Sims 3 crashing on new gaming laptop
Hi everyone, I've just splurged on a brand new gaming PC after running Sims 3 on my Macbook (mid 2010) for 10 years. While the gaming quality is excellent and feels like I'm playing a brand new game...
Forum Discussion
@Harriet13 There are a few different issues in your dxdiag that might be contributing to the crashes. Among the errors are failed Windows updates, a couple crashes of the Origin update tool, and some crashes of an audio service that comes installed on HP laptops. Start with the Windows issue: you can run a couple of basic checks on your Windows system files, then manually run any updates that might currently be failing.
- Hit Windows key-X
- Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
- Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, and enter
- The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
- After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
- Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator)”
- Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
- Post the message you receive here
- Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.
For the Origin crashes, clear its cache and uninstall it "the hard way," which shouldn't affect Sims 3.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/
Reinstall Origin using the full installer, and run it as an admin: right-click on the download and select "Run as administrator." This is a direct download link:
http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe
Please also link the driver download page for your laptop. Even if all the drivers are updated, I'd still like to see what software is offered, especially if you need to uninstall and reinstall something. But I can't find exactly the right page from the info in your dxdiag. So please go here:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops
Enter the serial number for your laptop, and you'll land on the driver download page. Please link it here. The page doesn't have any information about your own laptop, just its model.
And please undo any compatibility setting: it's not necessary to use one for Sims 3, and having one makes troubleshooting a bit more complicated.
If the above steps don't help, what world(s) are you playing in? Do you use mods or custom content? It's fine if you do; just let me know either way.
Perhaps the most important step for Sims 3 itself is making sure your in-game framerates are capped. To see what kinds of numbers you're getting, bring up the cheats console (crtl-shift-C) and enter "fps on" without quotes. A number will appear in the upper right corner, and it should never go above the refresh rate of your screen, in this case 144 Hz. If it's consistently higher or fluctuates wildly, that could account for the crashing, and it could cause all kinds of other issues as well. It's easy enough to limit fps manually if necessary; just let me know whether this is an issue.
@puzzlezaddict
Ok, Origin uninstalled, cache cleared, reinstalled.
Here is my driver download page:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/omen-15-ek0000-laptop-pc-series/32827267/model/34766871?sku=3F854EA
All compatibility settings undone!
I'm playing in:
Sunset Valley, Twinbrook, Starlight Shores, Apaloosa Plains, Bridgeport. I also have Rivereview & Roaring Heights downloaded but the problem started before I had installed either.
I don't use any custom content besides what came with the Riverview & Roaring Heights downloads.
The mods I had were:
NRAAS Error Trap
NRAAS Master Controller
NRAAS Overwatch
NRAAS Story Progression
Nointro
- however I removed them all to see if there was perhaps an issue with one of them. Unfortunately the crashes persisted and I haven't reinstalled them yet.
FPS: absolute mayhem! Running around in the mid-200s even when I limit it to 60hz using the in-game system! That's very interesting to know.
Perhaps I should see if I get another crash and do another DXDiag for you?
Ok, Origin uninstalled, cache cleared, reinstalled.
Here is my driver download page:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/omen-15-ek0000-laptop-pc-series/32827267/model/34766871?sku=3F854EA
All compatibility settings undone!
I'm playing in:
Sunset Valley, Twinbrook, Starlight Shores, Apaloosa Plains, Bridgeport. I also have Rivereview & Roaring Heights downloaded but the problem started before I had installed either.
I don't use any custom content besides what came with the Riverview & Roaring Heights downloads.
The mods I had were:
NRAAS Error Trap
NRAAS Master Controller
NRAAS Overwatch
NRAAS Story Progression
Nointro
- however I removed them all to see if there was perhaps an issue with one of them. Unfortunately the crashes persisted and I haven't reinstalled them yet.
FPS: absolute mayhem! Running around in the mid-200s even when I limit it to 60hz using the in-game system! That's very interesting to know.
Perhaps I should see if I get another crash and do another DXDiag for you?
@Harriet13 Having fps over 200 could certainly cause crashes, although your graphics card is fast enough that it might handle those framerates just fine in the short term. It's easy enough to manually limit fps and see whether it helps though. The in-game tool doesn't work at all, but you can use the built-in Nvidia Control Panel instead. Right-click on the desktop, select the Control Panel, then Manage 3D settings, and under Global Settings, you'll see a Max Frame Rate:
Turn it on, set it to 72 (half of 144) for now, just to see how the game runs, and let me know. If you get another crash, please do run another dxdiag. And please test in a new save in Sunset Valley, to set a baseline for performance. The other worlds should be fine too, but with the exception of Riverview and Twinbrook, they're not as well made and can introduce other issues.
The NRaas mods you mentioned will all help performance, other than StoryProgression, which is quite demanding at its faster speeds. So as long as you're testing, it's a good idea to remove SP; you can add it back when your game is stable. Given the packs you have installed, I'd add NRaas Register and Traffic as well, for their improved management of role sims (especially stray pets) and vehicle spawning.
@puzzlezaddict thank you so much for all of your advice!
I'm wondering if this could be part of my issue? Trying to bring up NVIDIA control panel and got the attached message.
I will definitely try all of your other suggestions and get back to you. Thank you again for your help!
@Harriet13 That is an odd error—I don't think I've seen it before, at least on a system that did in fact have an Nvidia card and a properly installed driver—but try restarting your computer and opening the CP before you open any apps, especially before launching Sims 3. If you still can't access the CP, it might just be how the driver or some installed HP software works. Let me get back to you on that.
In the meantime, you can use RivaTuner Statistics Server to limit framerates instead. RTSS is a free download from Guru3D; go to the bottom of the page for the real download (as opposed to any ads that might show up). Once installed, you'll see something like this:
You can set a global limit, or one for TS3.exe (not TS3W, that's for disc or Steam installs). Set the fps limit (red box), and choose whether RTSS should start with Windows (yellow box). The other settings don't matter, although you can choose to have RTSS display your real-time fps if you want.
Unlike some other tools, RTSS does need to be running in the background to work, so make sure to minimize it rather than Xing it out.
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