Hi,

I have the sims 3 the newest 1.4 version. However whenever i gplay the game freezes randomly after 10-60 minutes. I have steady fps no fps drops no lag at all the game runs fine then all of a sudden it freezes and i still hear the music playing still move the mouse for the first few minutes, but i cant alt tab out and cant ctrl+alt+delete it. After a few minutes the sound goes really berserk it complete hangs and i have to restart te computer. Now i tried to google it read some about memore leakage and that updating would solve this, howevr i am already on newet vrsion. I called the help desk and the ytold i should try to remove daemon tools from my computer wich i did, however still freezing. Also there is nothing wrong with my computer i have a :

Quad core 2,7 Ghz
Nvidia GTX 275 1700mb
4Gigs of memory

So i am smashed by this malfunctioning, i dont know what to do except well not to play. Anyone else knows anything that might just help?

Regards,

ijzzBloc

Moving this to TS3 Game Help.

The fact that this crash consistently happens a fairly short time into play, suggests hardware involvement, however it's always good to rule out other things too. So, first up, remove My Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3, and everything from Mods/Packages; then play for a while to test. If it doesn't crash, great, I'm shocked, if not...

First up, we'll need a proper set of system specs: Game Help:System Specs^wiki

We'll also need you to check for overheating. Download HWMonitor. Run it during normal use of your computer - email, web browsing, minesweeper - take a screenshot of the HWMonitor window. Then try to run TS3 for as long as you can, and take a screenshot of the HWMonitor window once TS3 has crashed. Post both those screenshots here.

One final thing - what is it that means you have to reboot? Does the whole system eventually freeze?

ijzzBloc, by music - do you mean the in-game stereo or the game background buy/build music? Have you ruled out the sound glitch?

Did this just recently happen?
What was the last CC you downloaded and installed? If there was one recently and this started happening, have you played without this CC?
If no recent CC and especially if this issue had always been happening, I'd suggest you try the Game crashing FAQ and the steps whiterider outlined above.

ETA
I knew I read it somewhere - this is from the readme.txt. Just in case you use the Custom Music station while playing - another avenue to help troubleshoot

=============================================
MP3 Playback
-----------
MP3 files encoded at bit rates higher than 320 kbs will not
play in The Sims 3. Also, if an MP3 in the Custom Music folder
is corrupt, the game may behave unpredictably when trying to
play it.
=============================================

Other people above me have the relevant questions well-covered. So this is just a quick thing you can discount if not relevant.

Do you have awesomemod installed, and does the freeze happen every night at around 1am game-time?

Well,

Ive been playing today for actually more than 1 hour so i tought it was going reall good but then when i speeded up the game my sim was done with work and then it freezed again. And i dont have the awesomemod, however i havent tried without mods wich i will do and see if it makes any difference. By the music i mean any game music i hear even in build mode so i cant be the stereo. Ive been checking my hardware heat for a couple days now and it all seems fine i can run any game out there flawless except this one. And ye if the game freezes the whole system seems to freeze cos i cant alt tab even otugh i run in windowed mode, i cant even pop up the commander screen to stop the game running. So ima gon do test it without all o the mods and see if it makes any difference, even tough i dont think it should be a problem. Maybe irrelevant but it never crsahed in cas mode only build mode and play mode.

What are your temps at generally, both during idling and during play? We recommend HWMonitor because any idiot can use it, but if you prefer a different monitoring program that's fine, as long as we can get the relevant info.

Hi i tried to play it wihtout any mods and yet it still froze up on me.

This is my cpu heat when my computer is idle.


After 25 minutes of intense playing in sim mode speed at maximum and 2 sims driving around town, shortly after it froze again


As i can see the sims 3 barely uses any system memory so i dont think its my memory freezing it or it must have a leakage, but then that would be strange since for example i run gta 4 maximum settings steadily 60fpsall the time for aslong as i want.



Also something might noticing is that when ever it freezes and i have to reboot the whole system. When i start the sims again all my savegames are gone i have to start all over with a fresh new neighberhood. Dont know if it makes any difference.





Hmmpf,

I actually tought i'd fixed the problem. I search upon the awesomemod and read somewhere in its description that it has anti freezing tweaks so i tought ye lets try that. So i played with the mod for mayb 3 hours and i tought well i fixed it, but then all of a sudden a random freeze again and i had to reboot the system again, however different was my familie was still saved it seemed so i tried to load it and play but it just keeps stuck loading in beginning of the loading bar forever. So well this is really frustrating me either their is something really good wrong with my comp or the sims just won't run by any means.

All that shows is your CPU temps which is why White linked you to HWMonitor. We need more info than the program you chose provides. HWMonitor is recommended because it's the only program I know of that provides all the necessary system info we need: thermal temps for all hardware that has any kind of temp monitoring program (CPU, GPU, HDD, ETC), PSU voltages and also actually keeps track of maximums and mins instead of just reporting atm temps. Please try again, this time with the program that you were linked to.

