Many users complain that Sims 3 keeps crashing while starting up or during the middle of the game. The same issue occurs while playing Build Mod, resulting in Sims 3 Black Screen and frequent Sims 3 desktop crashes. Many times, this happens after installing new extensions for the game.
Here I am going to list the solutions that most of the gamers have tried and started enjoying playing without any problem:
1. Guarantee the minimum requirements
2. Update your video card, sound card, and motherboard drivers
3. Disable your antivirus software
4. Fix registry problems
5. Run Sims 3 in windowed mode
6. Overheating of video cards
7. Update DirectX
8. Remove custom content
9. Clear Sims 3 Cache
10. Reinstall Sims 3
11. Restore the system to a previous state
Guarantee the minimum requirements
Make sure your computer meets the following minimum requirements for the Sims 3 game. If your Sims 3 keeps crashing, it may be because the system requirements to play the game are not met.
Windows Xp
Ø 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
1GB RAM
Video card Ø 128 MB with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
Ø The latest version of DirectX 9.0c
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
2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
1.5GB RAM
Video card Ø 128 MB with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
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 your video card, sound card, and motherboard drivers
It is very difficult to play Sims 3 game with outdated video card drivers. Older video card drivers are often not compatible with this game. Download and install the latest drivers for your video card, sound card, and motherboard.
To download the latest drivers for your video card, visit the respective manufacturer’s website.
Disable your antivirus software
Disable your antivirus software temporarily and try playing again. It was noted that the Sims 3 game often crashes with antivirus programs.
Fix registry problems
Sims 3 also stores essential information in the registry like other programs and games installed on your computer. Unauthorized modification of its related registry entries by user or program can lead to the game crashing issue.
You will have to use good third party registry cleaning software.
Run Sims 3 in windowed mode
Try running Sims 3 in windowed mode. To do so, click Options | Enable full screen.
Video card overheating
Make sure your video card is cooling down properly if it is an overheating issue.
Update DirectX
Sims 3 depends on DirectX. If the latest version of DirectX is not installed, please install or update it from the official Microsoft website.
Delete custom content
If you just installed custom content, try removing it. To do so, open C:Program FilesEA Games and delete the contents of the “Downloads” or “Mods” folder.
clear cache sims 3
Corrupt files in the Sims 3 cache can crash the game due to incorrect data retrieval. Click Start | Papers | EA Games | The Sims 2 and delete the files called “Groups.cache” and “Cigen.package”.
Restore the system to a previous state
Using System Restore, you restore your system to a previous state when Sims 3 was running fine. To do so, click Start | All programs | Accessories | System Tools | System restore. Follow the wizard on your own.