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NandaCeloCillo's avatar
NandaCeloCillo
4 years ago
Solved

The Sims 3 crashing due to "Insufficient Graphics Capability"

Hello! I apologize beforehand for the long post, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if I make any mistakes when writing, as English isn't my first language. I've recently went back to...
pc
technical issues
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    4 years ago

    @NandaCeloCillo  Thanks for the dxdiag and the deviceconfig, and you're right, having them makes things a lot easier for those of us who try to help.  The crash log analyzer's conclusions are often inaccurate or misleading, so I wouldn't necessarily trust the info.  Also, for what it's worth, I wouldn't have known you weren't a native English speaker from your post had you not said so.

    Your dxdiag shows that Sims 3 is crashing due to an issue with DirectX 9.  That doesn't mean that DX9 itself is corrupt—it's actually more likely to be a game issue—but it's still worth reinstalling the runtime, since the process is simple and won't do any harm.  I wrote out detailed instructions here:

    https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10711778#M247861

    Please also tell Windows to run Sims 3 in high-performance mode.  Click Windows key-i, select System > Display > Graphics settings, click the Browse button, choose TS3.exe from the menu, click Options, choose the high-performance option, and save.  This not only assigns the Nvidia card to run the game, as is already happening, it also governs other power settings, which can be especially useful when playing on a laptop.  Speaking of which, please make sure to only play with the laptop plugged in as well.

    If the above steps don't help, please test a new save in a clean user folder just to set a baseline for performance.  Move the Sims 3 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just start a new save in Sunset Valley and let me know how it runs.  Please also let me know whether you have Pets and Seasons installed, as these are the most demanding packs and the most difficult for borderline graphics cards to run.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago

@NandaCeloCillo  If I had to guess, I'd say that the high-performance mode was what helped initially, but you do still have an issue with mods or custom content.  If you'd like help sorting that out, just ask.

You might also have problems running Pets and Seasons, or perhaps just Pets.  With Seasons, pay attention to how the game runs during inclement weather (rain, snow, hail), and if performance is bad, consider turning off those effects or at least lowering the graphics settings in winter.  It can also help to avoid long-haired pets and horses, both of which take more resources to render than the rest.

And yes, you should be using the latest graphics driver from Nvidia.  When a laptop is very new, it's best to use whatever drivers the laptop manufacturer offers, as those are often tuned to the particulars of that machine better than the more generic driver from Nvidia or whichever other company supports a particular component (e.g. Intel, Realtek, etc.).  But by this point, the drivers from your laptop's manufacturer are years out of date, so Nvidia is the right source.

NandaCeloCillo's avatar
NandaCeloCillo
4 years ago

Thank you! 

I did notice that during winter, my game lags more. My game was also more prone to crashing when I was playing with a household that had dogs and horses in it, or when I played in Appaloosa Plains.

I'm going to see if I can sort out the CC/Mods issue. I might even uninstall the Steam version and redeem my game on Origin to get the 1.69 update and be able to manage my EPs and SPs more easily.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @NandaCeloCillo  I'd strongly suggest keeping the Steam version of Sims 3 rather than installing through Origin.  It's much easier to manage overall, and not running Origin or Steam in the background will leave more of your laptop's resources available for the game itself.  You can also bypass the launcher: double-click on TS3W.exe (with the W) to go straight to the intro.  If you do want to use the launcher, double-click on Sims3LauncherW.exe.  You can make a shortcut for each one so you don't need to go diving into the game's program files.

    There's a way to manage which packs load in a Steam install.  It's more complicated than the Origin launcher's pack selector but also more reliable.  If you'd like to know how, just ask; it's what I do with my Steam install.  Just be aware that it involves editing your computer's registry, so you need to be very precise.

    • NandaCeloCillo's avatar
      NandaCeloCillo
      4 years ago

      @puzzlezaddict Thank you so much for the tips! I'll most definitely use them.

      Honestly, I am interested in knowing how to manage packs when using a Steam install, can you tell me the steps of how to do that?

      Edit: Do you have any tips on how to install Create-a-World for Steam? I watched James Turner's video on it, and it also involves going into regedit (which I've already done once before to alter the language of my game). I just want to know if the method he teaches interferes with the pack management method you mentioned, because apparently he tells you to create a new Sims 3 registry file. I haven't done this yet.

      • puzzlezaddict's avatar
        puzzlezaddict
        Hero+
        4 years ago

        @NandaCeloCillo  This is the guide I link for getting CAW to run in a Steam install, and I'm told it works well:

        https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=277022926

        Before editing the exported registry file, make a backup copy, just in case you need it later.  Importing is as simple as double-clicking the file.

        When I want to disable a pack, I delete the two registry entries for that pack, which are located here:

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sims(Steam)

        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Electronic Arts\Sims(Steam)

        Each installed pack has one entry in each category, although the (Steam) part will obviously not be there if you've already edited the entries to work with CAW.

        If you want to use both of these workarounds, I'd strongly suggest making a copy of both of the original Sims(Steam) categories, then making another copy of the edited version once you've tested and you know it works.  Then you can delete the registry keys for the packs you don't want to play with, and when you want those packs to load again, you can simply import the prior version of each section of the registry.

        I've been doing this for three years without problems, and it's now easy for me and takes a trivial amount of time.  But if it's more work than you want to do, you might prefer to just use the Origin version.  The one problem you may run into is that the Edit in-game feature doesn't always work properly in the Origin version of CAW.  I don't believe there's a fix, just workarounds that don't fully cover all the missing tools.

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