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Sims 3 crashing [Solved/Closed]

tbad5 1Posts Tuesday June 9, 2009Registration date - Latest answer on Apr 3, 2013 12:03AM
Hello,
I recently purchased the Sims 3 game for my Dell PC and i have been having problems with the game crashing. I could play the game for about 10 minutes, then the monitor would turn black, yet me CPU would still be running, and the only way i could restart my computer was by unplugging the whole system and turning it back on. I have heard people have had problems with their video card on their computer being disabled... any ideas?
Thanks
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Answer
+185
moins plus
I found the solution!!!!! I tried almost everything there was out there from updating my drivers, getting rid of all my downloaded content, unintstalling the game and re installing it... but then I found this out. All you have to do is disable Data Excecution Prevention (DEP) for The Sims 3.

FOR WINDOWS:
Go To Start - Settings - Control panel and select System. Click on the Advanced tab and in the preformance section click Settings. Click the tab for Data execution prevention and click the option to [Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select] go to browse then find where your game was installed and add TS3.EXE to the list. (The program may just be called TS3) Make sure it is an EXE extention (right click, go to properties and it will tell you) Try to add all versions that you have ( TS3, WA, HELS and Ambitions).
MAKE SURE YOU APPLY THE CHANGES AND REBOOT YOUR SYSTEM.

TADA :D

Sorry, not too sure how to do it for Mac :(

LM - Jun 19, 2010 12:41AM
Tried to add The SIms 3 shortcut to the DEP and it yelled at me. Going into the bin and adding TS3.exe Worked for me! thanks.
cfasssui - Jun 19, 2010 09:32AM
How do i do this , i click on sims 3 and es-MX and fr-FR , what do i do ?
mcalma39 - Jun 19, 2010 09:19PM
how about in Windows 7? i need help. thanks
Justy - Jun 20, 2010 05:46PM
omg THANK YOU -hugs-
ampaiva - Jun 20, 2010 08:25PM
Problem solved for me! Thank you, guy! Thank you very much! Thanks again!
Nohope3sims - Jun 22, 2010 02:42AM
This did not work for me unfortunately.
Jessicarrr - Jun 22, 2010 10:50AM
Was the problem that you had that the screen would go black for a plit second then come up all pixelated then return to the game. Mine kept doing that but after like the second time it happens the blue stats bar disappears and I can't even see where to save the game.
Euwh - Jun 22, 2010 11:43AM
Uh oh. I have Windows 7 and I am not quite sure your way works for me. I can't find the Settings thing in System.
Preg75904 - Jun 23, 2010 03:57PM
For Windows 7, goto Control Panel\System and Security on Side Bar click on Programs that will bring up System Properties then follow the rest of
Carrie1354 steps
" Click on the Advanced tab and in the preformance section click Settings. Click the tab for Data execution prevention and click the option to [Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select] go to browse then find where your game was installed and add TS3.EXE to the list. (The program may just be called TS3) Make sure it is an EXE extention (right click, go to properties and it will tell you) Try to add all versions that you have ( TS3, WA, HELS and Ambitions).
MAKE SURE YOU APPLY THE CHANGES AND REBOOT YOUR SYSTEM.

TADA :D

Sorry, not too sure how to do it for Mac :( "
blackamoan - Jun 25, 2010 10:04PM
how do you add ts3.exe..is it a folder ?
Col - Jun 26, 2010 11:32PM
TX Heaps for that info, windows 7 version, sims 3 ambitions hasn't crashed since i applied the changes you recommended !!

