@iliekponiez Please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
Please also let me know whether you've taken steps to limit your in-game framerates, and if so, whether the limit is being respected. This may or may not be necessary, depending on your computer's hardware; I'll find that out (among other things) when I read the dxdiag.
@puzzlezaddict I used Nvidia's global settings to limit my fps to 60, but it's still crashing. Here's the DxDiag file. Thank you for your help!
@iliekponiez The crashes in your dxdiag point to a few possible issues, so please try these steps, one at a time and in order, and let me know whether any of them help.
First, most of the Sims 3 crashes cite a component of DirectX 9 as the faulting module, so please manually reinstall DX9. There's no need to uninstall anything; just run the installer over the top, as described here:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-launcher-won-t-open/m-p/10711778#M247861
If that doesn't help, uninstall all Razer software: Synapse, Cortex, Game Manager Service, whatever you have. Whatever issue caused the crash of Game Manager Service might be resolved upon reinstalling, but to keep things simple, please don't reinstall until Sims 3 is running properly again.
If that doesn't help either, disable the Omen Gaming Hub in the Task Manager, including killing any related services you find in the background processes list. Omen Gaming Hub crashed at least once too, and it could easily interfere with Sims 3.
If none of this makes a difference, please find the driver download page for your laptop so I can compare your installed drivers with HP's offerings. Go here:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops
Enter your laptop's serial number, choose the OS (just Windows 10 is fine) if prompted, and you'll land on the driver download page for your laptop. Please link it here. The page doesn't contain any information about your own computer, just the overall model.
@iliekponiez Do you have that laptop connected to an external monitor - Insignia 28" 720p TV? If you disconnect the TV and just use to laptop do you still have the issue?
@puzzlezaddict @roberta591 Just to be safe, I tried all of what you both suggested. After doing ALL of those, it seems to run stable in windowed mode. I'm still crashing in fullscreen. I also crash if I put my laptop to sleep and reawaken it with the game running.
I think this is the right page for my drivers. https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/omen-15.6-inch-gaming-laptop-pc-15-ek1000/2100045552/model/2100045567?sku=350D5UA
Thank you both so much for your help!
Edit: I installed Seasons, University, and Ambitions, and the game is once again crashing.
@iliekponiez Just to be clear, the game is now crashing even in windowed mode after installing the new packs? Or is it only crashing in fullscreen? And is this with the second monitor plugged in or not?
I should have clarified earlier, but is the fps limit you've set actually being respected? Please check in-game if you haven't already: bring up the cheats console (ctrl-shift-C) and enter fps on , and a number will appear in the upper-right corner of the screen. It shouldn't go over 60, but if it does, that can be addressed easily enough. High framerates could also cause crashing.
If the fps is locked to 60, please try playing in a clean user folder. Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you open the launcher, a clean folder will spawn with no content. Don't add anything to it yet; just start a new save and test both fullscreen and windowed modes. If you don't get any crashing, copy over your existing save, but nothing else yet, and test it too.
The clean folder should address potential issues relating to having installed the new packs. To be clear, installing new packs shouldn't cause more crashing, at least not on a system like yours, but given the timing, it seems prudent to be thorough.
@puzzlezaddict I started a fresh game in a fresh folder like you suggested. I didn't have any crashes even with all my expansions installed. I was playing full screen at 60 fps. The cheat showed that the fps cap is working. Unfortunately, when I restored my saves, my game crashed again. No mods.
Do I need to somehow transfer my sims over to a fresh save and start anew?
Edit: Scratch that. The game is still crashing with all packs and in fullscreen even with a new folder.
@iliekponiez Do the crashes happen in windowed mode too? Is this with the other monitor plugged in or not?
@iliekponiez The very first thing you need to do is check the temps on the cpu and gpu. I just read some posts about heat problems with the HP Omen. This is not a new problem for HP Omen laptops. MSI afterburner will tell you these temps. A couple of posts said their cpu was running at 95c. I think the cpu probably starts throttling at 90c and at 100c you may damage the cpu. Once you damage the cpu HP will not warranty your laptop and the cost of repair will exceed to value of the laptop. Personal experience. The cooling system in laptops is complicated and to clean them the laptops normally have to be opened up. If you have pets (cats ot dogs) or a dusty house the cooling fan(s) may not be turning at the right speed anymore. There are settings that may help or laptop fans that may help. Make sure the vents are not blocked. Once your cpu reaches 90c the fan(s) should be making more noise and you may see a noticeable decrease in performance. hth
@puzzlezaddict The external monitor (a TV) is unplugged. It's crashing in both windowed mode and full screen. Oddly enough, I'm not having any crashes in Oasis Landing. The crashes are happening while I try to play in Appaloosa Plains. Haven't tested any of the other neighborhoods.
@roberta591 Thank you so much. I downloaded it and I'm checking my temperatures.
Edit: My temperatures are fine.
@iliekponiez This is just a shot in the dark, but does one of your sims have a Collection Helper, and do you leave it active? If so, try turning it off.
Other than that, are you up for a little testing? If so, it might be worth purging all the wild animals in Appaloosa Plains to see whether it helps. I have no idea if it will, but that's one obvious difference between AP and Oasis Landing. If you're interested and are willing to use a few mods, please install NRaas ErrorTrap, Overwatch, MasterController, and Register, if you haven't already.
When you load AP, click on City Hall or an in-game computer and select NRaas > Register > Animal Control, and set the number of each type of animal to zero. Then, if you don't want to wait for the existing ones to be removed, you can do so manually: NRaas > MC > Sim > Advanced > Total Annihilation > Species > [all but human]. Select only the strays and wild animals from the list, not the resident pets at first.
As a side note, there will always be some extra animals listed that never appear on-camera: cats and dogs from the adoption service, horses available for breeding. You can delete these too, but they'll just respawn. However, they won't affect performance, so don't worry about them either way. I'm mentioning them so you don't think you need to keep purging them or that the process didn't work properly.
Once you've done this, use "save as" to rename the save, so the original remains intact as a backup, quit, delete the cache files in your user folder, and reload. For reference, the cache files are:
If this helps, but you don't want to lose all the strays, you can try with one or two categories at a time, e.g. removing the horses and unicorns and deer but leaving the others. If it doesn't help, try removing the domestic horses too. That would be sad, or at least I'd be sad, but it's worth finding out either way.
