How to make your game run smoother, solve crashing issues and prevent crashing AND How to Merge Package Files!! (Added more tips)
I have decided to make a big long list of helpful tips and programs I use to help make your game run smoother, prevent crashing and solve crashing issues you may be having!
I’ve played the Sims for a very long time and since playing the Sims 3 on many different computers and running into (probably) every single error you can have with this game I have found many fixes and have now got my game to a point where it runs smoothly and I rarely (touch wood) have crashes.
Please take note that I have only ever played on Windows Vista and Windows 7 - If you’re a Mac user I cannot guarantee these will work the same.
Prepare to be overloaded with information…
First off, Programs and tools you can download.
Razer Game Booster (Download here.)
This tool can help give your game a “boost” (pretty self explanatory) It works by disabling unnecessary background applications to help your game run faster and smoother. There are instructions on how to use this on the website but if you ever need any help with this please don’t hesitate to ask me.
Delphy’s Dashboard Tool (Download here.)
This is an amazing tool created by Delphy over at ModTheSims.
The purpose of this tool is to check all of your installed package files in your mods folder for any conflicts (orange), Sims 2 packages (blue) *can cause crashing* , corrupted packages (red) *these can sometimes be the ones that cause the “blue lots” problem and “monster sims” and duplicate packages (yellow).
You can quickly remove or disable any problem packages which may be causing slow loading times or crashing etc.
You can also use this tool to clear caches, which helps make your game run faster. Deleting caches and which ones are safe to delete will be explained more in this post a little later.
Clean Installer AKA Custard Checker (Download here.)
Another amazing tool by the legendary Delphy over at ModTheSims.
This tool was created to anazlyze single sims3packs that have not yet been installed.
Say for example, you downloaded a sim from the exchange (not recommended but some still do it) but you wasn’t sure what custom content came with it, you could use this tool to check what was packaged with the sim and remove what you don’t want or need from the sims3pack.
This can be handy for a number of reasons:
A long while ago there was an issue with a certain corrupt “killer doll” that was destroying peoples games after they had downloaded certain things from the exchange - you can read about here - it basically attached itself to sims and lots and was extremely difficult to remove without knowing what you was looking for.
Well this tool can sometimes help remove things such as this before they have the chance to destroy your game!
Sometimes creators can get a tad ‘lazy’ and categorize their custom clothing/hair for the wrong categories ages and genders! Have you ever seen a sim looking like this in your game and thought WTF!??!
This was caused by a piece of clothing made for an adult female but has been placed onto a child sim. Custard can tell you the category of the item you have downloaded so you can check if it’s correct with the description of the item (it does NOT work for pregnancy clothing that lacks the correct mesh though). Don’t worry though, they can be recategorised using another tool (will explain this later on in the post)
Can again, Identify corrupt custom content (also flagged up as red) which can be an issue with “blue lots”, crashing and other strange goings on in game.
Be warned, Sometimes both Custard and Delpy’s Dashboard can show that an item is corrupt even when it is not. This is usually shown as *Not a DBPF* and can be ignored MOST of the time as a lot of this is down to thumbnails of the item but you should always check the detailed description - you can find out more about this here.
The Sims 3 Patch Downloader (Download here.)
Did you know, Sometimes our games crash to desktop because our expansions and stuff packs are not up to date? You may think you are fully updated to the latest patch but that does not mean that your expansions and stuff packs are!
I used to always have crashing to desktop before I even used CC and could never figure out what the problem was until I used Crash Log Analyzer (will explain this little beauty in the next part) and discovered that my expansions were not up to date! So I tried to do a google search to understand what this meant and it pointed me towards this tool.
You see? All of the expansions need to be patched too, you can use this program to download and apply all the updates (takes minutes) and a lot of the time this will fix crashing to desktop (especially if you don’t use cc) It’s really easy to use and is a godsend!
Crash Log Analyser (Download here.)
This tool is another godsend! I could not fix my game if it wasn’t for this little beaut!!!
It basically does what it says on the tin, It analyses crash logs stored in your sims 3 folder. Everytime your game crashes to desktop it creates 2 files (one is a mdmp file and the other is a text file). CLA can tell you the best possible cause of your crash and even links you to where you can get help to fix them!
Large Address Aware - 4GB Patch (Download here.)
I know you must be looking at that and thinking “okay what the hell does that mean and what does it do?!”