Tx again

Col
Daisy - Jun 27, 2010 06:26PM
where do I find the TS3 file?
Daisy - Jun 27, 2010 06:40PM
This did not work for me either =[.
Vanita - Jun 28, 2010 07:43AM
The Sims 3 is in my documents, but I can't find the TS3 file...
ssasa - Jun 28, 2010 11:16AM
this didn't work for me. :( i just kept going back to the desktop and the game just automatically exits right after i click the game i would play
billy - Jun 30, 2010 11:53AM
this does not work at all. Sims 3 cannot be ran without using dep.
g - Apr 20, 2011 04:32AM
is this for windows 7 laptops aswell??????????? pleasee help
g PLEASE ANSWER BACK - Apr 20, 2011 04:36AM
My sims wont even let me click on it,when i do get onto it its just a black screeen and sometimes it crashes shall i unstall and reinstall??????????!!!! :(
ujytgukyghuy - Oct 11, 2012 02:09AM
Dosent work.
shaz - Nov 5, 2012 01:39PM
where do i find the TS3 file.
kady - Nov 6, 2012 02:04AM
I tired this too, doesn't work. Options disable full screen mode has helped a lot though, but still crashes some times for me.
diasexy7890 - Nov 9, 2012 06:37PM
yeah whatevs this is a complete fucking LIE.
CarlyOlivia - Nov 17, 2012 11:33AM
What if we deleted the shortcut to the Sims 3 and can't even uninstall it? That's my problem, I would uninstall and try to re-install the game but I've lost it. How am I supposed to fix this?
kurly - Nov 18, 2012 09:44PM
look for it by pressing start and look at the icons. it might be there. if not, press start, then documents, and then you will see electronic arts. This is if you have a pc, not a mac
Tazbazz94 2Posts Wednesday November 21, 2012Registration date November 21, 2012Last seen - Nov 21, 2012 03:19PM
Didnt work for me either :(
Answer
+46
moins plus
Some people have reported crashing with Sims 3: Ambitions. It seems the expansion has an issue with the DEP (Data Execution Prevention) on your computer. Here's how to fix it. This will work for Windows XP (which I have) and hopefully others. If you don't have crashing, then don't bother with this.

Feel free to copy this and repost it on Sims forums or on other sites. I don't deserve the credit for this information; I'm just passing along some info I saw on another site.

1. Go to Control Panel/System/Advanced/Performance Settings.

2. Go to the Data Execution Prevention tab. Click on "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select" and press "Add." You will now add your Sims game, expansions and Stuff Packs to the DEP exception list. Copy-and-paste these "C:" locations in the spot where it says "File Name."

Sims 3 base game:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exe

World Adventures:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 World Adventures\Game\Bin\TS3EP01.exe

High-End Loft Stuff:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff\Game\Bin\TS3SP01.exe

Ambitions:
C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Ambitions\Game\Bin\TS3EP02.exe

Click OK. You'll have to restart the computer for this to take effect. It should stop the crashing.



Any other issue's.
email me at: joshkingsland@hotmail.com

Answer
+13
moins plus
I have had the Sims 3 for 1 day, I can play in build mode with no problem as soon as it goes to play mode it crashes. It isnt my computer, it is a bran new gamer computer.
It is EA...they need programmers that have knowledge to program.
Alot of people are having major problems with sims 3.
I will go back to 2, it doesnt crash.

Carrie1354 - Jun 17, 2010 09:48PM
I had the exact same problem, read the solution i posted. My game works perfectly now. :D
Answer
+6
moins plus
I had it crash to desktop straight after loading (about 20 seconds of actual ingame before the crash) and having had a similar problem on Fallout 3 that a modder on a forum had fixed, I decided to give it a go with this. It worked for me, maybe it will for you:

Download and install (I am not a bot or an evil virus-spreader, honest folks!):
http://www.ntcore.com/files/ExplorerSuite.exe

Go to "C:\Program files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 Ambitions\Game\Bin"

And find a program called "TS3EP02"

**Copy this file somewhere where you can find it again, we need to make a backup (for when EA releases an official patch)**

Right click the original file > "open with CFF explorer"

You now have a window open "CFF explorer - [TS3EEP02]

On the left, under "NT Headers", there should be a tab called "File Header" Click it.

Then click on the area, towards the right of the window, labelled "Click Here"

A "Chacteristics" box will open. Check the option "App can handle >2gb Address space"

Click ok

**MAKE SURE YOU HAVE DONE THE BACKUP AS I SAID EARLIER**

Close CFF explorer

save changes to original file.

Hopefully it will work for you too. :)

When EA releases a patch that fixes this, or if this didn't work for you, simply find the original copy you made (because you did do that didn't you?) and overwrite the modified file with the original copy. This will allow the patch to install (because it won't on a modified .exe) and will revert the changes we made above

