Is your Sims 3 Crashing? Check this!

Okay!

So most of you for some reason see me as the game tech guru.  I don't know why this is, but I'm flattered that you all trust me to help you!  However, I myself! Gasp! Just had problems with The Sims 3 on Windows 10.

This mini-tut will be geared toward Windows 10 and Windows 8 users.  But Windows 7 users can do the DEP and compatibility things too!

So, first is the DEP exception.

DEP stands for Data Execution Prevention.  Windows will have you believe that it stops viruses.  And yes, for many things, it does.  However, Sims does not inherently have viruses, as it is a legit program.  

For example, you want DEP turned ON for your internet applications.  But you want it OFF for Sims 3 because it tries to detect attacks and attempts to run code from the program.  For The Sims 3, this is a non-issue, but leaving DEP on can crash your game, because DEP tries to prevent, again, attempts to run code.  Running code is how a game works, and that's why it can be a problem.

What you can do is set The Sims 3 as an exception to the DEP.  That means that the DEP will monitor everything that DOESN'T have an exception.  So your internet, your downloading system, all that, will still have DEP enabled, but your game won't, which will make it so it doesn't stop coding processes.

SO.  First you'll want to add The Sims 3 as an exception to the Data Execution Prevention (DEP.)

So I'll show you how to do it in Windows 10.  It should be similar in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

1.  RIGHT click the START button, and go to SYSTEM.



2. When you're in SYSTEM, go into ADVANCED SYSTEM SETTINGS.



3.  In SYSTEM PROPERTIES, click the tab that says ADVANCED.  There, you will find a PERFORMANCE header.  Click the button by it that says SETTINGS.



4.  Click the DATA EXECUTION PREVENTION tab in that menu on top.  By default, the first option, turn on DEP for essential bla blah, will be clicked.  You need to click the second one:  Turn on DEP for all programs and services EXCEPT THOSE I SELECT.

As you can see, I already have mine done, but I'll show you where to find them!



5.  So first, CLICK ADD.  Navigate to your TS3 folder in PROGRAM FILES, not documents.  Program files.  You want the .exe's.  Click Game, then in Game, click BIN.

If you have your TS3 installed via disc, it'll be its own program.

If you have it installed via Origin, it'll be in Origin Games.

If you have it installed via Steam, it'll be in Steam Apps and then Common.

So go there!





6.  You want to add the files that I have selected.  It might only let you do one at a time, but add all four.  When you're done adding, hit APPLY. EDIT: You can select all five of those if you'd like.



7.  RESTART YOUR COMPUTER!  The changes will not take place, until you restart your computer.

Okay!  So you've got you DEP exception added!  What do we do next?

Well:  We CHANGE COMPATIBILITY of the game!  

Okay.  So Windows 10 is a weird animal.  It is more similar in user interface to Windows 7 than it is to Windows 8.  However, it is more similar in coding to Windows 8, so as a default, it has Windows 8 set as preeeetty much every game's default compatibility.

This isn't a problem for newer games usually.

However, Sims 3 is optimized for, if you are patched to 1.67, Windows 7.  1.69 I really don't know about and cannot advise you on.  Use your best judgment for that.  Like if you have 1.69 and it's NOT crashing, just do the DEP if you want but ignore this portion of the tutorial.  However, on 1.67 patch, it is optimized more for Windows 7, so you'll want your compatibility set to Windows 7.

So here goes!

1.  Navigate to where your game .exe files are.  They will be in the same place they are for the DEP exception.  Program files -  it's own thing, Origin Games, or Steam Apps/Common.

Get in the game, get in the bin, as we did for the DEP.

First you want to LEFT CLICK (select) your Sims 3 .exe, so that it's selected.



2.  When you have the .exe selected, RIGHT CLICK it and there will be a drop down menu.  Go into PROPERTIES.



3.  In TS3 Properties, go to the tab that says COMPATIBILITY, and make it look like mine!  So check run compatibility mode for... and in the drop down, select WINDOWS 7.



4.  YOU WILL HAVE TO RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.  Again.  

Then just run your game as usual, and it should work, and it should work BETTER.

If you have any questions or hang-ups, let me know!

I JUST DID THIS. i don't know why, i didn't have lots of crashing issues XD

haha Maggie! It might run a little smoother though! Especially with the compatibility fixed.

Im in game now and it feel quicker and more responsive.

Well that's good to hear!

well my game has been running for days, no crashing. and i have been pretty demanding..... YAY!

That's good (sorry for the late post) but your game may RAM crash after a few days, so I wouldn't recommend running it for days.  RAM is your computer's short term memory and if it gets overloaded, it'll crash everything.  

However, if you want to use more RAM for TS3 and have it available to use, I have a new tut!

For some reason I get this when adding Sims3Launcher.exe

hhhhmmmmmm.... @Vanadis can you help?

You'd just have to leave that one alone then... :/  There is one that does that and I think that one's it.

But those that you do have installed as DEP excluded will help!

Ok, so my game won't explode if I do all but that one?
Thanks so much!

Nope your game won't explode!

I have the pets expansion pack. Will I have to do anything differently with this?

Nope!  The Pets expansion only affects some CC and outdated mods.  You'll be able to do all of this no matter which expansions you have.

Thank you for the very informative tutorial. However, I followed all the steps, but my game is still crashing T___T any thoughts on why? Also have Windows 10 but changed compatibility to Windows 7

Mine does crash now and then, not really all that often even having done that, but Windows 10 is just butts to be honest.  It could just be the OS trying to override things, like it always does.  Windows 8 I hear did the same thing (though I skipped that OS, went from 7 to 10.)

I would say that if it's not the OS doing it, it COULD be an outdated mod, particularly a script mod, or one of those clothing items you sometimes get that show up all messed up (exploding.)  

Check and make sure that if you have any script mods such as Awesome Mod or NRAAS mods, that you have the correct version of the mod for the patch that you have your game patched up to.

Unfortunately, my game on my old build used to crash CONSTANTLY because my CPU was dying, and when I upgraded my machine it stopped crashing nearly as much.  Sims 3 is kind of a hog on most machines, so it could simply be that.

Yeah mine crashes on the loading screen after you've chosen which saved game to play.

What are mods? T_T I'm sorry, complete noob and never had to figure this type of stuff out

Ah okay mods are files created by users that can change aspects of your game, such as change the story progression (the tuning file that allows all the people in your world outside your played household to get married, have kids, that stuff) and there's also custom content, which are mods but they're mainly aesthetic things, like custom hairstyles and clothes.

So if you're not sure what a mod is, you probably don't have any.  They're one of the main reasons a lot of people get crashes.

So it may be your computer.  Not much you can do about that.  As I said, I have a lower high-end computer and I still run into issues.  It's EA's fault, no fault of your own.  The code for Sims 3 is just kinda crappy.

Thank you for your Tut! I've been searching for days on how to help my daughters Sims3 launch on her new windows 10 laptop. It gets stuck with an arrow and black screen after launching... and then when I hit task mgr to get out, I get a black screen and half a white frame (like the graphics are stuck?) my only option is to logout and start again. Tried the tuts above and then some but no luck!! Any guidance would be so helpful! Thank you!

Actually, my Sims 3 on launch black screens for a good 5-10 minutes or so on Windows 10.  I just play in windowed mode and minimize the Sims screen til it loads.  And go do other things.

Please note, this is not a tutorial to get rid of the black screening.  That's just something that happens with Windows 10.  I have yet to figure out why, but if I ever do figure it out, I will post a tutorial to fix it.  Following this tutorial will NOT get rid of the black screen problem.

My advice is let it sit for 5-10 minutes and see if it opens up the game afterward.