Game crashing randomly

dd714a2753aba372​  This is an access violation, too generic to be of any use on its own.  So the context matters more here: what was happening at the time of the crash?  If your sims were doing anything in particular that can sometimes trigger a crash, I'd like to know.  (For example, I once had a crash every time I sent my sims to the hospital for a birth, until I reset the hospital lot.)

Separately, I should have asked before, but since this is a disc install, what patch level do you see in the lower-left corner of the launcher?  Did you run the Super Patch at any point, or did you let the launcher update the game for you?

Thanks! This is the error from the latest crash:

Description
Faulting Application Path:    C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3W.exe

Problem signature
Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH
Application Name:    TS3W.exe
Application Version:    0.2.0.199
Application Timestamp:    52393598
Fault Module Name:    TS3W.exe
Fault Module Version:    0.2.0.199
Fault Module Timestamp:    52393598
Exception Code:    c0000005
Exception Offset:    001ec231
OS Version:    10.0.26100.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID:    2057
Additional Information 1:    a89c
Additional Information 2:    a89cbad0343d4637e5843732a061706b
Additional Information 3:    f6a7
Additional Information 4:    f6a717bca780f9dcffee1ab01baffed7

Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID:    6b91f7c4888fcf1097fe5b770596c123 (74002703691)

dd714a2753aba372​  I'm glad to hear that the game is running better, at least.  If you'd like to troubleshoot further, please look for an associated error in the Reliability Monitor.  Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each day.  Today is on the right.

Look for an error that happened at exactly the time of your most recent Sims 3 crash.  If you find one, double-click it to see more details, then copy that info and paste it into a reply here.  If you don't see a new error, check back in an hour or so—the Reliability Monitor doesn't always update right away.

I followed all of your above advice and I've been able to play my Aurora Skies save for a couple of hours today and no crashes! Previously this was crashing after 20-30 minutes, so the issue is either resolved or massively improved; either way, I'm very happy.

Thanks so much!

Edit: it did actually crash about 40 minutes after I posted this, but nonetheless still an improvement!

Thanks so much for your reply! I was getting desperate when I started trying compatibility mode etc.!

I did wonder if it was a CPU issue, so interesting about Killer Network Services.

And I've got no problem with disconnecting from the WiFi before playing, so if it works I'd happily play this way.

I'll give those all a go and report back! 

dd714a2753aba372​  Thanks for the dxdiag.  Some of the crashes it lists are from a component of Killer Networks Services, so try ending any Killer-related processes in the Task Manager before you play.

If that doesn't help, try playing 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 cable before pressing Play.  Even if you wouldn't want to play like this in general, it's a useful test.

Please also remove any compatibility mode you're currently using.  And if you tried to patch the game to use 4 GB by editing a file, undo the edit.  Sims 3 has been large-address aware since 2010.  The advice to make the game use more RAM is both inaccurate and possibly harmful, and it's a rumor that should have died off years ago.