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kmmathena's avatar
kmmathena
Seasoned Newcomer
4 months ago
Solved

Game won’t load

I recently reinstalled The Sims 3 onto my laptop. I know my laptop isn’t fit for The Sims 3, but I used to play on this laptop just fine. I was also able to play for one sitting, created my sim, but had to go to bed, so I closed it out and haven’t be able to get it to load since. I’ve tried installing the Alder Lake patch, but I can’t seem to get it to work on my laptop. What do I do?

technical issues
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    4 months ago

    kmmathena​  It sounds like you know that the issue is something in your Mods folder.  Test the mods individually or in groups to find the culprit.  If it turns out to be a core mod (e.g. ErrorTrap, but not other NRaas mods), make sure you have the correct version for an EA App/patch 1.69 install.

    The one concerning detail in your dxdiag is that your computer only has 10 GB free storage.  While that shouldn't stop Sims 3 from running, it's not great in general, and once you have larger saves and backups, that 10 GB could decrease significantly.  So keep an eye on it, and delete any files you don't need, for example any leftover installers, or .zip files you downloaded where you later extracted the content.

    The Sims 3 errors in your dxdiag point to the 2005 VC++ runtime, which the game uses.  But if it were corrupt, you wouldn't be able to play at all, so the likely culprit is an incompatible mod.

6 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 months ago

    kmmathena​  If you didn't need the Alder Lake patch to play the first time around, you don't need it now.  And EA App installs don't need it at all in any case.  So please repair the game (to undo any effects of the patch), and don't use it again.

    For the issue itself, please try playing in a clean user folder.  Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  If it copies instead of moving, or you get an error when trying to move it, stop here and let me know.

    Otherwise, when you open the launcher, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  (Your previously-created content will be intact in the folder you've moved but temporarily unread by the game.)  Don't add anything to the new folder yet; just start a new save and see how it runs, that is if you can get that far.

    If you still can't play, please provide a dxdiag.  Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

  • kmmathena's avatar
    kmmathena
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 months ago

    The game loaded when I started it with a clean folder, but when I added my mod folder back in, it wouldn't even launch. I ran the DirectX Diagnostic Tool and attached it to this reply. Thanks!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 months ago

    kmmathena​  It sounds like you know that the issue is something in your Mods folder.  Test the mods individually or in groups to find the culprit.  If it turns out to be a core mod (e.g. ErrorTrap, but not other NRaas mods), make sure you have the correct version for an EA App/patch 1.69 install.

    The one concerning detail in your dxdiag is that your computer only has 10 GB free storage.  While that shouldn't stop Sims 3 from running, it's not great in general, and once you have larger saves and backups, that 10 GB could decrease significantly.  So keep an eye on it, and delete any files you don't need, for example any leftover installers, or .zip files you downloaded where you later extracted the content.

    The Sims 3 errors in your dxdiag point to the 2005 VC++ runtime, which the game uses.  But if it were corrupt, you wouldn't be able to play at all, so the likely culprit is an incompatible mod.

  • kmmathena's avatar
    kmmathena
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 months ago

    I was able to figure out which folder had the CC/Mod that wasn’t allowing the game to launch. I’m back to the same problem of the game won’t load past the same screen. I’m thinking I might just have too much CC for the game to handle, so I might just toss everything and get new CC. Would you happen to know how to test CC without having to launch the game a million times?

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 months ago

    kmmathena​  There isn't a guaranteed way to test cc without loading the game.  Delphy's Dashboard can find conflicts between mods, and sometimes between cc items, but it doesn't flag broken files per se.  And anything else you might use is at the level of a dev tool.

    What might help with the loading/quitting times is taking 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.  That speeds up the process at least a bit, perhaps more depending on your setup.

  • kmmathena's avatar
    kmmathena
    Seasoned Newcomer
    4 months ago

    Ended up installing Delphy’s Dashboard to find the bad mods, CC Magic, and The Sims 3 Mod Manager. Thank you so much for your help!

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