Re: Error code 12 and crashing

@puzzlezaddict yeah the extra RAM and SSD are useful for other things I do. But not so much Sims lol

So going into a new game only takes like a minute or 2 prob. The game I'm currently playing takes maybe 5 ish to load.

I'll try the sunset valley one but prob won't take that long either.

I'm thinking the reason my previous game took so long to load was bc one of the Sims' imaginary friends was stuck. Couldn't reset him either. So I had to evict them and put them back in. But didn't try loading that game after so not completely sure about that. Was also a big house with a ton of * in it so I'm sure that didn't help.

As for the error code 12 upon saving it's driving me nuts so if you have a possible solution I'm all ears lol.

@riahbearrr  A stuck imaginary friend can wreak havoc on a save, whether the IF is already in a sim's inventory or still in the mailbox.  If evicting the family and placing them back in their house didn't help, you'll need to get rid of the IF.  Here's how:

https://www.nraas.net/community/Which-Mod-FAQ#Im-having-problems-with-the-Imaginary-Friend-Dolls-in-my-town-What-can-I-do

The first option is for one IF at a time; the third is for all the ones in town, and it may or may not be necessary.  If you install ErrorTrap and are seeing errors for other IFs, that would strongly suggest it's time to flush them all.

The first option can also work for an IF stuck in a mailbox or in a sim's inventory.  In that case, click on the ground of the lot and select NRaas > MC > Object Stats > Inventory, then find the IF and flush it.  This only applies to objects on the current lot, including in inventories, so other IFs in town would be unaffected.

@puzzlezaddict well I dont think the imaginary friend is an issue anymore after I evicted them. I don't get the error for it anymore and I'm playing in the same world as before just different house/Sims. It def could've caused the long load time when I was playing with that family but I'm not having that same issue anymore.

I just need to figure out why my game keep crashing and why I can't save

@riahbearrr  Okay, then let's go back to the beginning.  How much RAM does your save use once it's loaded and the game clock first starts running, and how much RAM does it use after about 20 real-time minutes?  Are you still getting crashes?

@puzzlezaddict I have no idea. How do I check that ?

@riahbearrr  Open Sims 3, load your save, and let the game clock run for a few sim-minutes.  Pause it, and put the game into windowed mode, but don't minimize it.  Open the Task Manager and you should see the RAM usage for Sims 3.  If it's listed as a percentage, right-click the Memory header to switch to absolute values.

Write down this number, then go back to your game (fullscreen or windowed, it doesn't matter) and play for about 20 minutes.  Then check RAM use again in the same way.

@puzzlezaddict  ok so after a few sim minutes my CPU usage was at 90% and my memory was at 28% (I tried the value thing and it didn't change from percentages).

And after about 20 mins of gameplay CPU was at 100% and memory was at 28% still. My guess is something to do with CPU usage being maxed out...? How would I go about fixing that, do you know ? 

@riahbearrr  Is that Sims 3's usage or your computer overall?  Are you still getting Error 12s?  And does this happen with no mods or custom content present?

Please also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

CPU usage doesn't have anything to do with Error 12, but both can happen if the game engine is tripping all over itself trying to resolve a problem in-game.

@puzzlezaddict  my pc overall. I'll check Sims 3 specifically next time I get on. Going out of town for the weekend.

Yes, still getting the error. I think it gets one good save in then error after that. So like 30 good mins of playtime. Very very annoying. 

I will also have to run dxdiag and check that when I get home bc I don't remember. Lol  I played a little without mods when I reinstalled it. Maybe the amount of mods and custom content I have ? Idk. 

I hope it's not that bc I love custom content lol

@puzzlezaddict  ok here's the dxdiag

@puzzlezaddict  ok so I removed all mods and cc and I still got the error code. 

@riahbearrr  The Sims 3 crashes in your dxdiag are too generic to be much use, but I do notice that the Nvidia graphics driver is several years old.  You can get a new one here:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/218047/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 when you're done and before trying to play.

For Sims 3 itself, try loading this save in a clean user folder.  Move the existing Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, open the launcher to spawn a clean folder, and copy over the Saves folder from your old folder.  (Copy rather than moving the folder so you have a backup in case you need it later.)  Don't add anything else to the new folder, with the exception of installing the world your main save takes place in if it's a Store or custom world.  Let me know whether you get the error.

@puzzlezaddict ok so I installed the new driver and did the clean folder thing but I put a few mods back in like error trap and stuff and I haven't gotten the error yet.. the game has been up and running for a while and I've saved multiple times and no error.. 

So is it the mods or something else ? 

@riahbearrr  It may well be the mods.  That doesn't mean you can't use them, but you may need to do some testing to figure out which ones are a problem.  NRaas mods should all be fine—either neutral in terms of resource use or actually reducing it—except for StoryProgression.  So feel free to add back any NRaas mods you use other than SP and test; then test SP separately, on one of the slowest settings (4 or 5) if you want to use it.  After that, use the 50/50 method to test your other mods, then your custom content.

I realize this can be tedious, but it's the only reliable way to find the problem here.  If you'd like to post your mods list, or a screenshot of your Packages folder, I can look it over to see whether anything stands out, but for most mods, I couldn't tell you for sure that they should be fine.

While testing, please also keep an eye on the Sims 3's memory use in the Task Manager, and let me know how high it is if you get an Error 12.  I don't care so much about overall resource use, only what the game itself is using.  If the amount is showing as a percentage, right-click the Memory header to change to absolute values.  This doesn't change what you see in the header, only the values for the individual apps and services.

@puzzlezaddict ok so I was playing for a while with only a few mods like nraas and stuff then I slowly started adding CC. Then I got annoyed bc I have so much (lol) so I added ALL my CC and it was still saving fine. I have over 2,000 CC 😅 Anyway, the moment I started replacing items in my house WITH the CC it gave me the error again.

So having all the CC in the downloads folder is fine I guess as long as I don't use anything in the game...  🙄😒

Now how does that work ? Any thoughts ? 

@riahbearrr  It's actually very common for custom content to cause no issues until it's used.  That's one reason we always ask people to test without cc even if they've had the same items installed for a long time.

I can't tell you whether you have specific broken items, or the problem is simply the cumulative effect of all the cc you added, or if the cc itself is fine but you spent too much time in Build or Buy mode in that play session.  Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to test further.

@puzzlezaddict oh ok I didn't know that. Makes sense tho.

Doubt it's the being in build/buy mode for too long bc sometimes I only spend minutes there or none at all and would still get the error. Tho it does seem to crash more while using the 'buy' mode instead of build. 

Ok... so it must be the CC then bc the game was fine until I started adding the CC into my gameplay..

How would I test the CC ? Besides adding one at a time into the game and see if it crashes bc that would take foreverrrr

@riahbearrr  For .package files, use the 50/50 method:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Finding_Problem_Custom_Content#The_50.25_Method

For any custom content you've installed through the launcher, use Method by Mell, described on this page:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html

Except instead of examining the contents in the launcher, you'll test the .dbc files one or two at a time to see whether their presence causes a crash or Error 12.  The point of Method by Mell is that you need to rename the higher-numbered .dbc files so the game can read them.  Files that end in .ebc are Store content and can be ignored for the purposes of this test.