Re: a serious error occurred while loading (name). we strongly recommend restarting the application.

YES, THIS SOLVED IT. THANKYOU SO MUCH!!!!!

I'm glad it helped. Happy simming 🙂

I have tried deleting the backup folder's files and pasting the regular .sims3 files, into the backup one, but that didn't work. is that what you meant? or the other way around? (pasting the backup files into the regular .sims3 folder)

@kate_willms204  Neither of these is the solution the responder was describing.  The idea is to move your save out of your game folder and rename the backup so that it gets recognized byt the game.  So if your save is named, say, "SunsetValley.sims3," your backup would be "SunsetValley.sims3.backup."  If you delete the .backup extension and rename the folder, so maybe "SunsetValley1.sims3," the game can recognize it and offer it as an option at the Main Menu.  (None of the files within each save folder is supposed to be moved or modified in any way.)  This is how you can sometimes recover a save game that has been corrupted—the hope is that the backup is still intact and playable.

The other common cause for the serious error message is having your game folder open in File Explorer when you try to launch the game.  Please make sure that this is not what's happening.

Mine is doing this whenever i create a new save what do i do then, i have been looking for 3 hours now please help. I also dont have any saves so if that gives you anything to work with 

@laikpoppy  This is a pretty old thread.  Would you mind making a new one?  It would be helpful to know when the error pops up, as well as the specs of your system.  Best of all would be a dxdiag, so we can cover all the bases in one go.  You can attach it to a post using the "browse" button.

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

This only made my problem worse. I still can't access my family. 

@jaygrl1020  Please describe your issue in more detail.  If you mean that moving your Sims 3 folder to your desktop means you can't access your save, then yes, that's what it's supposed to do, move your existing user data out of the way so you can test with a clean folder.  It's a diagnostic measure and a first step to a potential fix, not a solution in itself.

This didn’t work for when what it did do is erase everything I worked for! I’m not experienced it comes to files and what no but you had exact directions that I followed, copied the back up and all it did was erase my game!

@NGJB1  What exactly did you do?  As long as you didn't delete any files—overwrite them or put them in the recycle bin and empty it—you should be able to recover your save data.  If you let me know what you've done, I can try to help you reverse it.

Please also let me know what the issue was in the first place.

No I absolutely erased some files lol. I copied my backup over the original game and erased the backup. Then it was gone idk. I had progressed very far so I was a little upset. What happened was I was playing and for some reason my sims were no longer able to interact with anything like the beds or restrooms, they just walked around trying to talk to each other and it wouldn’t allow, so like a dummy I saved and quit thinking maybe since I had been playing for a very long time it needed a break. So when I logged out and then logged back in I wasn’t able to. So everything is gone now…. I mean everything all other games as well it made me start new like I just bought the game.

@NGJB1  I'm sorry to hear that.  If you need help going forward and you post again, I'll try to help.

In general, it's a good idea to use "save as" and rename your saves so you have backup copies lying around in case you need them.  For example, I use "save as" at least once a sim-day, and I delete the oldest backups, all but the last 4 to 6, every few days once I know I won't be needing them.  I've reverted to previous saves on several occasions for various reasons, and although it's annoying to lose 30-90 minutes of playtime, it's not nearly as bad as losing the whole save.

@tottie1987  Are you getting exactly the same error as the original poster?  If not, please write out the text of the error or post a screenshot.

Please also move your entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, if it launches, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it, at least not yet; just see whether you can get far enough to start a new save.  Let me know either way.  And let me know what kind of install this is—Origin, disc, Steam, or something else—as well.

@puzzlezaddictHey, I'm having exactly the same error as the original poster and none of the solutions have worked for me so far :c This began after I installed and started using the new EA App Beta, supposedly to replace Origin. What do I do?

@puzzlezaddictNever mind my earlier reply. I deleted the cursed EA App Beta and now everything works perfectly again.

@elinilova  I'm not surprised, and going back to Origin would have been my first suggestion as well.  The EA App barely runs current games properly, let alone those that are no longer in development.

Me as well. I was fine before I upgrade my launcher to the beta one.

@Asilee  If you can play through Origin but not the EA App, just use Origin.  You can have both installed on your computer at the same time; you just can't have both open at the same time.  If you get an error when trying to open Origin, restart your computer.

I’ve had this happen to me recently . It’s simple ,clear all history on all your internet browsers you have used. Clear history and cache. Then it will work

I got a new laptop. Downloaded the EA App & Sims

All my previous saves are wiped - which sucks but I'm fine to start fresh.

I go to start the game and none of the worlds will load. I get the error message w/ everything. Please helppppppppppppppp