Sims 3 freezes after two minutes.

Before you start:
Always back up your Sims 3 Documents folder — this is where your saves, mods, and settings are stored.
Go to:
Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3
Right-click the entire folder and copy it somewhere safe (like your Desktop or an external drive).
That way, if anything goes wrong during troubleshooting, you can restore your saves and custom content easily.

Try this first to fix your freezes: 

1: Make sure your GPU is recognized: 

 Go to:
Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\DeviceConfig.log

Open it with Notepad.

The first few lines will say something like:
Found: 0, Matched: 1
→ If it says Found: 1, Matched: 0, the game isn’t using your GPU properly.

2: Install the GPU Add-on Support fix
This forces The Sims 3 to recognize modern GPUs (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel).
➜ https://www.nexusmods.com/thesims3/mods/106

3: Match your refresh rate / resolution

In-game, go to Options → Graphics.

Set your resolution and refresh rate to match your monitor (e.g., 1920×1080 @ 60 Hz).

Disable Fullscreen temporarily if it keeps resetting.

4: Add the Sims 3 to your Anti virus exclusions.

5: Add the game to DPA (Data Execution Prevention)

Windows search → “Advanced System Settings” → “Performance Settings” → “Data Execution Prevention”.

Add TS3.exe and TS3W.exe to the exception list.  (Really helps with crashes/freezes)

Apply and reboot.

5: Clean up your save files

Use Regul Save Cleaner: https://modthesims.info/d/652440/regul-save-cleaner.html
 — it removes bloat and junk thumbnails, Run it after every few play sessions to keep things smooth.

This is a very old game being dragged kicking and screaming into the future, once it gets there its fine, you just have to give it some TLC and then it will start to behave on modern rigs.

Unfortunately this hasn't solved the issue.

theepicsimmer11​  Do you still need help?  If so, please provide a dxdiag.  Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

Please also let me know whether you've taken steps to limit your in-game framerates.

Hi there, i know this thread is pretty old, but i have this same issue and none of the above has worked for me. I also cant find the TS3 or TS3W files and can therefore not add them to the DPA. Ive attached the dxdiag file in this reply and hope you have time/can help me out!

It's most likely a so-called soft lock, which is usually caused by a corrupted object or a stuck labor. You can try to fix it by resetting the entire town with Master Controller, and if that doesn’t help, try to locate the issue using the Debug Enabler mod: City Hall → Dump Alarms → the report will appear in your game folder.  Look in the report for lines that are close to the time of the freeze. The culprit should be found among them. You can also upload the relevant lines or the full report here (please mention the exact time when your game freezes), and I’ll try to help identify the guilty party. Once the culprit is found, it needs to be either reset or removed from your game save, after which you can continue playing normally again.

Hey, thanks so much for the reply! after tinkering with the files myself, i found out my documents folder was being redirected to onedrive even though i unlinked my pc. this meant the game couldnt access my user folder correctly, which caused the freezing. The game runs perfectly now after correcting the documents folder path :D

i'm still needing help on this same issue, but i'm on mac... not sure if that makes a difference. Every time i finish creating a sim it starts me on a Sunday at 9:30 am and once it hits 11:45 am(sim time) it completely freezes, i can't do anything on the screen forcing me to force quit sims 3 loosing everything can someone please helpp. I'm even having a issue with adding a mods folder

salena144​  What world are you playing in, and which expansion and stuff packs do you have installed?  If you're using mods or custom content, let me know, and list the mods.

Please also list the full specs of your Mac: everything under About This Mac including the OS and except for the serial number.