Sims freezing

[jk22]

I have had a problem with Sims freezing on me. First, a sim of mine freezed in an Egyptian tomb. Another freezed while relaxing in bed! It gets annoying and to this day, they are still frozen. Also, the resetsim cheat doesn't afftect them! Help!

[Schipperke]

Jk22, have you tried exiting and restarting the game?  Sometimes that's all it takes.  Also, you didn't say if both times this happened it was in the same game or different games.  If you are having repeated problems with one particular game, that game file may be bugged.  If you could share more information about the problem, someone may have more suggestions for you.

[CarlosLordofTacos]

Upload the sims you want to save to the official Sims 3 site, just in case you need to reinstall the game. It's better to be safe than sorry!

[Hopeful]

We're having the same problem with the game freezing ... and although the mouse can move, and things such as the leaves blowing in the wind, etc. continue to move on the screen, nothing can be selected.  I end up having to call up Task Manager and end the process all together.  I've rebooted, reloaded, checked the game disk, in case it had a problem .. but nothing works.  At the official forum someone recommended installing a MOD; but, after reading things about MODS, I'm not really keen on doing that ... as we don't really know what we're doing ... and it's likely we would end up making things worse (lol).  Everything with the game is up-to-date, and our computers are above the minimum requirements.  The problems of it freezing within just a few minutes of playing the game started last night ... it's almost 2 pm in my area, at the time of this post .. so it's been ongoing for about 14-16 hours.  Haven't had problems like this since we bought the games (little problems ... but, not like this).

I know this sounds terrible; but, the game is basically our enjoyment in life ... sad but true ... so if someone could help, we'd appreciate your assistance.  Tks.

[Hopeful]

We tried starting a new game, and this actually worked for a while; although today, it is now freezing.  In a private message I had with one of the moderators, they truly suggested re-installing the game software, which my son was opposed to doing; but, this is very likely the best option (even though it means some extra time, and not being able to play the game for a short time).  But, in the long run, if it eliminates the problems, it is certainly worth it.

~~~

jk22 - what I found worked for a sim that was frozen (and everything else worked fine) was going into "Edit Town".  Go to the option with the three dots on the main page, and on list there will be an option called "Edit Town".  Then, when this opens, click on your active household.  Then, if you select the option to split household, and put the sim who is "frozen" on the clipboard.  What I did then, was select this person and place them (just for the time being) in a vacant lot or empty household.  This way, their profile would not be deleted.  I would then save and return to the game.  Then I would re-enter "Edit Town" and select this sim, who I had placed in a different household, and select the "merge" option, and put them back into my active household.  Then I would save and return to the game.  It has worked every time (as I've had a sim with their foot stuck in the ground, and I've had a sim stuck in bed too ... and if you don't do anything, they will die or be taken away from you by a social worker - if they are a child).   If it's a child who is stuck ... when you go into "edit town", you will have to place them with an adult, otherwise, you will not be able to place them anywhere.  This also worked for my son, when one of his sims had a plate stuck to their hand.

If you need more explanation, let me know.

~~~

I was wondering; but does the game get "bugged" by the objects, lots, etc. that can be downloaded from the official Sims 3 website?  Or is this caused by other problems?  The reason I ask is because we have only downloaded things from the official website, and have not used MODS, etc.

Thanks.

[CarlosLordofTacos]

Yeah, some store stuff is faulty and some malicious--and clumsy folk put CC on exchange items.

[Figwit]

Hopeful, have you tried turning off your custom content? 

You could try moving your Sims 3 folder to the desktop and see if that helps.  The game will regenerate a new one when you start it.  If that cures the problem, then you could start moving things back or reinstalling them - whatever you are comfortable with.

I have a lot of cc in my game but I would not touch anything on the exchange. Your store items should be fine.

[Pam]

I was wondering; but does the game get "bugged" by the objects, lots, etc. that can be downloaded from the official Sims 3 website?  Or is this caused by other problems?  The reason I ask is because we have only downloaded things from the official website, and have not used MODS, etc.

If you're downloading from the Sims 3 Exchange, you can absolutely get bugs in your game.  The Exchange is just players uploading things they make in the game and there's no way of knowing what they use.  If you're purchasing items from the Sims 3 Store and downloading, you should be fine.  Items in the Store that you pay for are made by Electronic Arts and will work fine in the game.

Yeah, some store stuff is faulty and some malicious--and clumsy folk put CC on exchange items.

Store items are rarely faulty and never malicious.  True about the Exchange items, though.

[CarlosLordofTacos]

I meant the people who put CC on store items were malicious or absent minded, not the store employees! Well, maybe some of the employees have their heads in the clouds, haha.

[kindofagirl]

We're having the same problem with the game freezing ... and although the mouse can move, and things such as the leaves blowing in the wind, etc. continue to move on the screen, nothing can be selected.  I end up having to call up Task Manager and end the process all together.  I've rebooted, reloaded, checked the game disk, in case it had a problem .. but nothing works.  At the official forum someone recommended installing a MOD; but, after reading things about MODS, I'm not really keen on doing that ... as we don't really know what we're doing ... and it's likely we would end up making things worse (lol).  Everything with the game is up-to-date, and our computers are above the minimum requirements.  The problems of it freezing within just a few minutes of playing the game started last night ... it's almost 2 pm in my area, at the time of this post .. so it's been ongoing for about 14-16 hours.  Haven't had problems like this since we bought the games (little problems ... but, not like this).

I know this sounds terrible; but, the game is basically our enjoyment in life ... sad but true ... so if someone could help, we'd appreciate your assistance.  Tks.

This is happening to me, my comp is fine to run everything I have installed, I have been playing it for a few weeks and nothing like this has happened before, and now I cant even play without the game freezing every minute, I have tried lowering all the graphic settings incase it was that.

I really dont want to have to re-install the game as I had to download them from EA manager as it is and it takes ages!!!

Anyone have any other ideas?

[Chano360]

  Every time I click the fast-forward button my game freezes and it also freezes in general but what I find weird is that the background noises don't freeze. It started ever since I installed the high-end loft stuff pack! but I want to still keep it, it is pretty cool!
I also tried the reset sim thing and it didn't work and deleting the stuff in the DCBackup folder!


ANY ADVICE?!!
HELP!
PLEASE!
Thanks!

[KRae]

Are you deleting your caches in your Sims 3 documents folder. There is a list on this site of what's safe to delete. Just do a search. Also, I've had problems when my sims are carrying too much of certain items in their personal inventory like scrap or seeds. For some reason, tragic clown fish cause problems for me.

[Sonshine]

For those of you whose game is freezing, could you post a pic of your comp stats? I know you said that you have more than the minimum, but you may not have enough RAM or a strong enough video card. Especially if you're trying to run this on a laptop. Laptops only have a video chip and it is not meant for for complex 3D video. Also, each new exp pack you install and especially w/IP, the demand for RAM and video memory expand. If you have  a laptop, you should have an external video card for the game. I have a video card that has 4 gigs memory w/about 1.5 gigs or so dedicated memory just for it and 15 gigs RAM and my game still freezes every once in a while for a few seconds.