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puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
7 years ago

Re: sims 3 pets stuck at household loading screen

@cathennme  Alright, you removed your mods, but did you also delete the cache files in your TS3 game folder?  They should be deleted any time you install (or remove) content, including a new pack.  And they should be deleted regularly anyway, even in the absence of game issues.  While you're troubleshooting, be sure to delete them every time you quit the game.  For reference, the files are:

  • CASPartCache.package
  • compositorCache.package
  • scriptCache.package
  • simCompositorCache.package
  • socialCache.package

If this alone doesn't help, try removing your entire game folder from Documents.  Just put it on your desktop or something; no need to delete it outright.  When you launch the game again, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  If you can load a new save in this folder, you can start moving your saves and other content from the old folder to the new one.  Start with your mods, then your cc, then the contents of Library, and leave your saves for last; and move files in small batches.  If the game stops loading, you can split the last batch you added and test again until you find the problem file(s).  Here's a list of everything in your game folder, so you'll know what to keep:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

If you can't even load the game in a clean folder, please run a dxdiag and attach the results to a post here.

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

Or, if you're on a mac, list your specs, as described in this post:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/4756624#M4

5 Replies

  • cathennme's avatar
    cathennme
    7 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict speaking about the documents folder, it looks like the folder deleted itself. the folder just isn't there anymore but I didn't deleted it and yesterday evening it was still there. the EA folder is there, but the the sims 3 folder not. or should I place the entire EA folder on the desktop? and where is the TS3 game folder, you mean the documents one or, how can I get the folder back? and sorry that I replied 2 times, I just realised that I can edit my answers. EDIT: I got the documents folder back with reinstalling the whole game + deleting every other folder. but the household problem is still there. now it just loads like 3% and then it's stuck again.

    dxdiag file is attached to this post.

  • cathennme's avatar
    cathennme
    7 years ago
    you probably mean the documents TS3 folder do you? so, how can I get it back when it deleted itself?
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    7 years ago

    @cathennme  Honestly, I'm not surprised that you can't load TS3 anymore.  Unfortunately, your computer is below the minimum requirements for even the base game, and some people with your system wouldn't be able to do so.  But Pets is the most demanding pack, both in terms of processor and graphics power; I'd never expect your hardware to be able to handle it.  I doubt there's a way for you to play Pets on this computer at all.  I'm sorry I don't have anything better to offer.

    By the way, you might want to get this laptop checked out by a professional.  Your dxdiag lists LiveKernelEvents and BlueScreens, which could be signs of serious issues.  I can't tell what the problem is from here, but it's possible that your hardware is already damaged.  It's also possible that trying to run TS3, even just the base game, is a problem on this computer.  It probably doesn't have the proper cooling, and overheating is one way to damage your system.

    By the way, the most likely place for your TS3 game folder to have gone is OneDrive.  The folders often end up there, and sometimes disappear from the computer's hard drive.  The usual advice is to disable OneDrive unless you really need it for some other purpose.

  • cathennme's avatar
    cathennme
    7 years ago

    @puzzlezaddict  my answer got marked as spam because I wanted to add something and edited the answer, so I'm writing it all again.

    the game just worked after loading for some time, but it lags extremely and the game freezes for ca. 2 minutes when I click on something.

    when my computer is below the minimum requirements for even the base game, why did it worked without any lag or problems the last few days? I used to have another sims 3 version (I don't remember what version it was) quite a while ago that I lost as I moved homes that also worked without any problems and I used it on the same device. this computer were also able to run high quality games the time I used to play games when I didn't knew what to do now. I don't know if it still can run these games, but it used to be able to. I don't say that this what you say isn't true, I'm just confused why the problems are coming so late.

    there's no need for a check up. I know about the problems. I have some problems with CPU, disk and I have the bluescreen error quite often. I use it until it completely dies and then I maybe get a new one.

    thank you for your help.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    7 years ago

    @cathennme  The reason that the game is running so slowly is because Pets is much more demanding than just the base game.  It needs a stronger processor and graphics card, as well as more RAM.  I don't know which one is causing the lag, but your computer doesn't meet the recommendations for Pets for any of those components.  If I had to guess, the lag is probably coming from low memory, since you only have 4 GB RAM.  But adding more wouldn't help all that much—the processor and graphics card would still have trouble keeping up.

    Some computers will run the base game on lower settings despite being a bit below requirements.  Whether players are satisfied with this depends on how they feel about the lower graphics settings and occasional low-level lag.  But installing Pets makes TS3 much more stressful on hardware, especially as the game goes forward.  Inactive households might take a few days to start adopting pets, and the stray population might need time to spawn as well, especially if you load an existing save that hasn't seen the Pets expansion before.  Baby animals can't use stairs, so they get stuck, making TS3's game engine work much harder to reroute them.  The herd of wild horses can get stuck too, but even when it's not, rendering those horses is very hard on a graphics card.  I couldn't say which of these issues is giving your game the most trouble right now, but they'd all be problems sooner or later.

    The other thing to keep in mind is that hardware wears down as it ages.  How quickly this happens depends on the component, both what kind and how well it was made.  Stressing the computer will accelerate the process, but by how much also depends on the component and what kind of stress.  I don't know how you've used this laptop so far, but it's entirely possible that its performance is nowhere near what it was when you bought it.

    If you do decide to get a new computer, now or in the future, you're welcome to ask for help here.  I can look over the specs of one you've picked out to tell you how it would handle TS3, or anything else you want it to run.  Or, if you post your budget and country, I can try to find something that works for you.

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