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Hi there, got thrown off by the multiple postings but we've sorted that out now.

I'm not clear on something, was this an Origin for Mac install or was it disc? And yes, we do need to know which version of OS X is being used here. (Edit: Okay, High Sierra. Our posts crossed each other...so therefore, this must have been an Origin install?).

It's actually fortunate that the OP has been able to get TS3 with many almost all of its EPs running on that MacBook Air. The Air is very much underpowered for this game and its graphics chip is not supported. I suppose we should focus on what changed from when the game did launch to now when it does not, but I'm not feeling real confident about this. Pushing an Air to work too hard like that can take years off of its life even if it seemed to be running with no problems for a long while.

"igazor;c-16433224" wrote:
Since the intent is to uninstall everything TS3 related, I don't see why it can't be done all at once. Yes on the Lion and above question.

And you're welcome, I just wish I had better news or a path for you to get TS3 safely working again. Feel kind of bad that I'm not really seeing it on that computer.

I wish I could post videos on here so I could film on my computer and show you what I mean. I am just going to do a clean uninstall. Do not feel bad, I love TS3 but if it is going to hurt my computer I won't play it. At least is is not TS4. I really appreciate it, you are so much better than going to EA support. The community is awesome!

Emptying the trash and rebooting should never make anyone nervous. I restart my Macs at least every other day and never keep anything in the Trash. As long as that which you have deleted is strictly TS3 related, and you have gotten rid of the TS3 Application folder as well, the rest of your Mac should not be affected except positively by now having a lot more space freed up for other uses.

"igazor;c-16433256" wrote:
Emptying the trash and rebooting should never make anyone nervous. I restart my Macs at least every other day and never keep anything in the Trash. As long as that which you have deleted is strictly TS3 related, and you have gotten rid of the TS3 Application folder as well, the rest of your Mac should not be affected except positively by now having a lot more space freed up for other uses.

It is just the fear of getting rid of a game I have had for so long. I'll be ok though! (haha) All the files in my trash are either my EA folder that says Sims 3, my applications folder, the folder that says Sims 3 Preferences and any file/ folder that starts with Com.Transgaming

Thank you so much for the help, I honestly do not know what I would do without you! I hope in the future since everything is connected through origin that I can play again. I am also really happy with all the space I will have!

"puzzlezaddict;c-16433235" wrote:
@igazor Just curious, what specs would you recommend for running just the base game and one or two early EPs? I mean, maybe the OP's computer doesn't meet them, but now I'm wondering how much space there is (more or less—I know there's some gray area) between "shouldn't run TS3 at all" and "can manage everything but maybe on low settings."

There's a combination of several factors here. I would say at least 2 GHz (though the standard 2.4 Ghz would be better) on the processor, at least 4 GB of RAM though more would be better, and I wouldn't recommend playing on less than a dedicated Nvidia or AMD graphics card of suitable strength. But if we must stay in the realm of integrated graphics and limit ourselves to the earliest of the EPs, then at least Iris Pro or something as strong. As we have seen, players' experiences will vary even on what look like the same hardware sets.

On the Mac game though, there are combinations of processors and graphics chips that even if they are strong enough are just are not going to work at all and some that will work for some players but not others. I believe the latter is a combo we have here. Bluebellflora's blogs are all over these issues. And by not working I mean that no matter what the game refuses to launch or the player ends up seeing pretty rainbow streaks all over the screen instead of what they are supposed to see and for them there is no game there to be played.

The computer must also have an adequate cooling system. The Airs do not have this as they are not designed for such use.

My iMac is over six years old now but it exceeds these requirements in all areas and I could indeed run the Mac version of the game with (almost) all EPs without all the goofy hardware combo unsupportable conflicts, although this was back when my OS was Lion. But the 2 GB built-in RAM restriction killed the fun of playing that way for me, as we have talked about before, and is what made me switch over to Windows for TS3 playing. The mess that EA made of this version of the game for Mac users back while the game was still in development and the EPs were still coming out, even on strong enough hardware, is pretty shameful I'm afraid. Now with all of the newer OS and hardware issues to contend with and pretty much no chance of the game being updated to account for them, it's become even worse.

"Kyliesswartz;c-16433272" wrote:
Well I emptied my trash and restated my computer and can I just say I have NEVER heard my computer this quiet in my LIFE! Normally the fan is ROARING and now the fan is gone! It is so quiet I am almost scared because right now I can not hear the fan at ALL! Is this normal for a computer? (Haha) I hadn't realized how hard my computer was working.

Yes, it is normal for the fans to kick in only when they need to. My iMac does when I have very long browser sessions going with lots of tabs open or the room I am using it in is warm, usually it's very quiet. My MacBook Pro's fans only rarely make any noise. I do still have a test install of TS3 on the MacBook Pro, and it will sound like an airplane getting ready for takeoff if I were to actually launch the game (which I almost never do on that one, that's not even what I got that laptop for).

