I decided to test run a new file.  I started a new game in Riverview, playing Jon Lesson.  Got to breakfast of sim day 2 and it crashed. 

I did have mods running - overwatch, error trap, story progression and master controller - and the latest thing I did was remove those.

I only upgraded to the latest patch when I reinstalled everything last night, so the problem happened both before and after the latest patch.

FWIW - my system exceeds basic requirements:  dual 2.4 GHz processors and 6G ram.

I'm not sure what else to try at this point - it is getting frustrating.

[Caramia]

Follow up-

I spent most of the afternoon/evening reading all sorts of possible problems and solutions and systemically trying them. 

I think I have finally stumbled upon the solution.  I am not sure why I have not had an issue until recently, but it could be that I added 2 EP's recently (after the Amazon sale).  Perhaps everything was fine until I pushed the system.

I did a lot of searching about minimum specifications and found that my laptop has a quite inferior video card - and it's part of the system and can't be changed. On one of my test runs I put most of the graphics options on low and VOILA.  I was able to play for over 2 hours without a single crash (vs earlier in the day when it would crash after only 15 minutes of play). I actually don't mind the graphics on low, and I'm so happy that the game is fluid and not crashing.

I have yet to add the mods or any content back to the game, but at the moment the problem appears to be fixed. 

[Esther1981]

So it was because you had an integrated chipset? I had one of those and my graphics were awful, my animals were all kinds of deformed! I got a better graphic card and now my pets and graphics are awesome, but it still lags.

[MomOfMany]

Ok so I now have a similar problem! Mine is that when I create a new household it always freezes at the clothing part. Once I get to the clothes and start to pick out what I want it will freeze and nothing will work. I am on a Mac and I get the little No chime no matter what I press so it is totally froze and sometime I have waited as long as 10 minutes! The first time it eventually forced closed with the report thing and the second time I was less patient and just shut down with the button in the back. Is there a quit fix for this?

[Esther1981]

Only thing I can think of is factory reset? Maybe that would work for you. I created a new game yesterday and it was still laggy. Ah well, I couldn't resetsim * because of the type of game I was playing lol.

[Caramia]

So it was because you had an integrated chipset? I had one of those and my graphics were awful, my animals were all kinds of deformed! I got a better graphic card and now my pets and graphics are awesome, but it still lags.

Yes, I believe so.  I've played a bit since the fix and not had one single crash or lag.   I've also noticed that the fan on my laptop doesn't strain and run the entire time I'm playing anymore, so I think the chip was causing some problems.  Even though you have a new/better graphics card, try tuning the graphics to low and see if you still have the lag problem. 

[MomOfMany]

Only thing I can think of is factory reset? Maybe that would work for you. I created a new game yesterday and it was still laggy. Ah well, I couldn't resetsim * because of the type of game I was playing lol.

I don't think that is it because I just did a complete uninstall reinstall maybe a week ago and this is the first time I have played since I did it. My kids played it but only 2 or 3 times.

[MoMoll]

I am having a problem similar to this - for the last 3-4 days.  I will be playing a file, it will freeze completely (not just lag) and either crash to the desktop, or if I check task manager, it will say that sims 3 is not responding and I have to force quit the application. 

In the last few days, I've tried the following solutions, and have still had the problem:

Factory reset

Complete uninstall and reinstall (I have base game, WA, Ambitions, Generations and a few store items - riverview, baby swing)

My current game file had this happen numerous times before I attempted these fixes, and crashed again this morning after, so I decided to test run a new file.  I started a new game in Riverview, playing Jon Lesson.  Got to breakfast of sim day 2 and it crashed. 

I did have mods running - overwatch, error trap, story progression and master controller - and the latest thing I did was remove those.

I only upgraded to the latest patch when I reinstalled everything last night, so the problem happened both before and after the latest patch.

FWIW - my system exceeds basic requirements:  dual 2.4 GHz processors and 6G ram.

I'm not sure what else to try at this point - it is getting frustrating.

Are your mods up to date? If you patched up recently, you may have the wrong mod version running. Once I put in the updated mods my game stopped having issues after patching.

[jeanamariex3]

I couldn't find my graphic card, but under Graphics/Display, this is the information I got.

NVIDIA GeForce 9400:

  Chipset Model:   NVIDIA GeForce 9400
  Type:   Display
  Bus:   PCI
  VRAM (Total):   256 MB
  Vendor:   NVIDIA (0x10de)
  Device ID:   0x0867
  Revision ID:   0x00b1
  ROM Revision:   3379
  Displays:
iMac:
  Resolution:   1680 x 1050
  Depth:   32-Bit Color
  Core Image:   Hardware Accelerated
  Main Display:   Yes
  Mirror:   Off
  Online:   Yes
  Quartz Extreme:   Supported
  Built-In:   Yes
Display Connector:
  Status:   No Display Connected


Is this what you need?

The main problem is that you're using a chipset, which is attached to the motherboard, as appose to a real graphics card. I would go invest in a new graphics card, if you can. I have 4 GB of RAM, and I've actually seen tons of improvement (on my Dell) from getting a real graphics card.

Chipsets are fine for office work, internet use, and homework, but they're not for gaming.