Re: New Laptop. Sims 3 won't recognise video card and hardware

I've searched my computer and this is what has come up (attached). I'm not sure which ones to delete. I'm assuming this is why the deviceconfig.logs folder is not showing anything. Also,I started my game and shut it down again and the file now reads '=== Options === === Default Options ===' again. 

@pigsquiggle  Okay, there are a couple things going on here that might be an issue.  First of all, you don't need to delete anything.  If you run the Super Patch again, any files you modified will be restored to their original form, so you can always start over if necessary.  You can ignore the graphicscards.sgr in the Sims 4 program files, and all the copies in the Sims 3 pack folders.  You specifically only need to edit the one in:

Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin

Look for the Sims 3 main folder, not "The Sims 3 Ambitions" or whatever.  It's the one at the top of your screenshot.  The copies in the packs' folders shouldn't need to be modified.

The other issue is that the .sgr files were saved as .sgr.txt, which means the game won't be able to read them.  It might work just to delete the .txt extension on the end of the files; feel free to do so and test.  If that doesn't work though, please run the Super Patch, reapply the edits, and when saving, check the extension and delete the .txt if it's there.

I have repeated the process, rerun the patch successfully and redid the files, and took the .txt off the file name, and the folder recognises it as an .sgr file. I checked the deviceconfig.logs again and the same =options= =default options= is coming up again. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with when saving the edited .sgr files it says I don't have permission. I worked my way round it by saving it in my documents and then dragging the files into the bin folder. Is this why? 

@pigsquiggle  That might be the problem.  But it's strange you wouldn't have permission to save the files.  Could you post a screenshot of that error?  There are other approaches to try as well, but I'd rather know what's going on first.

Please also, as an experiment, try to duplicate one file in the same location, and let me know whether you still see an error.  You can delete the duplicate later.

The first one is the one I get when trying to save the file. The second one is the one I get for trying to duplicate the file, with this one I am able to say yes and carry on.

@pigsquiggle  Yeah, strange.  Thanks for the screenshots.  If other approaches don't work, I might need to ask for help addressing that.

In the meantime though, in your first screenshot, the file is still being saved with the .txt extension.  (The type is under the file name.)  Try this instead: copy graphicscards.sgr to your desktop, edit it, and make sure it's still saving as an .sgr file.  Then move the original .sgr file elsewhere and put the one from your desktop in its place.

If you don't have permission to do that either, let me know.  There are various approaches to restoring permissions, depending on how drastic you want to be.  By the way, are there multiple user accounts on this computer, and if so, are they all admin accounts?  The admin message is kind of misleading in that you can get it even when using an admin account, but a non-admin account would also see it.

Interestingly, when changing the file extension to All files (*,*) - that is my only other option, it allows me to save it in the bin without any error message.

The deviceconfig is still the same after doing this, should i run the game or should it be automatically updated as in the file not having =options=etc.?

@pigsquiggle  Yes, you do need to launch the game once to update deviceconfig, although you can quit at the Main Menu.  It's probably a good idea to load a new save though, just to see how things look.

If the "all files" option doesn't help, we can try something else.

Okay, that might be why the log is not displaying it. Now, I have a new problem, when trying to launch the game it won't start. The launcher will come up, but when pressing the play button nothing happens. After this I checked my deviceconfig and it is completely empty, not even =options=etc, comes up. I tried launching the game ts3.exe file but still nothing. When closing the launcher via the tray, an error comes up saying that the upload is in progress, am I sure I want to continue? I've checked the task manager and no apps are running apart from the task manager window. I'm really sorry, I feel like I'm going in swings and roundabouts here.

@pigsquiggle  The launcher running in the tray error has been a known issue for almost two years now, and it affects Windows disc and Steam installs.  The quick and dirty, and temporary, fix is to delete Sims3Logs from your user data folder.  It will regenerate the next time you launch the game, but that first time, you won't get the error.

Just to cut out other sources of error though, please restart your computer and then try to open the game from TS3W.exe, with the W.  (TS3.exe only runs the Origin/patch 1/69 version of the game.)  If it doesn't work, put back your original .sgr files, or else run the Super Patch again to restore them to their default state.

Hi, before I replaced the files it worked fine again, after editing them an then copying them into the folder the error with the launcher occurs. I have tried to delete the sims3logs and it still wont launch. I have also tried restarting my computer a number of times and using the TS3W.exe doesn't launch the game either. Currently repatching again.