Sims 3 error - Unable to start The Sims 3

[sydney511]

Hey guys; long time no see.

So recently Sims 3 has been super wonky for me; it'll freeze in CAS and I'd have to turn off the computer. Anyways today I tried to play it, and it froze at main menu, couldn't even press Start to take me to the desktop so I had to press and hold the power button.

When I turned it back on, it was all zoomed in which I attempted to fix with resolutions (will need help from my parents later) and it kinda failed, it still looks weird to me, So then I tried opening Sims 3 and this is the error I get:

Unable to start The Sims 3.
Device 0 cannot run this title.
No supported video card detected, please check your system's hardware

which has NEVER happened before to me. I even tried running without CC since I have a lot of it. Now please note I have had this game from 2009 and it was working just fine a few days ago so there is NOTHING wrong with my video card. Maybe when I had to do this whole reboot thing it messed up? Anyways, please help. I don't want to download anything either to update my card as well.

[Pam]

Did you shut your computer down and reboot again?  When was the last time you did a clean re-install of the game?

[sydney511]

I already completely shut down and reboot the computer. I would prefer not to reinstall the whole game...

[sydney511]

Earlier I tried removing ALL cc from the game and putting them into a different folder, but still nothing. I might have to wait for my stepdad to get home from his business trip and ask him.

[jeanamariex3]

Are you sure you have a proper video card, and not just integrated graphics? If you're trying to run the game with all that CC, plus all those EP's/SP's and Store Content, with integrated graphics, it's too much for the PC to handle, so therefore it will overheat and shut itself down to protect itself. Integrated graphics are chips, that attach to the motherboard. Those are meant for normal business tasks, and internet use, like this forum, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. 

If not, an uninstall/reinstall maybe in order. It's the only way to stop any bugs, really.

EDIT: It's not so much that CC is harmful persae, it's the fact that third party creators and their meshes have polygons higher than say, that bob with the side bangs Pam uses frequently, (the one Carina Dreamweaver has), so that alone isn't that great for lower end computers. So that being said, if you don't have the nicest gaming rig, too much CC is really going to slow your game down, as is.

[gracieoscar]

My computer often fails to find it's audio card, particularly after I've shut it down by holding the power button. The normal solution is to shut it down properly and reboot it in a few minutes.

[Flynn Arrowstarr]

Unable to start The Sims 3.
Device 0 cannot run this title.
No supported video card detected, please check your system's hardware

Hi, Sydney.

The error is definitely suggesting something is up with your videocard. Sims 3 is not detecting your card properly, and given some of the other issues you mentioned in your post, the system itself isn't properly detecting the card. Assuming you're running Windows 7, here's how you can check which card the system is detecting:

• Click Start
• On the Start Menu, look on the right side and find the link that says Computer
• Right-click on Computer and select Manage from the menu. Note, you will need Administrative privileges in order to run this.
• In the Management Console, check the left side of the window for the Device Manager and click on it.
• On the right side, find the category Display Adapter and click it to expand.
• You will see the name of your adapter listed.

If it displays something like "Generic VGA Adapter" then your system is not reading the graphics card drivers correctly. You may need to re-install the drivers from the CD that came with it. If that doesn't work, then the card may need to be reseated (unplugged and plugged back in - make sure the computer is disconnected before doing this).

Let us know if this helps. Thanks.

Flynn