@sammy4eva Can you test on a different computer? It's not always clear whether this is an account issue or a computer issue, and the only way to confirm is to test.
If you can't try another computer, or it doesn't help, please try a wifi network that's actually different. For example, you could set your phone as a mobile hotspot, using data rather than your home wifi. Starting the game shouldn't use much data.
I was able to log into another computer under my EA account and start up the Sims 3 game from the Sims 3 launcher. Oddly enough, that same day I was able to get the game to launch properly on my computer although it would then just crash once loading into a particular save file.
I haven't had the chance yet to test with my save files personally or to test on a different wifi connection. Any further advice for me once I get the chance or in the meantime?
@sammy4eva If the game is now working on your main computer when you select a new save, then the issue is probably (but not definitely) the main save. Does it help to play with your computer offline? You can sign into the EA App and put it in offline mode, then disable wifi and/or disconnect the ethernet connection before pressing Play. This is more of a test than a solution, and the outcome will be useful information either way.
So, new update, trying this idea has brought up this lovely new error saying that my game license has expired.
I have removed all mods that I downloaded a couple days before this whole string of events even started. Which seems to have at least made these issues run smoother and faster.
Looking into the EC:204 which is a known issue from back in 2023, I have already run the EAUpdater to see if this was the issue, but this has yeilded the same issue of not being able to to validate because of no internet, trying without wifi on still says that my license is still expired. More screenshots of before the no internet issue if this helps at all
and what follows when trying to put in the product key info.
I hope this will help if you have any ideas.
@sammy4eva Does this happen when your computer is online too, or just offline? I ask because sometimes game ownership can't be validated while offline, although that shouldn't happen at all (and doesn't with Sims 3 under normal circumstances) unless it's been too long since you last launched it. But that would be weeks or months, not a few days.
If this happens with your computer and the EA App online, click Windows key-R and enter this in the run box:
%ProgramData%\Electronic Arts\EA Services
Move the License folder to the desktop, and test Sims 3 again. Don't delete the folder entirely if you have other EA games installed that you might want to play. The data inside License should be restored the next time you launch each game, but if it's not working for Sims 3, it might not work for the other games either.
For the first question, it happens with different messages online and offline. For offline, the EA app says that my license has expired and to go back online to renew it with the error code 204. as seen here.
While online is this problem after signing in to put in my product key(s).
I tried to do the "%ProgramData%\Electronic Arts\EA Services" and I see the folder is updated every time I try to launch the game, but when I look in the folder it is comepletely empty. I only moved it once and it didn't fix the issue. In fact it just made a new license folder but still with nothing in it.
I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the games and addons, tried uninstalling and reinstalling the EA launcher, using the launcher to "repair" my sims games, used CCleaner to fix any possible issues.
@sammy4eva Let's put aside the offline stuff for now and only test with your computer online. If you can, try a different network, for example your phone set as a mobile hotspot. Make sure it's using data, not your home wifi.
If that doesn't help, please create a new admin Windows account and try playing there. Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account or any email address. (Just keep declining the request.) You'll be able to try to launch Sims 3 without reinstalling anything, but your saves and other user data won't be available. That's fine for the purposes of this test.
Update with full details and backstory.
This all really started not long after I upgraded to windows 11. Sims worked for a few days before the initial problems of "Unable to validate your authorization code" and "Unable to connect to EA Servers"
I have found a previous backup, which still crashes. I got the game running randomly but would crash after trying to load into a game. Figured it was a graphics driver update for that.
I updated any and all drivers. Brought me back to being unable to connect to servers.
I tried to use my roommates steam version but with all my files, with my mods, and saves. It was able to load into a save from a backup from September, but the most recent one just before this viasco started is crashing just after hitting the play button on their computer. I removed all added mods from before the main issue started but it still crashes and worse now as it cannot even get into the Maxis screen.
So here is my system Specs just in case it is hardware issues:
OS Name Microsoft Windows 11 Home
System Model Laptop 16 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series)
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS w/ Radeon 780M Graphics, 4001 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date INSYDE Corp. 03.03, 3/27/2024
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 27.8 GB
Available Physical Memory 21.2 GB
Total Virtual Memory 31.7 GB
Available Virtual Memory 22.4 GB
I have all the latest graphics and chipset drivers. All up to date windows updates.
