Hi so my hdd died and just before exams at uni so it was very annoying and I was very ticked off at my computer. So Now exams are finished and I'm starting to reinstall Sims again. I had all my data backed up so it wasn't an issue. I reinstalled everything and copied my data back across and started playing. Then my computer started lagging like crazy which it shouldn't and seems to do with everything and that's a whole other issue not really relevant here, anyway then as that settles down windows pops up and says the sims 3 has stopped working and it crashes to the desktop. Now the launcher says the process could not be started when I press play on it.
a) My computer specs are:

• Windows 7 SP1
• 500 GB HDD Storage Space
• Intel HD Graphics Family Built-in Graphics Card/Chipset (Not sure which word's correct)
• nvidia gt 555 m Graphics Card
• 8 GB of RAM
• Intel quad core i7 processors with turbo boost at 2 Ghz

b)Installed Games are:

• Sims 3 Base Game
• World Adventures
• Ambitions
• Late Night
• Generations
• Pets
• Showtime
• Outdoor Living Stuff
• Town Life stuff
• base game is at 1.31 patch level

c)I've read the FAQ and done most of it, specifically:
points -
*1.1
*1.2.1
*1.2.2
*1.2.3
*1.2.3.1
*1.2.3.2
*1.2.3.3
*1.2.3.4
Basically everything down to Delete Cache files.

d)I'm just loading the game directly at the moment and avoiding the launcher altogether to fix the launcher problem.

I've found the error logs so I've attached them. My problem is that I don't really understand them or know how to read them, otherwise I'd have fixed my game myself.
Let me know if there's anything else you need my to say or upload.
Sorry the post is so long and thanks for having a look!

Thanks,
Naomi

The cache files really can cause trouble if they got corrupt. And they do regenerate when you play the game. Don't delete the DCCache, just move it. But it is safe to delete any of the caches that Delphy's Dashboard will offer to delete for you. (I usually just use the dashboard to clear caches anyway. I'm lazy. ) If you haven't cleared the caches, I would suggest doing that. (Or get the Dashboard and clear it with that. The Dashboard is handy anyway. If you have a corrupt package it will tell you, although it does get false positives sometimes.)

Make sure you're using the nvidia card, not the intel one when playing the sims 3. Could you also post your full specs? In the logs, it looks like you have a 32 bit operating system, which would cap your ram at ~3.5gb. That is below the required amount for pets and beyond.

Ok. So I'll try to clear the caches. I've also attached two files, one's from the directx diagnostic tool and the other is from a free program called belarc advisor. Both of these files should give you any specs you need about my computer.

Thanks.

Okay, it is 64-bit. That's good (and not that surprising that the logs showed otherwise, the sims 3 is a 32-bit application, after all).

Your nvidia card isn't showing in your dx diag report, so your computer is probably set to use the intel one, which is not good.

Switch to the nvidia one. You might need to download drivers for it since you reinstalled your laptop.


Edit: Have you tried with clean user files (renaming your Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 folder to Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 Backup)?

Yes the computer is suppose to use the inbuilt one and switch to the nvidia one when more processing is needed. I have the driver's for it installed. Yes I did a uninstall/re-install at one point and I had fresh user files generated. Then I copied over my custom music, downloads folder, mods, DCBackup, DCCache, Installed Worlds & Saves folders.
It's a Dell XPS 17 if that's any help and if I need to change which card it's using, I'm not sure how to do that.

Thanks.

Did you try playing the game before copying over your files? Did it work then?

I don't know how switch the graphics, I'd take a look at the nvidia settings in control panel or google for '<computer model> switch graphics', so 'Dell XPS switch graphics'.

Ok. I had several problems before with mods and so I first checked the game started then I moved one folder at a time across and check that the game still worked but I didn't play it for long. As soon as it got to the pick a save game screen I just went exit. I'll take a look and see what I can find on swapping the graphics cards that are active.

Thanks.

Edit: I found in the Nvidia control Panel that you can turn Optimus on or off which is their new technology I mentioned and there you can also choose to force the nvidia card to override the built-in card when the sims is running. So I set it to always use the nvidia card when the sims 3 runs.

Edit: I just took out the mods, downloads, dcbackup and dccache out and started a new game so it does not chuck a spit about cc being missing. I've been playing around in this new game for about 6 hrs so far a no problem. Although typically I'm several hours in before it crashes. I'll keep playing and let everyone know where I stand in another 6 hours or so since by then I should have well and truly given it time to crash.

Edit: It seems to no longer crash without those four folders, so I'm going to try adding them back one at a time.
Also several restarts later the launcher problem is fixed. I guess it was having an issue with something, maybe conflicting or a process it needed started had crashed. Anyway I'm going to try the folders and I'll report back which one is giving me the error.

Edit: I've tested the Downloads and Mods folder which means it's one of my CC in DCcache or DCBackup. I'm just not sure how to work out which one.

Last edited by firedingo : 25th Jul 2012 at 10:03 PM. Reason: Just adding another update