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shakira-teehee's avatar
shakira-teehee
New Novice
1 month ago

Sims 3 will not open

Hello! I am very frustrated and have searched a lot for solutions for all of these problems and nothing will work.

First, my launcher would crash every time I clicked on the download tab so I couldn't download anythig from the store (I don't use CC so I know it's not a problem with corrupted cc files or anything.) I then researched how to fix this and found in a thread on here that if you are signed in to your EA account, you can download everything on the home page in the sims game, where you choose a save to play. 

Then, my problem became that I would log into my account on the launcher and the info wouldn't show up, would just show a blank blue box even though the launcher acted as if it had accepted my login info. So I tried logging in on the actual game and got stuck in the "connecting" screen until I eventually had to force quit the game. I then researched how to fix this and it said to delete all sims 3 files in keychain access, so I did. It said you could log in on the main menu in the game, not on the launcher, so I clicked play in the launcher to try and do this.

Now, when I click the play button in the launcher, it immediately crashes and my game will not open at all. I am so frustrated and I have no clue what to do. Everytime I thought I fixed the problem, another problem would arise. 

I play on MacBook using the 64 bit sims 3 and I'm on the macOS Tahoe Version 26.1, which I just updated to cause sometimes sims 3 doesn't work on my computer if I need a software update. I have repaired the game via the EA app, I have taken out the sims 3 folder from my computer documents and relaunched the game (multiple times actually, before my game stopped launching) to see if a new file would fix the issue. I really just want to play the game, as I've been playing it for over 10 years and I enjoy it far more than Sims 4.

crashing
mac
never cc or mods
technical issues
the sims 3 store

3 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    3 days ago

    shakira-teehee​  I think I might have seen one other mention of the launcher crashing, but not taking down the game, in Tahoe, and that is not related to trying to install content through the launcher (its own separate issue).  So I don't know of a fix.  We've suspected that tighter security settings are the reason that people can't install content, and it could be that the same change is causing the crash in your case.  If that's true, there isn't a fix or workaround.

    What you could try is playing in a new admin account on your Mac.  Don't link it to your Apple ID, and don't import any settings.  Repair the game (EA App > Sims 3 > Manage > Repair) before trying to play.

    The point is, if this helps, the trigger for the crashes is specific to your main account.  If it helps once, perhaps the problem is a file being created in the user folder; maybe the launcher didn't crash the first time you played after clearing all your data, but only on subsequent tries?  If the launcher crashes in the new account even the first time you try to play, the issue is global rather than limited to one account.

  • shfnajmah's avatar
    shfnajmah
    Rising Newcomer
    3 days ago

    Hi, I’m having almost the exact same issue.

    I already deleted all Sims 3 files and started from zero, and I also cleared the EA App cache. This helped in that I can now start the game and it doesn’t crash immediately when I open the launcher. However, I still receive a notification saying that the launcher has crashed.

    I’m using the 64-bit version of The Sims 3 on a MacBook with macOS Tahoe (Version 26.1). The game is playable now, but the launcher instability is still there.

    If anyone has found a permanent fix or knows what causes the launcher crash on macOS Tahoe, I’d really appreciate the help.

     

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    1 month ago

    shakira-teehee​  Bad custom content is a frequent cause of crashes, but it's not the only one.  Another common cause is having a mod that depends on other content, for example NRaas Cupcake requires the Store Bakery set to be present, and the NRaas MasterController Progression add-on requires both the base MC and StoryProgression mods.  If you do have MC Progression, or you have Cupcake and aren't sure whether the Bakery set is loading, remove the mod.

    If that doesn't help or isn't relevant, please rename or remove the Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts.  When you open the launcher, a new folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just see whether you can play like this.  If it works, you can restore your old content, a little at a time.

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