@sammy4eva The inability to activate the game is unlikely to have anything to do with your laptop's hardware. The crashing you get when the game does work could be about the hardware or drivers, not that anything's broken but that adjustments are necessary to make the game work with Sims 3. For that angle, please run a dxdiag and attach it to your reply.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
Please also let me know whether you're currently still seeing the activation error, and if so, whether you've noticed any pattern to when the game works and when it doesn't. For example, maybe it works the first time you try after restarting your PC (or opening the EA App) but not later.
I finally got progress with getting the game to run!
After not being able to see the sims launcher screen...again. I went back and cleared out the Microsoft edge cache...again. Still gave me a bad activation. So I went digging in my files to see if there was any crash logs from a suggestion of a friend. Found a "backup error 12.sims3.bad file" and research on that led me to delete the corrupted save files with the bad tag attached.
The load times are longer than I remember though. About 5 minutes (Not kidding, timed it.) just to get into the save selection screen. The main save I am worried about saving...never stops loading. It gets to like 98% of the way and just keeps loading. Never freezes. I was able to watch 2 full episodes of a show while I was waiting (about 30-40 minutes each) and it was still loading.
A new save I just started seems to be doing fine though (knock on wood).
@sammy4eva The save that isn't loading might be corrupted beyond repair, but there are steps you can try to fix it. First, try loading the backup copy of the save. In Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Saves, you'll see a folder with the save name and another one with the same name and a .backup extension. Rename the save and delete the .backup, so the folder name ends in .sims3 , and you'll be able to select it at the Main Menu.
Please also delete any files in CurrentGame inside this same Sims 3 folder. The CurrentGame folder should always be empty unless you have a save loaded. Delete the cache files every time you quit as well, at least while troubleshooting. For reference, they are:
If this doesn't help, and you're willing to use a few mods, I'd recommend adding NRaas ErrorTrap and Overwatch. It's possible they could correct whatever problem is preventing this save from loading, and they're very helpful overall, cleaning out junk data that would otherwise accumulate and possibly corrupt your new saves as well. Neither one requires user input. More information is here:
Hi again,
I'll have to look into the corrupted saves thing later. I do have ErrorTrap already, not sure if I have Overwatch honestly.
Still no pattern I can make sense of as for when it works and when it doesn't. I've done restarts and shut downs and even let the computer sleep before trying to launch in case it's something like that which can affect it but no discernable pattern so far. I do know that if my game's running seemingly smooth and then I go to launch, select a save and then it crashes during loading screen then a PC restart will bring the activation error back again. I assume that has something to do with the crash during loading somehow but that's just a silly hunch I've got.
I do have the file for you. I've also created another forum post on EA Forums (because maybe there are more eyes over there) and saw you're there too - doesn't hurt to try and get maybe EA staff to look at it too, if they frequent that site more right?
Thanks for helping me so far. Just so dang sick of this error, haha.
@sammy4eva Your dxdiag lists a number of serious crashes of the graphics driver (LiveKernelEvent 141 is a video driver timeout), so the next step here is to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the driver. Here's how:
The driver is the same for your iGPU and dedicated card, and it's the newest-available version from AMD. You can get a fresh copy here:
An intermittent issue with the activation error is definitely strange, and I'm not sure what to make of it. But perhaps the problem is your antivirus, especially if you use a third-party program. Try disabling it and going only with Windows Defender instead, at least for a couple days. Defender is fine as long as you don't do anything risky.
If that doesn't help, or you want to try something else first, try blocking Sims 3 (TS3.exe) in your firewall. The game should still work fine except for its connection to EA servers, which it uses to download Store thumbnails and maybe some other stuff you don't actually need. The idea here is that maybe a crash paired with this kind of connection is causing the temporary issue.
If this causes more problems, you can block the Store thumbnails from downloading by setting the FeaturedItems folder (in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3) to read-only, or creating a text file called FeaturedItems with the .txt extension stripped off. Either one would prevent the game from placing the content in this folder without any need to change your firewall settings.
So I installed the 24.12.1 driver update which when installing appearing in Adrenaline as a Install(Repair).
I checked Windows Defender and advanced firewall settings and it is set to allow everything from EA.
So I closed out of AMD adrenaline and windows defender to start EA and TS3.
Sims starts up fine now...randomly. But now the game is crashing in the exact same spot as yesterday. Any further suggestions I can try?
@sammy4eva It's important to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the driver, not just a regular install. So please do that.
I googled how to do so, and uninstalled both drivers from Device Manager, went to the site and reinstalled with a computer restart.
Unfortunately I'm still seeing the activation error.
By the way, happy new year : )
@sammy4eva Again, please use Display Driver Uninstaller as described in the link I posted earlier. I'm not being difficult here; it's actually important that you use DDU and not any other method.
