Sims 3 Keeps Crashing – Learn How to Fix This Problem

A lot of users complain that Sims 3 keeps crashing while launching or during the middle of the game. The same problem occurs while playing in Build Mod resulting in Sims 3 Black Screen and frequent Sims 3 crashes to desktop. Many a times, this happens after they install new extensions for the game.

Here I am going to list-out the solutions that most gamers have tried and started enjoying playing the game without any problems:

1. Ensure Minimum Requirements
2. Update Video Card, Sound Card and Motherboard Drivers
3. Disable your Antivirus Software
4. Fix the Registry Issues
5. Run Sims 3 in Window Mode
6. Overheating Video Cards
7. Update DirectX
8. Remove Custom Contents
9. Clear Sims 3 Cache
10. Reinstall Sims 3
11. Restore the System to an Earlier State

Ensure Minimum Requirements

Make sure your computer satisfy the following minimum requirements for the Sims 3 game. If your Sims 3 keeps crashing then it may be due to the unmet system requirements to play the game.

Windows XP

Ø 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
Ø 1 GB RAM
Ø 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
Ø The latest version of DirectX 9.0c
Ø Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
Ø At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

Windows Vista / 7

Ø 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
Ø 1.5 GB RAM
Ø 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
Ø Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1
Ø At least 6.1 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB of additional space for custom content and saved games

Update Video Card, Sound Card and Motherboard Drivers

It is very hard to play Sims 3 game with outdated video card drivers. Often old video card drivers do not support this game. Download and install latest drivers for your video card, sound card and motherboard.

To download latest drivers for your video card, visit respective manufacturer’s website.

Disable your Antivirus Software

Disable the antivirus software temporarily and try playing the game again. It was observed that the game Sims 3 often crashes with antivirus softwares.

Fix the Registry Issues

Sims 3 too stores essential information in the registry like other programs and games installed on your computer. Unauthorized modification of its related registry entries by the user or program may lead the game crashing problem.

You will have to use a good third-party registry cleaning software.

Run Sims 3 in Window Mode

Try running Sims 3 in Window Mode. To do so, click Options | Enable FullScreen.

Overheating Video Cards

Make sure your video card is properly cooled if it’s an overheating issue.

Update DirectX

Sims 3 is dependent on DirectX. If the latest version of DirectX is not installed, then install/update it from official web site of Microsoft.

Remove Custom Contents

If you had newly installed custom contents, then try removing them. To do so, open C:\Program Files\EA Games and delete the contents of the “Downloads” or “Mods” folder.

Clear Sims 3 Cache

Corrupted files in Sims 3 cache may crash the game due to retrieval of incorrect information. Click Start | Documents | EA Games | The Sims 2, and delete the files named “Groups.cache” and “Cigen.package”.

Restore the System to an Earlier State

Using System Restore, restore the system to an earlier state when Sims 3 was working fine. To do so, click Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System Restore. Follow the wizard your own.