Game Freezes and Crashes

[cococat54321]

Hi, I've been having some issues with my game. Whenever I try to save my game, it freezes up, and sometimes ends up crashing to the desktop. I have gone through the crashing checklist but the freeze and crash combo keeps happening. I have all the expansions installed, and am patched up to date. Please help :(

[Mordant17]

Can you please post the information requested at the end of the crashing checklist?

[cococat54321]

Okay well I did all the steps and it just kept crashing, I repaired permissions since I'm running it on a ma, and I tried rebooting. I have all the expansions and stuff packs installed, with the base game version 1.33.2. It usually freezes/crashes when im trying to save, or when im in build/buy mode. Before it started crashing I had just patched up to the latest patch.

[Mordant17]

Please go back to that checklist and provide everything asked for. There are 11 points at the end under the title Information to Include (http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Sims_3_Crashing_Checklist#Information_to_include), we need the answers to all 11.

[porkypine]

Try setting up DEP? http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Data_Execution_Prevention/TS3W

[ellacharmed]

@porkypine, OSX has no DEP. :)

@cococat54321, help us help you. And we cannot help if we have no information. Some of the steps are PC-specific, so you can skip those. If any step has OSX version, I think I may have indicated the difference. If not, let me know and I'll correct the FAQ.

[cococat54321]

Okay I'm going to type it all out. sorry its taken me so long to post back
---
1. at every step the game continued to freeze and/or crash, usually during saves or build/buy mode.
2. I have all the expansions and stuff packs currently released installed. My base game is version 1.33.2 the most current patch.
3. I have repaired permissions on my mac, and rebooted, but it still freezes and crashes.
4. I did tweak Options.ini as suggested. the game still freezes but hasn't crashed. however the freezes cause the computer to be so unresponsive that I cant even open the force quit menu and have to manually reboot the computer.
5. the crashes/freezes usually occur at saving screens, and in build/buy mode.
6. before all this happened, I installed pets, generations, showtime, master suite, and town life, and patched to the latest patch after all the installing.
7. I patched up to 1.33.2 but i have no idea what patch i was running before. I assume it was the one before 1.33.2 because i have automatic updates enabled in Sims 3.
8. System Specs:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.27f3
Serial Number (system): W882101DYJY
Hardware UUID: A20A14DF-1FB0-5520-BA2A-3D4EB76202BC
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT:

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3212
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected

In my sims games graphics options i have everything set to medium or low.

9. This is not the first time Ive run Sims 3 on this mac.
10. I never got stuck.
11. This post is step 11. lol.

[ellacharmed]

3. Includes this? - attempted a FULL and clean uninstall?
(I missed this one, I just added the question to ensure it gets answered, the steps were already there)
6. Is this a Full uninstall and reinstall with the extra steps of repairing permissions and clearing caches? ie separate from the time done in step#3
7. You always update each time a patch was released? Never skipped anything in between? Need to know in particular if you ever had 1.32 installed in the system.
8. What version of OS X?
(I see this question is missing, needed someone to go through the whole thing and answer before I see this. So, thank you.)

When it freeze during Saving, and before you reboot since the machine cannot be Force Quit, didn't get any error message on the Saving failure?
And this failure to Save is still on vanilla, 100% cc-free game? What world is this happening in? Or occurs in all EA default worlds?
Which particular category of Build/Buy mode? Or all? In Create-A-Style or out of it?

[eta]Left out commenting on the 8600M
OK, after rereading the wiki for this desktop GPU model version, it has a Green Yes only for base game. That may attribute to the issues some, especially as you have more of the "intensive" EPs.

[cococat54321]

so i was just playing and I have awesomemod installed so it does autosaves, but lately i have to save manually and pray it doesnt crash because if i dont save more frequently than the autosaves it ends up freezing, so anyways miraculously i made it to an autosave and then i got an error code 12? Ive never seen this before, so this is new

[ellacharmed]

Ah! So #1 is not on vanilla games? You have AM?
I needed to know in particular if step#3 of the Game Problem FAQ - ie testing the game on a vanilla, cc-free setting on new game in Sunset Valley, causes the crashing and freezing on saving.

Also added a note on the graphics, still need OS X version to be sure.

ps: we cross-posted it appears...

[cococat54321]

even when i take out all cc including awesomemod it crashes
---
i have OS X 10.6.8
---
yes i did 3 and 6. yes i installed all patches i dont think i missed any. I assume i had 1.32 before 1.33. I didnt get any save failures when it froze during saves, i never got a save error until yesterday. It happens in all EA default worlds, in new games, in old games
---
it happens when im in build buy mode in general, regardless of category or create a style

[cococat54321]

so nobody has any idea whats wrong with it?

[ellacharmed]

Sims 3 - Installing / Patching / Uninstalling
Whether you are Installing for the first time or Reinstalling, be sure to read the Game Help:Install FAQ.
-
This Game_Help:TS3_Uninstall link has the step-by-step instructions to guide you through uninstalling The Sims 3,
and its (EP/SP) packs. As well as removing any leftovers after uninstalling.
-
The Game_Help:TS3_Patching Guide provides information on:
Tips Before You Begin
Patching Common Errors
Manual Patch Downloads
Invalid File Errors and more



Did you follow our Full Uninstall guide when you uninstalled?
If you had done #6, why do you have the game at 1.32 before 1.33? Didn't patch directly to 1.33 after the reinstall?
For point#3, I missed confirming that this crashing still occur when bypassing Launcher to start the game?
For point#1, when you take out all CC, it includes the 3rd step of the Game Problem FAQ of renaming the user folder? So, even on vanilla game, it still crash? That means the issue is with the program data, not user files.

If it is program data, have you done a Full uninstall using our guide, with all those clearing of Library caches and repairing of permissions and then do a manual update, instead of using Launcher to update?

If yes, than perhaps the GPU has had enough and can no longer cope with the game's demanding requirements. That GPU model is shown as supported only for unpatched base game in our Wiki. And that is with the assumption that it has latest drivers and DirectX for Windows. With Apple not offering separate graphics drivers for their Macs, I doubt there'll ever be another update after 10.6.8 for Snow Leopard, as I believe Apple has moved on to Lion and Mountain Lion.

ps: and don't multi-post in succession like that - use the EDIT button if you have something to add and no one else has responded on the thread. Your registered date showed a year ago, so presumably you have read our Site Policies and Guidelines, and I let it go once and you keep doing it.

[cococat54321]

I did the full uninstall and it still does it. i guess ill try reinstalling a second time though and manually update. i didnt know how to do manual updates so now Ill read that and try that. As for point number 3, there isn't a way to bypass the launcher on a mac that i know of?

Also, sorry for multi posting. I didnt realize that was so deeply frowned upon, nor did i realize that there is an edit button for past posts. I rarely use forums.

[ellacharmed]

See sticky on the subject.
Also Game Help:TS3 Bypassing the Launcher#OS_X. One of things asked to try in the Crashing FAQ; same link is in section A, #8. :) I just added the section numbering, it is getting confusing to refer to which step, isn't it? :)