Well, The Sims 3 is a 32bit application and by default Large Address Aware is off. This means that the game will not use more then 2GB of memory (RAM).
This can cause crashes as the game is simply not using enough RAM for the game to run smoothly and efficiently.
Getting a program to switch LAA on tells the operating system that the application can handle MORE then 2gb of memory (RAM) and that’s what this tool does.
To use - Download the patch and double click on the “4gb patch" executable. A window will pop up, this is where you need to find the game files and patch them.
I can’t tell you exactly where your files are but for example mine are here:
Program Files(x86) > Origin Games >
(If you have hard copies it will most probably be Electronic Arts instead)
I then patch these files:
I do these for ALL executables in my expansions and stuff pack folders too just to be on the safe side. You will get this pop up to confirm it has been completed.
So if you have 4GB of RAM or more, then download and use this patch, If you have less than 4GB DO NOT use this patch. With the game being a 32bit application, it can only handle 4GB of RAM MAXIMUM!
Process Monitor (Download here.)
Okay, So this is a complicated one to explain but I will try my best so bare with me. If you don’t get what I mean, Don’t bother with this lol.
Right, This tool basically helps identify a problem package file.
It monitors your system for files that are being read too many times. You need to create your own filter for this to single out just the sims 3 files (it can be a long and confusing process but if you’re quite tech savvy you should be able to use this no problem.
To save you the headache of me trying to explain it and probably fail, I will link you to FuzzyLogicDiswasher’s blog with the explanation on how to use this here. Don’t be alarmed that it says for fast lane stuff, it’s pretty much the same for every expansion and stuff pack.
Sims 3 Package Editor (Download here.)
Now a lot of you will probably have already heard of this or use this but for those of you who don’t and use a lot of custom content in package format - this is for you!
Having a massive amount of package files can cause what is known as “package lag” - this can be either your game hanging on a black screen for a long time before loading to the maxis logo or it can just cause a great deal of lag when trying to play your game in general or even both!
Anyways, This tool is used for many things but one of the main uses is to MERGE package files together to reduce loading times and “package lag” I will now tell you how to merge package files using S3PE.
Open S3PE And go to file > New
Now go to Resources > Import > From Package and go to where you store your package files.
Now it’s best to try and categorize your custom content BEFORE you merge them to make this a hell of a lot easier (for example: Clothes, Hairs, Genetics, Objects etc.) It is not recommended to merge poses, sliders, default replacements or other core mods (such as the nraas mods) But if your mods are organised it will make it easier to take things out and find problem cc as you will know which category it is from
Click the top package in the folder and scroll down to the last package and shift click on it then click open. (if you have a LOT of packages in that category try to have individual merges of around 700mb each MAXIMUM!
A window will pop up, have “replace duplicates” highlighted and click import.
Another window will pop up saying “Autosave after every import” click no. Now let it do it’s thing.
It may take a few minutes to import them all so be patient and don’t be alarmed if the program says “not responding” just don’t touch anything and wait.
You will know when they are all imported because you will be able to see a lot of number and letters and file names in the package editor list. It will look similar to this:
Now they have imported, go to file > Save As then save it somewhere (I usually save to my desktop first) So if you merged clothing save it as “ClothingMerge1” or something that is easier for you to understand WHAT is in the package merge.
Check that the file is saving as “DBPF Package” then click save.
Saving can take a long time so you really do have to be patient, go make yourself a cuppa or something to eat and just leave it alone. Don’t touch it. It will also say “not responding” but ignore this even if you think it’s taking a bit too long - just leave it for a while longer (I’ve had one take nearly 30 minutes before)
Now all the packages you have merged together are still un-merged in your mods folder (or wherever you had them saved) DO NOT DELETE THESE but save them in individual folders somewhere you can find them easy as you will never know when you need to remove something from that merged folder and if you have a backup of the package files, it will save you a ton of time!
Now place the merged files into your mods folder > packages and voila! Less files to load = less time for your game to load!
Package Viewer by Kuree (Download here.)
This tool also does what it says on the tin! It looks inside package files.
I find this most helpful viewing merged package files to see what’s inside if I am trying to look for an individual piece of cc but don’t know the name of it. It can show you thumbnails of that piece of cc as show here:
(Image Taken from Kuree at Den Simlogical)
Find out more about this in detail here.