When My PC Is Idle





When Playing The Sims 3





Hope This Is Of More Use To U.

I would like to mention that I have a very similar problem where the sound and mouse hangs, then the screen turns black and i have to resetart.
I have the same processor, 4 gig RAM and a GeForce gtx 260. I have had this problem since I started playing TS3 with the unmodded game but back then I could play longer without it happening.
I have updated drivers and formatted the pc but nothing seems to help. After googling it a lot all I have found out is that many people have this problem with Geforce gtx 260, 275 and 280. There has also been reported problems like this with a few more cards that i can`t remember the names of.
I have not found anyone claiming to have been able to fix it without finding someone else who is claiming that that solution does not work for them.

Raggborg there are plenty of people with those cards that don't have problems the the game. The cards are also listed as being supported by EA. If you would like help please create your own thread and run the HWMonitor program the same way.

ijzzBloc, is this a mainstream prebuilt computer from a company like HP, Dell, Gateway, etc or is a custom build with retail parts? Your temps are all excellent. The only thing I notice is that your RAM voltages are really low, and possibly also your CPU voltages - but Intel has some technology that could be having that fluctuate for normal reasons. Your CPU has a stock rating of 2.66ghz but you said yours is running at 2.7ghz. Does this mean you have it overclocked? In any event, I don't know of any modern RAM that runs on voltages that low.. and your symptoms can be caused by RAM issues. That's the only thought I have based on that info. What other games do you play on the machine?

What happened after you followed this guide and played with no mods: http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?tit...%203%20Crashing

I think when they say "memory leakage" is not your system memory leakage. But rather it is TS3 memory leakage. Basically something went wrong inside while TS3 is running and memory buffer runs out of control from TS3 and the game hangs. It could have been like Raggborg's suggested issue: video card incompatibility. I don't know much about nVidia since I use ATI 4890 and it has not given me any problem.

Why don't you try to unload all mods (renaming your mod folder is the quickest way), delete all the cache files (you should do this every time), and try to play the game in window mode. You can set window mode in Option. Try these steps to see if the game run stable. Oh, for better result, start a brand new town and do as many crazy stuff with it as you want. You said you cannot tab out when it is frozen, then TS3 in window mode will solve that. So when the game does freeze, you can try to click to desktop to see if that works. If it does not work then your whole computer freeze, not just TS3.

By the screenshots I can tell your CPU temperature is very stable. So it is going to be either video card driver or something is wrong with TS3. Why don't you try what I suggested and come back here to tell us what you find.

Well the computer was self made with retail parts. Also im starting to think that i dont have a good enough power supply wich is currently providing 625watt and te videocard alone needs 550 watt. However i need to be sure before spending anymoreony. Also the cpu seems to run on 2.0ghz while its a 2.67ghz standard and no i haven't overclocked anything. And if already tried to play without any mods, it still freezes with the awesomemod i ka play the longest before it freezes.

Also i play more games on it:

Gta 4 with seetings that should be easy runable on my systems it stutters alot major fps drops.

Unreal Tournament sometimes stutters aswell but not always only when it.



But Brothers in arms hells higway seems to run just fine but i cant be really sure since i did not come acros a point yet very computer demanding.

And for a big shocker, World of Warcraft just doesnt run higher than 30 fps on the most non demanding moments with the lowest settings available.

Also Company of Heroes almost maxed out settings runs excellent except when it get really busy especially when it gets busy on screen.

With any of these games my old 9800gtx never had any problem.

Yeah, this isn't a Sims issue. It's a computer problem.. so I'm going to move it to the computer forum. Hang tight and we'll see if we can figure out what's up.

CPU speed will fluctuate according to actual need. It's an Intel feature to use less power. You can turn it off but as long as you're not overclocking then there's no real reason to. If it's self made then I can tell you that you haven't set the RAM up properly. My experience with building computers is that motherboards tend not to detect the RAM properly and I almost always have to set it up manually. Load BIOS and look for an option that says something along the lines of "load optimized defaults". Choose to do so and then restart. Then you need to go back into BIOS and manually set up the RAM you have to manufacturer's specs. You will have to manually set the RAM voltage and probably also the timings. If you can tell me -exactly- what RAM you have.. manufacturer and model, I can help you look up exactly what those will be.

Nvidia says 550w but that doesn't mean 550w will be used by the graphics card. Not in the slightest. That's a whole system estimate. I can tell you that if you have a GOOD 600W or greater power supply with at least 40A on the rail, then you should be more than fine. What is the manufacturer and model of the power supply you used? On that note, it may be helpful to me to know exactly what all the parts you used were. If setting up the RAM properly doesn't fix this then link to newegg parts or just list them off is ok.

