CAW crash - Attempted to read or write protected memory

I was having trouble and getting the same error message! I don't know if this helps everyone, but I was able to find a workaround by using this direct download link ( lvlt.thesims.com//content/global/downloads/caw/ts3caw.exe ) and typing it longform into the search bar, which in my case prompted the download to start. The link others suggest seems to download the "world tool" installation file, when what you really need is the "ts3caw" file. The download button on EA's official CAW tool website seems either unresponsive or completely broken (typical), so hopefully you can use this file to do a clean reinstall and start making some worlds! I recommend using a program like Ccleaner to repair any registry issues and clean up fragmented files after you uninstall the non-working version.

Another important note, you need to be on the official sims 3 CAW download website before you attempt to download from the link above, as searching it via right click won't work. So just visit ( https://www.thesims3.com/game/tools/world ) and click agree to the TOS, then select the button that matches your game version (you can see this in the launcher menu in the lower left corner). You will want to copy/paste the executable (.exe) link that I mentioned above, then hit enter. This will manually begin the download!

I know I'm quite late on this but I'm having the same problem/ error message sadly! The weird thing is I've had caw in the past (like 6 months ago) before I had te reset my pc after it crashed. The button on the offcial website is still irresponsive so I installed it trough the link I found on the page source (view-source:https://www.thesims3.com/game/tools/world) wich worked beside the fact that it crashes every time I try to open it with the same error message like the one at the top. Is someone could help me out that would be great :)

> @dinolulu123 said:
> Another important note, you need to be on the official sims 3 CAW download website before you attempt to download from the link above, as searching it via right click won't work. So just visit ( https://www.thesims3.com/game/tools/world ) and click agree to the TOS, then select the button that matches your game version (you can see this in the launcher menu in the lower left corner). You will want to copy/paste the executable (.exe) link that I mentioned above, then hit enter. This will manually begin the download!

That link does not load the CAW. It opens a blank pop-up and nothing happens. This link will download - https://thesimscatalog.com/sims3/downloads/worlds/create-a-world-download/, but then I get the same crashing message that has been reported since 2016. VERY FRUSTRATED!

@DontBugMe722

Norn at https://nornities.tumblr.com/ has some CAW tutorials, one of which is a PDF file showing where to get the CAW file online. The links below are from that PDF file.

Download CAW from the official Sims Site here: https://www.thesims3.com/game/tools/world.
You'll also find a walkthrough and a tutorial there which give a good overview.
You will see there are two versions: One for patch 1.67 (and earlier, non-Origin), and one for patch
1.69 (Origin) Make sure to download the one that matches the patch level of your game!
Sorry Apple-users, there is no version for Mac...
You need to be registered for downloading. If for some reason you can’t set up an account, here
are the direct links to the downloads:
1.67: lvlt.thesims3.com//content/global/downloads/caw/worldtool.exe
1.69: lvlt.thesims3.com//content/global/downloads/caw/ts3caw.exe

Hope this helps!

I am having this issue. I have The Sims 3 installed through EA Desktop, and I even tried using compatibility mode and reinstalling. I really wanted to make a world for a machinima series!

Never mind! I had downloaded a version from Archive.org that was apparently broken. I used Firefox to download it from the official website and it works now!