LC - Jun 17, 2010 03:52PM
Well that is interesting, sounds like the problem I have though There is no TS3EEP02 file hehe. My old computer with Vista 64 runs it just fine. My Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, ATI 5970 Crossfire with i7 X980 crash or closes (Same thing) when running in the game for about 20 second after selecting a Sims family.
nickie=] - Jun 23, 2010 01:57AM
mine doesnt have cff explorer?
Donna - Jun 24, 2010 08:31AM
i was told by EA that sims is meant ti run on a 32 bit pc and thet EA aren't looking to change this so 64's work
Answer
+5
moins plus
Not one bit of useful information here...
"Not up to specs...", "correct power supply...", "integrated video card..." ??? What a load of xxx
Sims 3 crashes on many different systems, from low to high end. Only thing you can try is to update your graphics card drivers until Electronic Arts releases a patch that fixes the problem. It seems to crash on Vista more often than XP, and with NVidia graphics cards more often than others. I had the problem with XP and an older ATI Radeon graphics card UNTIL the first patch, from then on it was okay. My friend has the problem now, AFTER the patch 1.6, and also after installing the expansion, with Vista and a new NVidia graphics card. So I guess there must be something wrong with the game, not with the systems on which it is running. Hope EA will (and wants to) fix it.

bullet - Nov 29, 2009 04:12AM
help please my pc wont run sims 3..i had to reformat my computer and now sims 3 wont work but it did before.. im running a:
core 2 duo 2.2
2G ram
Nvidia GForce 8600

please help..when you open it the screen goes black for a second and then goes back to my desktop with a blue wallpaper..
JR - Dec 25, 2009 01:55AM
I have the same problem and video card. Have you found a solution?
Tina_1991 - Dec 29, 2009 05:06PM
Thank you! You said what was on my mind since I read the first few responses. Just crappy wannabe-tech talk -_-

Anyway! I can't provide any solutions but just give you this information: I'm running Sims 3 (World Adventures) on Windows 7 and a NVidia 8800GT and it freezes/crashes most of the time when I use the ingame cellphone or the ingame DSLR to take pictures. The longest time I've been able to play Sims without any crash/etc. was 2 hours...

Greez, Tina
Lost :S- - Jan 4, 2010 02:02PM
Do you know how to update the graphic card drivers, cos i found this useful but dont know how to what was said!
Mines crashing randomley after about 10 minutes, its so annoying! help please :)
cheesey* - Feb 20, 2010 08:43AM
i have a Dell Studio 17 Windows Vista laptop in green, i insert the sims 3 and installed it, i installed the EA Download Manager but i had to do all of this in safe mode. I put my laptop back into normal mode but i have to download EA Download Manager again but this time i have to download this Adobe AIR Setup thing at the same time as the EA Download Manager which doesn't download in normal mode, so i X out of everything, and start the Sims 3 game launcher which loads up fine and i click the play button and all i get is a maxed screen of black with my mouse in a loading position. i have to then start task manager and X out of it and thats all that happens.

p.s - when i 1st tried to install the sims 3 in normal mode it froze my entire laptop, so i suggest everyone tries installing the sims 3 in safe mode 1st, so you at least have it on your computer, so EA will get a patch fixed so it is able to work fully

+ please help with any info possible

xx
Kitty - Mar 20, 2010 01:07PM
I have the same problem!
All other computer games (some even higher in graphics and yada-yada than the Sims 3) work perfectly fine, yet the Sims 3 flips out my monitor. I've tried all sorts of different resolutions, monitor settings, updated my computer a bajillion times, yet it still doesn't work on this epic computer. Yet when I play it on my craptastic laptop it works perfectly, albeit a little sluggish and pixelated.
britt - Apr 1, 2010 07:36AM
i have the same prob too on my dell PC. the graphics card doesnt meet the system requirments, and unfortunately you cant do anything cause graphic cards are built in for dell PC's :( your just gonna have to wait to get a new comp!
DD - Apr 22, 2010 03:38PM
i just bought a dell labtop and i put in the game but when i go to create my person it blacks out and has a bunch of words on the screen too fast to read then it restarts the whole trhing help!!!
DD - Apr 22, 2010 03:38PM
i mean thing it restarts it
EA Fix your stuff - May 16, 2010 07:17PM
This has nothing to do with graphics, drivers, or anything else, this is a DEVELOPMENT problem that should have been solved during beta testing....of course there was none of that, so if you are playing this you are the beta tester.
MMilla - Jun 5, 2010 12:47PM
What do you mean? we are obviously playing the brand new off the shelf game
Someone - Jun 6, 2010 02:32AM
acctually no, this is because if you have an XP. EA games didnt make sims to go on XP.
rawr - Jun 6, 2010 05:14AM
Yes they did look at the back -runs on XP Vista and Windows 7 - So there.
Carrie1354 - Jun 17, 2010 09:50PM
I solved the problem! Well at least for me! Read my solution down the page more :)

I hope it works for you guys too !!
Answer
+5
moins plus
My system is definitely up to spec - in fact, exceeds specs for the game. It also has the newest drivers. Still, after I've played the Sims for about an hour, the screen will go black and I have to reboot. This happens if I'm playing or building. The computer is not getting too hot. I have a supported video card. I agree that this sounds like an issue with the game.

