Sims 3 crashing on new computer.

[Lozzomatic]

Specs-

i9-12900KF, 16 Core, 64 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, Windows 10, Available graphics 44985 MB, dedicated video memory 12288 MB GDDR6X.

NVIDIA and drivers are up to date, Origin and Sims 3 up to date and repaired several times. I tried compatibility mode in Win 7 but nothing worked. The Deviceconfig thing is totally empty because from what I was told I need to boot up the game and make a save (I think) for it to be written, but I can't get anywhere near actually playing the game for it to be written.

Each time I boot up Origin, launch the Sims 3 Launcher and press play to start up the game but it crashes to desktop back to Origin. I think it's not recognising my graphics card but I don't know. I think it's something else.
I have tried turning off Origin in-game which did nothing, I tried turning Origin offline but again it did nothing. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Origin but still it didn't work. As said before, it's updated as well as Sims 3 so I have tried all I could including most of what has been suggested here.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Lozzomatic]

I did hear about something to do with E cores and turning them off but I don't want to touch that in case I messed my entire computer up.

[Trip]

Did you try disabling Data Execution Prevention on TS3.exe and TS3W.exe? https://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Data_Execution_Prevention/TS3W

There's also no need to bump a thread here after five hours. This is not a very active board.

[MrsFlynn]

I've read that a lot of players with new computers are having a hard time getting Sims 3 to run on their computers. It's my understanding it may be due to Sims 3 needing DirectX9 and Windows 10 not having it.

So you may want to try reinstalling DirectX 9. Read more in the post linked below.

Sims 3 Game Won't Launch - Windows 10
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10711778#M247861

If that doesn't help, you might try asking about the issue on AHQ's Sims 3 Tech Help Board:

AHQ's Sims 3 Tech Help Board:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/bd-p/the-sims-3

Sign in with your EA account, click the New Topic button, up near the top of the board, to make a new post.

[Lozzomatic]

I have Direct x 12, would that conflict with downloading Dx 9?

[MrsFlynn]

I haven't read about any conflicts between versions, but you can ask over at AHQ with the link in my previous post.  They seem to be more familiar with the issue and can help further if problems arise.

[Lozzomatic]

Well, I installed it now and restarted the computer. I will boot up Sims 3 and hope it worked. My concern is that my graphics card isn't recognised though, it is a RTX 3080.

[Lozzomatic]

Nope, same issue. Crashes back to Origin.

[MrsFlynn]

If you haven't you can take a look at this post to add your card to the graphics files or see if the graphics files attached to the post work for you.

How-To: Get Sims 3 to Recognize a New Graphics Card
https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=26753.msg446248#msg446248

If the files don't work for you, please share what your card is and it's device ID and I'll add it to the list. This information can be found via the DeviceConfig.log in your Sims 3 folder.

[Lozzomatic]

I tried the graphics card file thing and it wasn't there. I even tried manually doing it myself but I know I buggered it up as I have no idea what I'm doing.

My card is a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

Device ID- 10DE 2208 389B1462

[Lozzomatic]

Okay I might have screwed up on the first post explaining the situation, or maybe you didn't quite catch it but I want to make this crystal clear.
I can't send you the info on my DeviceConfig file because it's totally empty, blank, zilch, nada.

[MrsFlynn]

I'm sorry, my mistake I did read that earlier.

From what I understand, the Alder Lake processors have issues running some games by incorrectly triggering the DRM.  While a number of games have been fixed, it's possible Sims 3 is not one of those games.  A possible workaround (if your motherboard supports it) is to go into the system BIOS and enable Legacy Game Mode.  You will need to Google whether your board supports this mode and what the instructions are for your particular board as every BIOS is different.

If that doesn't solve the problem, please ask about the issue over at AHQ. As they may have more troubleshooting tips.

AHQ's Sims 3 Tech Help Board:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/bd-p/the-sims-3

Sign in with your EA account, click the New Topic button, up near the top of the board, to make a new post.

[Lozzomatic]

I have the x cpt text file here that always seems to pop up when a crash occurs (which always occurs since trying and failing to play it on my new computer)

Could it have info on it about what might be causing the crashes? I noticed a 'divide by zero' thing on it.

[MrsFlynn]

Thank you for the info.

I searched on the int_divide_by_zero error and didn't come up with much, except this thread linked below from AHQ: 

Sims 3 won't open: Alder Lake (Intel 12th-gen) CPU
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-won-t-open-Alder-Lake-Intel-12th-gen-CPU/td-p/11057820

It mentions some troubleshooting tips and that EA is looking into the issue. This may be an incompatibility between the computer's processor and Sims 3. If this is the case, you'll need to wait for a fix from any of the companies involved.

If you've already tried all the suggested troubleshooting tips, you can sign in with your EA account, click the Me Too button under the first post and optionally, share your experience with the issue by clicking the reply button on any post.

[Lozzomatic]

I've downloaded the updated graphics card files that also includes my card. I tried again to play but still the same crash issue. I think it might well be the 12th gen CPU being an issue. I have to get my friend who's a bit more knowledgeable about computers to help me sort out the Legacy Game thing because although I have some basic knowledge I'm sure I'll wind up making things worse if I even try to touch the BIOS.

I will update after he's had a go at it but it probably would be that I have to wait on Alder Lake or whoever fixing the Legacy Game mode.