#infinite loading

Before trying anything, we recommend for the players to give the next steps a go:

Clearing their cache

Following Steam guide, or our guide, to optimise their game.

Should the tips from these guides not work, we suggest the following solutions.

Infinite loading can be caused by: bloated (big) or corrupted files, too many mods, mods getting corrupted (broken or outdated) or incompatible with one another, duplicated or broken CC, too much of CC, Sims2 files in package form within your Packages folder, in-game options referenced in guides haven't fully been adjusted, long save files with large households and builds, gaming device issues. When the loading persists and doesn't move from the same point for a prolonged time, we suggest attempting to bring up Task Manager to "kill" the TS3 program. We do not recommend hard shutdown (holding power button), as it can cause device damage, unless the game is impossible to shut down through Task Manager.

Solutions:

Removing save files ending in .bad, and reverting to a previous save,

Removing missingdeps.idx from DCCache folder,

Steps of getting ErrorTrap, Overwatch, MasterController from the guides above - reset the town with MC on City Hall, use MC or Overwatch to delete all Sims' inventories in town, run daily town clean-up with ET and OW. Get Traveler if you have World Adventures, University Life and/or Into The Future,

Running a Save Cleaner on your problematic Save file,

Redownloading new copies of your mods, and making sure they're the latest updated versions which match your game version,

Researching to check if mods used are incompatible (if they edit the same thing), and removing the mods which clash,

Using Delphy's Dashboard for previous bulletin, along for checking CC in .package forms and making sure they're not Sims2 content,

Using Delphy's CUSTARD to check your CC in Sims3Pack,

Removing unnecessary (unwanted or duplicated) Mods, Custom and/or Store content,

in-game options of Memories and InteractiveLoadingScreens disabled + removing Memories from Scrapbook,

Using NRAAS Porter to pack up and move your household to another town with their relationships intact,

Using NRAAS Saver to Save thoroughly, under new name each title, instead of always saving over the same file,

Removing extra saves from your Saves folder (Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3 > Saves) to another trusted device (we suggest an external disk), and keeping under a handful of wanted ones - the folder shouldn't have 4GB & more of files.

No space on Disk - the game requires at least 35GB extra free space to be able to run smoothly. Free up some space or reinstall the game on another disk/drive with more space (back up your The Sims 3 folder before this).

Gaming device ran out of memory or is incapable of running that specific save.

If all else fails, removing your current The Sims 3 folder outside of Documents to somewhere safe, and generating a new one. See if the issue persists with other towns and other families.

Infinite Saving is often caused by the same or similar reasons as Loading above, but there are few other things which can cause the saving loop. Besides using tips from above, we also recommend:

Turning off cheats - sometimes using cheats like moveobjects and buydebug can cause saving issues. Simply bringing up the cheat console and turning them with typing moveobjects off or buydebug off can help.

Also remember to turn off all cheats before saving, testingcheatsenabled false included.

For Store Content users, Store Content needs fixes to work properly. For those who've used Games4TheWorld's KT Store Fixes or those who never tried Store Fixes, we strongly advise to download and install Phantom99's Store Fixes.

Gameplays should be shorter (no longer than a couple of hours) for different reasons. Create a few save files. Fully exit the game. Clear the cache and remove unnecessary saves (or all except the last one). This allows your device to cool off and possibly regain the memory it lent to the game. You can get back into your gaming again.

Useful websites, forums and posts on the topic:

[FAQ] Troubleshooting Steps - Answer HQ (ea.com)

Steam Community :: Guide :: Toubleshooting for The Sims 3

SimsPlayer's detailed post on Fixing Problems with Custom Content and Mods on Reddit

Bad CC – Crinrict's Sims 3 Help Blog

Incompatible Mods – Crinrict's Sims 3 Help Blog

Long Loading Times – Crinrict's Sims 3 Help Blog

Sims 3 won't save :( : r/Sims3 (reddit.com)

Fix for Infinite Save loop? : r/Sims3 (reddit.com)

Game is on the infinity saving screen? : r/Sims3 (reddit.com)

Mod The Sims - Infinite saving loop + Continuous loading loop - any solutions?