Unable To Save New Sims In The CAS - Can Edit Existing Ones

Hi all:

I seem to be having a problem saving my Sims in the CAS. I can get them all the way through the initial setup (choosing outfits, voice, aspirations, etc.), but when I try to save my Sim, all I get is the spinning plumbob wheel. I've let the program run unattended, hoping that it was just going slow, but after two hours of the spinning plumbob wheel, I forced the game to abort, and lost my Sim.

I can edit existing Sims (wardrobe, walk styles, etc.)...I just can't make new ones.

I'm pulling my hair out over this, and on the verge of doing a full uninstall and re-install, which would require re-installing all the custom content I've accumulated over the last few years.

I would really like to find a fix for this glitch.

I seem to recall this problem happening before after a patch...and yes, I've applied the latest patch, and that's when the problems started.

Thanks in advance!