Re: I can't change settings

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@D1NACALIENTE  Your dxdiag lists a crash of Sims 3 related to the Nvidia graphics driver, which is also very much out of date.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.

@D1NACALIENTE  There's a way to force-install the Nvidia graphics driver I linked originally, but before going that route, I'd like to know whether the game works properly in a new admin Windows account.  Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account; you'll be asked to answer some security questions rather than providing an email.  Your saves and other user data won't be available, but that's fine for the purposes of this test.  Let me know how it goes.

Hi,

I installed the 2017 Dell graphics driver, but still the same thing - I can't change any settings.

@D1NACALIENTE  Did you try the new admin Windows account yet?

So I downloaded the 2018 graphics card driver and it's still the same - all settings are set to the lowest possible and I can't change them at all. I uninstalled the game and installed again, but it didn't do anything.

@D1NACALIENTE  Again, did you try the new Windows admin account yet?

Yes, I tried, but it doesn't work. In my opinion, the drivers are no longer the problem, as other games that previously didn't work, because of the drivers, now work flawlessly.

@D1NACALIENTE  In the new Windows account, please go into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, open DeviceConfig.log, copy the first 40 or so lines (stop when you get to Options), and paste them here.  You can delete your user and computer names, about 20 lines down; the file doesn't contain any other personal information.

Please also try changing the settings in this new Windows account while your antivirus is disabled, just to be thorough.  I know you did it in the previous account, but that was before you updated the driver, and the fresh Windows account may also help here.