I can't change settings

@D1NACALIENTE  It sounds very much like the game can't write to the Options.ini file, which is in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 and stores all in-game settings.  The question is why.  Is OneDrive running on this computer?  If so, it could be a problem whether you deliberately use it or not.  Try pausing syncing, which you can do by right-clicking the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen.

If this doesn't help, or OneDrive isn't running, do you use a third-party antivirus, and does disabling it (temporarily) help?  You'd only need to run a quick test, and with nothing else open on your computer at the time, this wouldn't be a security risk.  Windows Defender shouldn't be a problem here, but you could try temporarily disabling Controlled Folder Access as well.

If neither of these is relevant, try removing the Options.ini file to let the game generate a new one.  Let me know if you can't, whether you get an error or the file simply sticks around; otherwise, you'd need to redo all your in-game settings, but at least you'd know whether that was possible with a fresh copy of the file.

Please don't use any compatibility mode for Sims 3.  The game runs fine in Windows 10, and compatibility modes can make troubleshooting more complicated.

Hi,

I tried all of your solutions, but none of them has worked.

@D1NACALIENTE  When you moved Options.ini and let the game create a new one, could you change any in-game settings at all?

What antivirus do you use?  And is OneDrive running on this computer?

I tried all your solutions, but nothing worked. Antivirus can't be the problem because I ran the game without antivirus and still couldn't change the settings. I also uninstalled OneDrive completely and deleted the Options.ini file and still is the same.
I think it's the graphics card that's the issue, because I get a message popping up that the game didn't detect my graphics card. I went into the DeviceConfig file, but all I have in it is something like this:
=== Options ====
=== Default Options ===

@D1NACALIENTE  Please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

Here's your dxdiag raport:

@D1NACALIENTE  Your dxdiag lists a crash of Sims 3 related to the Nvidia graphics driver, which is also very much out of date.  So please install the newest-available driver from Nvidia:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/145874/en-us/

Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator."  Choose the Custom (not Express) install method, and check the box to perform a clean install.  Restart your computer afterwards and before trying to play.

When you do run Sims 3, please first restart your computer, and don't open any other apps at the same time.  With only 4 GB installed RAM, you'll want to cut down on memory use as much as possible to leave whatever you can for the game itself.

I tried to install the driver you sent me, but a message appeared:
Nvidia installation program cannot continue. This Nvidia graphics driver is not compatible with this version of Windows. This graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware.

@D1NACALIENTE  You can try the Nvidia graphics driver provided by Dell, which is much older than the one I linked but newer than the one you have installed:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/inspiron-15-3542-laptop/drivers

Make sure to select Windows 10 as your OS if it's not already showing.

Please also try the other suggestion I offered.

I installed the driver you sent me along with your tips, but I still can't change any settings in the game. It still shows the message that the game did not detect my graphics card.