Answer
+5
moins plus
Sims 3 was a nightmare for me. I have a high end gaming rig that runs Crysis and Section 8 without a hitch but when I installed Sims 3 and updated it per the updater message, I would get as far as the launcher. Hit the "play" button, and get a black screen for 1-5 seconds before I would be returned to the desktop.

Uninstalled the game, reinstalled, patched..same problem. Tried to shut everything down in the background ( anti virus, etc etc ) - no change.

Uninstalled the game again. Updated my video driver.

Installed the game again, this time I SKIPPED the updater when it asked me I wanted to download the latest whatever - and finally it works.

Now, I'm not sure if it was because I didn't update it as prompted, or because I updated the video card, but I'm afraid to update it now that I started playing it.

brittany - Jan 11, 2010 10:44PM
I skipped it when I first downloaded my game and a day later it started doing it. Sometimes it wont do it and I can play for a long time. But if I get off and try to get back on it starts crashing. When the black screen comes on a pop up comes up from my desktop that says display driver is having prblems?
Daniel - Jun 24, 2010 08:35PM
For this you maybe could still update it manually. Assuming this was the most recent patch, you could try patching it up to the one prior to this one, download both
Katey - Jun 26, 2010 08:10PM
Is it possible to save files from your previous game before you uninstall it so that when you do uninstall it, you won't lose all your saves from your old game?
Ettie - Jun 30, 2010 02:37PM
Just copy your sims3 folder from your my documents, and save it somewhere, then replace the sims3 folder that comes eith the reinstallation, should be fine!
Answer
+4
moins plus
There's nothing you can really do. You just need to wait until EA releases a fix for the game. Currently they have some bad code that causes the game to crash in fullscreen mode. I have had some success playing the game in windowed mode, but it will quit as soon as I shift the focus away from the game, even for just a second.

Mitcy - Apr 18, 2010 01:46PM
How do you do window mode?
munna - Jun 12, 2010 11:12AM
what do u mean for ur question u givem
Nooo one - Jun 14, 2010 06:19PM
you just have to buy a graphic card. but it's 200$
Taima - Jun 24, 2010 07:16AM
Yeah my Sims 2 game used to always crash on me. it used to be fine when i was creating a sim or on build mode but as soon as i went onto play mode 5 minutes into the game it would just freeze but i would still be able to hear the background noise. like them talking still. then it would just stay like that. i waited for nearly an hour and it was still like that.

Once i got Sims 3 it didnt it do it after that. but after id had it for a couple of months the screen would go black, return to the desktop and then crash. Not Fun. its really frustating!
g PLEASE ANSWER BACK - Apr 20, 2011 04:37AM
^same happened to me!
g PLEASE ANSWER BACK - Apr 20, 2011 04:38AM
I had two black lines on my screen and i used the cheat to go onto fullscreen do you think thats why it crashes all the time??????i dont no what to do uninstall reinstall??Helppp...!
Answer
+4
moins plus
Wow.. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with the same problem.
After installing the latest patches it crashes even more frequent.
It's not my pc, but it's the game.
I think that goes for most of you.
Let's hope EA comes with a solution soon. I mailed the help desk.. so keeping my fingers crossed

Answer
+3
moins plus
Has Sims 3 running perfectly for some time but now has started crashing before you can get to play it. Tried uninstall and reinstall, makes no difference. Something has changed but can't figure what it is.

Answer
+2
moins plus
Same problem here.. And I've menage to play it normal yesterday (base game, CAS, build mode and play mode), today I was installing some coustum content and it crashes now when choosing type of game to play (so - before actual game play).. :((

Nicole - Dec 28, 2009 03:05AM
i have the same problem, do you have a solution yet? x
Sam - Jun 13, 2010 06:41PM
You need to remove the custom content. One of them is glitched.
Answer
+1
moins plus
Guys, just save the game every 10 minutes in order to not lose the data. At least it worked for me :) Give it a try!

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