Okay so i look upon the hardware mentioned.

Power Supply.

Enermax PRO 82+

AC input:
100-240 vac, 50-60Hz 7.5-3.5 A
Fuse Rating F10A/250V

DC output:
+3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V3 -12V3 +5VSB
24A 24A 25A 25A 0.6A 3A

|_ 140W _| |_ 480W _| 7.2W 15W



Ram

OCZ Reaper

pc2 8500 [email protected] 2GB

serial number: PN ocz2rpr1066+GK


Also note to mention that i found out the my mtherboard has 2-4pin slots but one of them was closed so it kinda showed that it only needed 1 4pin connecter however i cant be sure. My motherboard is a p5q pro.

Your power supply is a nice strong unit, and should have no problems powering your system provided that it is working properly.

Your RAM is definitely being undervolted. Once you go into BIOS and load optimized defaults, go back and set where it says "DRAM Voltage" to 2.1. Make sure the 'DRAM Frequency' is listed to 533mhz (which it should prob be by default) and that the timing are listed starting at "CAS# Latency" and the following three boxes as follows: 5, 5, 5, 15, in that order. The only thing you will probably need to adjust is the voltage, but it's common to need to do that for that RAM.

The P5Q Pro requires at least the 4 pin connector. The extra 4 pins (if you were to use I believe require an 8 pin connector that combines with the other four) is for extra power requirements and voltage stability. Some people are able to run fine on the 4 pins and others are not stable unless the 8 pin plug is used. Since you are having some problems I recommend going ahead and plugging in an 8 pin connector. It cannot hurt and it may provide you with some added stability here.

On that note, the GTX 275 requires an additional 2 6-pin plugs. Make sure those are securely connected.

Since you built this system I should probably assume you know about how to safety work inside a computer, but just to be safe just remember to turn off and totally unplug your computer before working inside. Make sure to discharge any static electricity and ground yourself before touching anything inside. Don't work on carpet, unless unavoidable. Move it to a wood, tile, laminate, or other type flooring. Before even opening the machine, make sure there is nothing around that could accidentally fall into the computer, especially liquids.

Last thing I would suggest from a software standpoint is playing around with some different drivers. You haven't mentioned what operating system you're using, so just choose those that apply to you:

Newest motherboard for XP, 32-bit Vista, 64-bit Vista and Windows 7

186 graphics drivers for XP
186 graphics drivers for 32-bit Vista/Windows 7
186 graphics drivers for 64-bit Vista/Windows 7
192 graphics drivers for XP
192 graphics drivers for 32-bit Vista/Win 7
192 graphics drivers for 64-bit Vista/Win 7

192 are the newest drivers but many people have had problems with them. Try them first. If they don't work, try the 186s.

I am using windows xp 32bit but i want to switch to windows 7 soon.

I will try these steps and hopefully i get an actual working system. Also the newest video drivers don't work they give me 600*800 and 8 bit colors and i cant change them wich is really really weird. However i will try these things now and will report after.

Also for the the motherbord pin connects i have actually a 8 pin plugged in it but also a 4pin wich is located next to the cpu and that is the one with the extra 4 pin so i still dont really know if i should ocnnect another one.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well,

I went into the bios and couldnt find any option to load optimized defaults but i found one load system defauts wich i choose.

Then i looked upon the Dram voltage wich was on auto so i set it to 2.1 like u mentioned.

But then with the ram frequency the lowest i could choose was 667mhz and you told me to set it to 533mhz, i tough to double it since i have 2 memory cards so it was 1066 but was a bit afraid of killing the machine. It was alread yon auto and on startup i could read memory: 1066 so i think it should be alright.

Then for the DRAM timing control i had absolutely no idea what to do and where. all 3 where on auto but when i set it to manula it looked like this.

1st 5-5-5-15-3-54-6-3
2st 7-3-5-4-5-4-6
3st 14-5-1-6-6

So i dont think any of this actually improved my system but i shall see.

I am not aware of the extra 4 pin next to the CPU slot. The P5Q Pro I am familiar with does not have that. I wonder if it's a newer revision.. I will do more research.

Very odd about the newest drivers.. Dunno what to make of that unless they simply didn't install correctly for some reason.

Anyway, let me know if setting the RAM voltage fixed anything.


