Create A Sim Crash: Faults, Pausing, Very slow, Not working= HELP!

[Kauri The Sim]

Hello, I've been reading Carl's website for weeks, reading the Forum and all the guides and Walkthroughs, all the cheats and everything there is to read. I knew I would get Sims for Christmas because I've been begging for it for months. I thought I would start a blog or something on the website as soon as I've started playing so I could have fun on the website with everyone else. But unfortunately I have a much different story. My Sims game isn’t working so here is everything I've done to try to make it work. I've posted the same thing on the Sims website in Technical Help Forum hoping for more information but because I love this website and its just as helpful I wanted to post it here too hoping for help.

I got Sims 3 for Christmas and I'm having a lot of troubles with it. While it was installing Full Build 1 package (or something like that) had problems so I ignored it and let it continue with the rest of the installation.

I then, once installed, began playing the Sims. It loaded the beginning screen in under a minute, and then loaded Sunset Valley in about 5 minutes. When the camera view floats over to Sunset Valley and has the bird's eye view of the town most of the ground is black, a few houses and places are there with a block of green grass around them, then eventually after about a minute the rest of the ground and buildings appear.

Then I go into Create a Sim and it's very slow, pausing constantly then continued slowly. The first time I began to write in the Sims first name and the screen went black, and then went to the computers normal desktop. I loaded everything again and the same thing happened.

Then i deleted heaps of stuff off of the computer, hoping it would speed it up or something, I got rid of tons of photo's and documents.

I again went into the sums and everything was the same until I got into Create A Sim. This time it lasted a little longer but again went black and went to the desktop.

So I deleted even more stuff including small games and big games until my computer no longer has any games on it. They all had about 1,500 MB to 5,000 MB but Sims has about 500,000 MB or something around that.

The same thing happened, I got up to my last trait and it went out of it. Then I went in AGAIN and tried to use a already made family. I got a family of two and had the tutorial. It was VERY slow, pausing constantly then continuing slowly. I then gave up because it was so slow, it took about 10 minutes to buy a couch and walk over to it.

Later I went into it again and tried to build my own house, it was extremely slow, I used a pre made family of two. I built a small house for them. Some of the objects in the house were completely black, nothing like the picture of them in build mode. I tried to make one sim do a painting and one write a novel. They got tons of wishes. Then I tried to go into map view and it was still extremely slow.

I went back to the house and then gave up as all the furniture was a cream color and it was frozen.

Can anyone help? Do I need a new graphics card or do I need to expand my virtual memory? Any information will be great. I have wanted Sims for months and now I can't even use it.

I really desperately want to play the Sims so please give me absolutely any information about anything I've written. Thanks in advance.

[Draigh]

Welcome Kauri,

Sad to hear you have problems with your Sims 3 game. Lets try to solve them.
From hearing what you have done up to now, I doubt it's a problem of harddisk space. It might be video card problem or memory or something else. But before you go mess with all those things, we can first check a few things.

Can you get a DxDiag report?
 - Go to Start menu.
 - Click on "Run.."
 - Type in "DxDiag" and press Enter
 - Wait a moment for it to load, then press "Save All Information" in the right bottom of the application screen
 - Save the file somewhere on your desktop
 - Copy-paste content of that file to here so we can read it.

[Kauri The Sim]

Doesnt all that information tell the public my computer information so they can hack into my system? I thought giving out such information can allow others to acess my personal computer information and files, if so i am not prepared to take the risk of loosing my computer to someone.

I uninstalled it and took many tips off The Sims website, then reinstalled twice but Build Package 1 (or whatever it is called) still did not work properly. Someone with similar Dxdiag information was told their PC was to old, when their PC is four years old while mine is three.  I think i may need more video space or something. My uncle who knows a lot about computers is trying to help also. I may just wait for his replies to fix my game.

I would like a little more information on Dxdiag and weather it is safe to share or not.

[Draigh]

Yes, its perfectly safe. It mentions the type of hardware and drivers you have. People would, at the least, still need to know where you are before they can try to hack your computer. Secondly, if they want to hack your computer, they would only need to know what operating system you are running (Windows XP or Vista, is my guess). That part isnt that hard to find out if you are a hacker anyway.
But if you are worried, you could send me the info in a PM?

As for the age of a computer, it doesnt say all that much. If they bought a top of the line computer four years ago and you a cheap one last week, they might still outperform you. And the other way around too. The components are more important, which is why I am asking for that info.

Also, if you want to protect your computer against attacks from hackers, you might want to look into an Internet Security program (firewall, virus scanner, etc).

[Pam]

Kauri,

Have you checked the specifications listed on the back of the box the game came in to see if your computer matches up with the minimum requirements?

[Kauri The Sim]

I think I may have discovered the problem. I (again) installed. Full build 1 did not work, but when I entered it said I do not have a big enough video card. I called up a few shops and they said Sims needs a very big video card and without it it can cause major graphics errors. So, I am going to soon get a new one and hope for the best.

I did check the System Requiements on the back of the Sims game box. My computer does not have the Video requierments. Everything else is alright. So after a few days of boredom and torture of trying to make the Sims work, it may soon be resolved.

The only problem is that the Video Card costs a few hundred dollars and will take a few days before my computer can have his little operation.

Wish me luck, so soon I can hopefully become a fellow Simmer. And thanks for your help.

P.S. If the problems continue, I will send my DxDiag to a few people and hope that they come back to me with the same answers. Hopefully this will no longer be nessesary due to the information I have collected. I will bring updates on any information I have or need. Thank you all for your help.

