[Current Issue] Sims 3 doesn't open, Windows 7

@Oumie-x  Try uninstalling and reinstalling .NET Framework 3.5, which Sims 3 also uses.  Click Start, open Control Panel  > Programs, select "Turn Windows features on or off," and click the filled-in box next to .NET 3.5 to uninstall it.  Restart your computer, and repeat the process, clicking the now-empty box to reinstall, and restart.  If the box is already empty, check it and restart.

If that doesn't help, would you be willing to install Windows 10?  If the answer is no, that's fine, but I'm wondering whether this issue is contained to Windows 7.  There are intermediate steps you can try as well; this is more a question of whether and when you'd want to make the leap.

Either way, please also post a new dxdiag.  Your previous one was missing some info that I'm now curious about.

It didn't work. I don't want to upgrade to Windows 10. I don't know how to do it so I'd rather buy another computer. I'm not sure if I install Windows 10 it will go well.

@Oumie-x  There should be Windows 10 drivers for your computer.  I believe this is your model:

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre-m-series-desktops/thinkcentre-m83/downloads/driver-list

But you can enter your serial number to double-check, then sort by Windows 10 and see the available drivers.

One thing you can do now is update the graphics driver, which is from 2015.  Intel offers a driver from 2021 that's compatible with Windows 7 and your processor:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/75043/intel-core-i54570-processor-6m-cache-up-to-3-60-ghz/downloads.html

Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart your computer after installing and before trying to play.

However, given the handful of reports of issues trying to play Sims 3 on Windows 7, I'm not sure this is going to help.  If it doesn't, and you really don't want to install Windows 10, then I'm not sure what else to suggest, unfortunately.  I'll keep poking at the issue though.

If I decide to install Windows 10, I will have to find someone to do it for me. I think it will be installed incorrectly if I install it myself.

I will try to update the graphics driver on Saturday or Sunday. But before I do that, I would like to know if it is complicated to do?

@Oumie-x  Updating a graphics driver is not complicated at all.  You download the driver, you run it as an admin, you might need to select a couple of options, and then you wait.  For the options, choose a clean install if you can, and let Intel install the audio driver if it gives you the option.  None of these options will break anything, so don't worry about it too much, and feel free to ask if you don't understand what some option does.

Hello, I saw that some players who had the same problem managed to make their game work. Could it work for me too? And if so, how should I proceed?

@Oumie-x  One other player reported that reinstalling the VC++ 2005 x86 runtime helped, after uninstalling their current copies.  This was my suggestion:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-patch-Jan-13-2025/m-p/14411882#M268025

I don't know whether they also needed to reinstall DX9 and .NET Framework 3.5, or those steps were unnecessary.  So please let me know whether VC++ 2005 alone is enough or you need to install one or both of the other runtimes.

I want to make sure I don't make a mistake.

Is it in those?

@Oumie-x  You only need to delete the redistributables that say 2005 and do NOT say x64.  They're all independent of each other.

Thank you very much for your help. My game is working again. Really thank you 🙂