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.