[Pam]

Kauri,

I also had problems with a video card that didn't meet the minimum specifications.  I found one online for less than $50 and it has made all the difference in the world!

[Kauri The Sim]

Wow, that's cheap! Where was this? Ebay? I'll have a look, but do you need a professional to do the installing because when I called the different stalls asking around for them, they said it's not like a USB and you cannot just plug it in. Of course, there could be different types of Video Cards out there, so any information is great!

[Pam]

I did find some on Ebay by searching for the specifications listed on the back of the Sims 3 box, but I ended up purchasing it from newegg.com on the recommendation of a friend.  The one I purchased is no longer available, however.  I'm sure you can find many different video cards that will run the game.  I bought a little more powerful card than I needed so that I won't have to upgrade again for awhile.

My husband installed the card for me.  It's true that it's not a plug-in like a USB.  He had to take the cover off of the computer tower and insert the video card into a special slot inside the computer.  He's not a fancy computer whiz, but he knew enough to get it installed properly.

[Bogie74]

but I ended up purchasing it from newegg.com on the recommendation of a friend.

I buy my stuff there all the time. I'm certainly no expert - only know enough to be dangerous!  Installing a new one really is not hard at all. Good site. I highly recommend it as well! 

[Kauri The Sim]

Hello, mini update here. To make sure a video card is what I need, I'm borrowing one from my uncle as his is not needed at the moment. I'm doing this just to make sure it's what I need to get the game running. Then, if it is, I will buy one and he has offered to help install it.

I'll make sure I take a look at the website you mentioned Pam, if of course, I need to. Thank you Bogie for that feedback on the website so I can be sure it's safe. I'm not obsessed with safety, but online I like to know I'm being looked after (no matter how childish that may sound).

But I am obsessed with Sims. I have the Sims 1, deluxe edition on my computer that soon, sadly, will be uninstalled. I don't have Sims 2, but from browsing in shops lately, i've seen its expansions all for under $30 each! Sims 3 has taken over it (obviously) as games do.

On my Nintendo DS i have Sim City Creator, Sims 2 and Sims 2 pets. I only just found out about Sims 2 apartment pets, which I'm sure I will soon own.

I don't really know why I am writing this down, but why not. Hopefully soon I can write about Sims 3, because that's what the entire website is about and I shouldn't be pulling the site off topic.

I'll hopefully get the Video Card tommorow, fingers crossed and wish me luck.

[Metropolis Man]

Good luck Kauri. I'm sure everything will work out. Technical problems can be quite infuriating. I've got a relative new iMac I purchased this past summer and remembered that Steve Jobs and his family probably needed more money than they already have, so I opted to throw him an extra $200 and had the top-of-the-line video card installed. The disadvantage to the iMac design is its all-in-one format — even if the computer lasts 10 years, the video card cannot be upgraded. But, the one I chose is crazy fast so I'm good for at least 3 or 4 years (I hope).

[Kauri The Sim]

OK, at the moment I'm not very happy. In fact, I'm so angry I want to kick a Magic Mister Gnome or whatever it's called, and I don't get angry all that easily.

My uncle came over with a Video Card, unfortunately it was too big physically to fit into the space of the computer. So we went to a shop and bought one for $59.00. This was a much better deal than having it be installed by professionals, all you do is loosen to parts, pull them out, put in the Video Card and put one back in. All very simple. While we were at the store we bought a one GB RAM instant memory package too. We put that in (after paying $75.00!) and hoped for the best.

I opened Sims and it didn't even make it to Sunset Valley, it crashed. So in low spirits I uninstalled and reinstalled it hoping for the best again. After ages of waiting, Full Build 1 didn't work so I clicked ignore and continued the installation.

This time it got to Sunset Valley, it wasn't black anywhere, it was perfectly clear and I glided over the top of the town smoothly. Great improvement!

I went into Create-A-Sim, and it was great! No pausing, no graphical errors, all was well, oh until of course IT CRASHED!!

Why is this game causing me so much trouble? It's so mean. If it's possible for a game to be mean.

So now I have to get a new hard drive, for faster loading memory and usage. We're all looking into that for the moment, but I might not be able to get it for a while. *sigh* This is fustrating and depressing.

P.S. How long does it take for all your computers to load Sunset Valley, not the loading screen just the town when the game tips come up? Mine takes a punishing minimum of ten minutes, Create-A-Sim takes around two and I can't be bothered using a pre-made family to move in a house to see how long that takes, presuming it lasts that long.

For the thousandth time, thanks for the help and support (and sorry about that fustrating experience Metropolis).

And for the millionth time, wish me luck.

[Pam]

Kauri,

Did you buy a video card that's listed on the back of the game?  Or maybe you got one that's still not quite powerful enough.  What computer were you using when you were borrowing your friend's Sims 3 before you got your own?

[Kauri The Sim]

Kauri,

Did you buy a video card that's listed on the back of the game?  Or maybe you got one that's still not quite powerful enough.  What computer were you using when you were borrowing your friend's Sims 3 before you got your own?

On the back of the game box it says 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 I dont know if it had anything about a Pixel Shader though... what does that do? The Video Card is over 200 MB so it's fine there.

I don't know what you mean when you say "What computer were you using when you were borrowing your friend's Sims 3 before you got your own?" I haven't borrowed Sims 3 from anyone, I've just read about it and wanted it for months. So I don't really get what you mean by that.

I loaded up the Sims and it loaded a bit faster than usual. I used a pre-made family called the Glovers or something. It was all great until of course it crashed. It lasted about a minute before in the house thing. I bought one by the beach. I'm still very fustrated abouut the whole thing.