ETA: This is a photo of a P5Q Pro as I know it. I have circled the 24 pin connector and the 8 pin connector with 4 of the pins being covered. The 8 pin plug is next to the CPU socket.. Is this what you mean? I have tried to research other Asus boards in the P5Q line and none have both an 8 pin and 4 pin plug. Please have a look and see if my picture matches your board. If so, remove the black cap and use an 8-pin plug to fill the whole area.

that is not my motherboard however it is the extra 4 pin i meant tough, my power supply doesnt have an extra 8 pin so i use both the 4 pins. But for the rest after setting the DRAM voltage to 2.1 sims 3 still froze also company of heroes froze for the first time aswell. Don't know if this has anything to do with the new dram voltage setting since i havent played it alot since my new videocard that actually stirred up all these problems. And for the new video drivers well ye i tried it 3 times but it just doesnt work some for reason. But i will remove the cap and connect another 4 pin.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also i found out i have a program on my syste mcalled Six Enigne, its used to save power on different pc parts. As i found out my cpu was running on high performance i set it to turbo using more power but gaining more performance. But when i tried to go for the vga it said no vga was deteced wich kinda made me frown. Anyways i didnt let me set the memory, power supply or the hdd either wich i think could also having a part in the machine's bad performance. Also might worth noticing when i first bought all these parts i had an 9800gtx instead of the gtx 275 wich was about 1 year ago. In comparison to other pc's in the same price range i always felt like it never really runned as good as it should do when i looked at games recommended specs even when i topped the specs i could never run it on high settings.

The RAM voltage needs to be at 2.1 (or 2.2) via manufacturer's specs so that's not causing any problems. That's all you changed, right? You said you left everything else on auto? If you change the “DRAM Timing Control” to “Manual”, under the “1st information” thing you should have seen the “CAS# Latency”:



On Asus boards they actually let you put in the full DDR2 frequency (unlike many other boards where you would have to put in half - 1066 divided by 2 is 533). But if you left it on Auto it should –prob- still be okay. Usually you only need to manually set up the voltage. In the Memory Tab of CPUz, the “timings” section should look something like this:




Yeah, that Six Engine software is provided by Asus. You must have installed it when you used the Asus CD to install other drivers. I've never chosen to use it myself, but I have read about some people having problems with it. You can try disabling the utility to see if it helps.

However, it's seeming more and more likely that you have a defective graphics card. You said you had better performance from the 9800gtx.. graphics drivers refuse to install.. all these lockups, low fps and fps drops can definitely be caused by this. Do you still have the 9800gtx? If so, I would recommend swapping them out. Go to add/remove programs first and get rid of all your Nvidia drivers. Then swap out the cards, start it up and try installing the 192 drivers. If they still don't work try the 186s. I still use 186s myself so it's not a big deal but I'm just wondering if the problem here isn't the card and not the drivers. I've seen lots of problems with using the 192 drivers but not like you've described. Remember, you have to restart your computer after installing drivers.

Another possibility is the power supply. Like I said, the power supply is a nice strong model and should have no problems running the GTX 275. However, if the power supply isn't running quite as well as it should then that would explain all your problems as well. The 9800GTX uses a lot less power than the GTX 275 so that could also explain why it would not have problems with one card but it would the other. I still suspect the card is much more likely to be the problem though.

*********

Soo..
1) Check the RAM is set up like above images.
2) Try disabling Six Engine. In fact you might want to disable all unnecessary startup processes: http://modthesims.info/showpost.php...45&postcount=21 I need to make that info into a proper wiki but in the meantime that’s the original post where I explained how to do it. That will make your computer run faster overall, if nothing else. Otherwise it will help us rule out software vs. hardware issue. Make sure you restart after.
3) Try swapping back out the graphics cards and seeing if things work properly again.
*******

Hmm i cant swap my old graphics crad its full of artefacts. And how can the graphic card be defective its brand new bought it less then 2 weeks ago. And ye i also think its the power supply i really need to know for sure before i buy a new one.

It's totally possible for a new card to be defective, as its possible for any new product to be defective. It's not super common but it's definitely not totally uncommon either. It happens.

No, I definitely do NOT know for sure its the power supply. Your rails look nice and solid, but there's really no other way to test it besides swapping it. It's just one possibility that explains your problems and I would not go spending money on it until we rule out other things.

Like I said in the last post.. Check that the RAM is set up like I screencaped, try disabling the Six Engine software and other startup processes to rule out a software issue, then the next thing I would look at is the graphics card. If it's less than two weeks old it should be easy to return and swap for a different card to see. That's plenty to do to start with. I wouldn't run out and buy a new power supply until we rule out other things.

So, just to clarify, is this whole computer a brand new build? Are you using any parts from your old computer that worked well with the 9800GTX? Because what I'm inferring from your posts is that you had this old computer that was weaker but ran things better, and that this is a new computer with all new parts that just hasn't ever quite worked right/as well. If this is the case, then there's one other thing that could help greatly, but I will wait for your response to see. Don't want to throw too much stuff at you at once.

No, this is exactly the same system when i had the 9800gtx the only thinged changed in the past year is the new gtx275.

Okay. Then the likelihood of the problem being the graphics card is even more likely.. since you did not have the same performance problems with the 9800gtx and that's the only thing that's changed since then. Will you be able to exchange the card?