"igazor;c-16433278" wrote:

"Kyliesswartz;c-16433272" wrote:
Well I emptied my trash and restated my computer and can I just say I have NEVER heard my computer this quiet in my LIFE! Normally the fan is ROARING and now the fan is gone! It is so quiet I am almost scared because right now I can not hear the fan at ALL! Is this normal for a computer? (Haha) I hadn't realized how hard my computer was working.

Yes, it is normal for the fans to kick in only when they need to. My iMac does when I have very long browser sessions going with lots of tabs open or the room I am using it in is warm, usually it's very quiet. My MacBook Pro's fans only rarely make any noise. I do still have a test install of TS3 on the MacBook Pro, and it will sound like an airplane getting ready for takeoff if I were to actually launch the game (which I almost never do on that one, that's not even what I got that laptop for).

Woah, then you were right TS3 was killing my computer because every time I opened (not TS3 but my) Computer the fan would sound like an airplane! It has always sounded like that because from the moment I got this computer it was for the sims so I thought my computer was acting like any other computer. Truth be told, I rarly ever used TS3 so I guess it being in the background was hard for my computer. It is nice to know that TS4 is not affecting my computer that much. I am also really happy to have over 96 GBs of space.

To add to what igazor said, my current mac has a fan that only makes enough noise for me to notice when I've been in CAS or Edit Town and Build/Buy for a while, and that's one way I know it's time to quit to desktop and take a break. My old computer—a 2010 macbook pro—would work so hard that it actually vibrated a bit (although towards the end I suspected the disc drive as well), and I could swear it "learned" to start running the fan as soon as I launched TS3, even before I got to the Main Menu.

As to your earlier question, your games are tied to your EA/Origin account, not any particular device, so you should have no trouble downloading the game to another computer if and when you get the chance to play again. That's what I did, as I'd registered my original discs on EA's site back when I bought them. Origin didn't give me any trouble. But it's a good idea to keep your product codes or other proof of purchase safe somewhere, just in case. Plenty of people have had to argue with EA tech support about whether they do in fact own the game and/or a particular pack. Still, if you are the legitimate owner and have documentation, you should be fine.

@igazor Thanks for the explanation. I always see "that computer's not good enough" or "these are the specs for optimal performance," but rarely anything in between unless someone asks about a specific model. And yes, EA messed things up for mac users in more ways than we can count. But I still wonder if High Sierra was the inciting factor in this case, as the OP might have updated since last playing TS3 about 3 months ago. The refusal to launch at all and the blank uninstaller page make me suspicious. Or perhaps High Sierra was more like the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. In any case, I will happily be rid of the TS3-for-mac headache soon enough.

@Kyliesswartz If the fan has to keep working harder and harder, I start to think that maybe it's not keeping up with the demands I'm putting on it, and the computer may soon be hotter than is safe. If you look at your specs (the advanced ones on apple's website), listed under "Electrical and Operating Requirements" is the maximum recommended operating temperature. That of course doesn't mean that anything above is going to melt your computer, just that there is a point above which high temperatures can indeed start to damage the hardware. This is less likely on macs than PCs as (according to BluebellFlora, who wrote the uninstalling guides that igazor linked to earlier) mac OS has some built-in protective mechanisms, but in theory you could end up burning out your graphics card and even doing irreparable damage to the motherboard. This has actually happened to PC users who don't cap their fps rates while playing TS3, although newer games (like hopefully TS4, but I don't actually know) usually have their own built-in fps limiters.

(Side note: I found out about mac OS's better methods of self-protection when I asked whether I should be doing anything to cap fps, and BluebellFlora's answer was no, but make sure not to let your computer overheat.)

Still, if you hear your fan on overdrive, you might consider quitting the game for a while. Your computer is made of many distinct physical components, after all, and some of them are going to be sensitive to temperature. This is one reason igazor said that playing TS3 could significantly shorten your computer's lifespan; even if you don't melt its insides, the stress of consistent high temperatures will take its toll.

To clarify a few things:

Origin is only needed to download Sims 3 content. The installer is independent of Origin and Origin is never needed to actually play the game like it is in Windows.

The Intel HD 6000 is not a supported graphics chip so you will most likely need to edit the GraphicsCards.sgr and GraphicsRules.sgr files to have any kind of a reasonable gaming experience.

macOS 10.8.5 Mountain Lion and later are not supported operating systems in the game. The last patch was released in January 2014. El Capitan was when everything really started to go horribly wrong for Sims 3.

Late Night, Ambitions, Fast Lane and Outdoor Living do not install properly, you must manually move the game files into the right location.

Late Night, Ambitions, Fast Lane and Outdoor Living are a mess in general and also need the Unknown Error fix.

iMacs use the same mobile hardware as MacBook Pros, just slightly more powerful versions. Everything is still wired onto the logic board, unlike a proper desktop which has interchangeable parts.

Always elevate a Mac notebook when playing, the casing is designed to dissipate heat. Enveloping it in a nice warm snuggly blanket is going to kill it.

Cider was the root of all evil. Transgaming, the company who developed Cider, are now a real estate financing company. Guess they realised that software development wasn't for them.