Save Cleaner by Kuree (Download here.)
Another self explanatory tool - this cleans your save game files (always, always ALWAYS backup your save game before using this)
It can help stop the annoying “Error 12 Code” when trying to save your game. So regularly clean your save game file but like I said - BACK THAT SAVE UP FIRST!
(Image taken from Kuree at Den Simlogical)
Now time for hints and tips on how to get that game running smoothly!
Clearing cache files.
So you’ve probably heard loads of people say “have you cleaned your cache files” and you’re like “errrmmmmm what are they?!?!”
Cache files are basically backup’s of information that the game has created. For example if you have installed a ton off sims3packs you will find cache files in the DCBackup folder.
Cache files are one of the causes of slow/choppy gameplay and any issues with lag.
To clean custom content cache go to:
Now you can safely delete ALL files in this folder. If you have a file called ccmerged (search for this before deleting any cache files) DO NOT DELETE THIS FILE! just delete everything else BUT ccmerged.
Now then, You can now move on to deleting other cache files. Go back to your Sims 3 folder and you will see a whole bunch of folder (DCBackup being one of them) and you will see some odd files that probably make no sense.
You should see the files:
You can safely delete these too! See how easy was that?You've just deleted your cache files!!! I tend to delete these 2 files after every game play session as they are recreated every time you start your game up.
Note: As I said earlier - Delphy’s Dashboard can also do this for you.
The Sims Data Execution Prevention (Otherwise known as DEP)
Sometimes, crashing to desktop can be caused by the games DEP settings. They can easily be altered to prevent this crash from happening! Here’s how to change your DEP setting.
Right-Click Computer and go to properties.
Click on Advanced System Settings on the right side of the window that just came up.
Under the Advanced tab in the section called Performance click on the Settings button.
Click on the tab at the top called Data Execution Prevention.
Click the second radio option “Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select”
The box below that is called your “Exception List”. To add your Sims 3 game or expansion to that list, please follow the next set of steps.
Adding Sims 3 To Your DEP Exception List:
Click the Add Button on the DEP screen.
Navigate to the folder where you installed your The Sims 3 game. The default installation path should be:
If you installed your game from disc:
On 32-bit versions of Windows: C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\
On 64-bit versions of Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\
If you installed your game with Origin:
On 32-bit versions of Windows: C:\Program Files\Origin Games\The Sims 3\
On 64-bit versions of Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\
Open the The Sims 3 folder and then Game and Bin.
There are three files from this list that should be added to your DEP. Please note, you can only add one file at a time. First add the application called TS3W.
Click the Add button again. This should open the folder you just left off. Open TS3 to add it to your list.
Click Add again. The third and final file you need to add from Sims 3 will be calledSims3Launcher.
Once you have all three files added to your list you can move on to the expansions below. If you do not have any expansions just hit the OK button for it to accept your changes.
Please note: You’ll have to restart the computer for this to take effect.
Adding Sims 3 Expansions to Your DEP Exceptions:
Click the Add Button on the DEP screen.
Please open the Electronic Arts or Origin Games folder depending on whether you installed the expansion from disc or from a download.
Go to the next expansions folder in the List under The Sims 3.
Open the Game folder and then Bin.
Depending on which expansion you are in you will need to add the application file for it. This file will say something along the lines of TS3EP01 or TS3SP01 (the numbers at the end may vary). Open those to add them to our list.
Repeat steps 1-5 for each expansion you’ve installed on your PC.
(these DEP instructions were taken from EA’s help section)
If all else fails and your game STILL won’t work try these:
Backup your mods folder (if you have one) and your save folder and delete the WHOLE sims 3 folder from:
The Sims 3 (Delete this whole folder - DON’T BE SCARED)
Now load up your game and it will create a brand new folder, let it load to the main menu, open a town and then when it's loaded exit out and place your mods folder in first. If the game works, then add your saved game folder in.
If THAT fails then you will need to reinstall…BUT WAIT! You can save so much time…
Instead of reinstalling EVERY SINGLE EXPANSION etc. Backup your mods folder and saves and uninstall the base game ONLY. Then reinstall it and load the game up. Then, put your mods back in and then your saved game. SORTED!!!! :D
I hope you find this MASSIVE guide helpful - I will add to this from time to time when and if new programs and utilities are released or I discover more tips :) ♥
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