Hello Caroline,

I spent some time researching your problem. I read about several possible solutions to similar Sims 3 problems. I will narrow it down to 2 for your specific problem.

Please do the following first. Even if your Sims 3 is working 100% with no problems I still recommend doing this to make sure Sims 3 will properly update with any new fixes, patches, etc.
1. Restart your computer

2. Update your version of Windows using Windows Update. Update as many items as possible

3. Note: During the Windows Update it may ask you to restart your computer. Do so. After the restart open up Windows Update and finish installing the other updates. Repeat the process until there are no more updates to be downloaded and installed

4. Restart your PC

5. Attempt to launch Sims 3 using the play button again

ONLY IF THE ABOVE FAILS go on to the next fix...
1. Open up, "Computer" or "My Computer" (depending on what Windows you have)

2. Go into your "C" drive and go into the "C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\" folder

3. Find the "TS3.exe" file and Double-Click it to run Sims 3

Please post what happens and what worked or didn't work :-)

I am glad everything worked out and you are enjoying the new Sims 3 visual experience. :-)

As for your power supply I am sure you can get a good 450W for a decent price since there are now 1,200W power supplies out. If you go to the store and the lowest they have is 550W don’t worry, get that one.

I recommend that you schedule a few hours on a specific day to upgrade your power supply. Then open up your case and unscrew your power supply from the case and unplug all the connections. Try to label or remember what gets connected to where. I sometimes take a picture with my digital camera in case I forget.

Take your power supply into Best Buy (or if you live near a Fry’s Electronics take it there) and tell them you want a compatible power supply to yours with a higher wattage capacity.

Upgrading your power supply is really easy to do. IMO easier than upgrading a video card (no need to worry about drivers or conflicts with anything on the system). It is just a lot longer process which can be tedious at times, like waiting in line at the DMV.

Hi Janessa,

I checked the specs on the PNY nvidia VERTO GeForce GT 240. It's actually a pretty decent Sims 3 gaming card, has all the requirements and should blow away the GeForce 6150 SE in performance.

When you do not have enough juice for a video card the computer usually does not start up (from experience, lol). Still, if a video card says it needs a certain wattage requirement I highly recommend at the very least meeting that requirement. When you start playing games and raising the graphics settings it will draw more juice and you will get either freezing or sudden computer shutdown problems.

The video card drivers that came with your video card may be several months old. To fix the current problem I recommend that you update your video card drivers using the download from nVidia below.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_64bit_196.21_whql.html

Hi Becky,

Sorry, I don't know of any work around for the annoying patch reminder. I do know that the Sims 3 auto update randomly gives people trouble or errors. If you are worried about that you can try download the updates from a direct link instead. Linked below is a thread with the direct links to all the updates.

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/170928.page

Hi Lori,

I will link you to 3 tutorials I created. They will help optimize and speed up your computer to the same speed it was 3-4 months ago. These are all free mods/optimizations. For step #3 you might have to leave your computer alone to run the program for a few hours. I do this step on my computer just before I leave my house or leave it running overnight.

Step 1 - http://www.cleartechinfo.com/Learn-How-To-CCleaner-Clean-Optimize-Free-U...
Step 2 - http://www.cleartechinfo.com/How-To-Prevent-Programs-Starting-Windows-St...
Step 3 - http://www.cleartechinfo.com/How-To-Defragment-Computer-Hard-Drive-using...

The steps above will optimize your overall computer speed, not just Sims 3 gameplay. Step #4 below will just apply to Sims 3 gameplay performance. Step #5 applies to Sims 3 performance but can apply to an increase in performance when using other software installed on your computer.

Step 4 - Readjust your Sims 3 resolution and graphics settings. The higher you set your resolution the slower the game will play. The higher you set the visual settings the slower Sims 3 will play. You might have set the resolution and visual settings higher than they were 3-4 months ago. Lower them.

Step 5 - If you purchased a new Anti-Virus or Firewall software within the past 4 months I need you to Exit or Temporarily Disable the software just before you start up Sims 3. The new Anti-Virus or Firewall software may running at the same time may slow down Sims 3 gameplay

After you perform all 5 steps please do us a favor and post back here with feedback of how everything went. If for some weird reason you went through all 5 steps and Sims 3 is still running slow it may possibly be viruses, malware or spyware on your computer. When your computer gets infected by them it slows down most things on your computer. I have another set of tutorials to fix this ;-)

Hello Bocco,

I am sorry to say that your CPU and video card do not meet the minimum requirements. People with similar specs as your PC were not even able to install the game.

What I recommend is that you upgrade your CPU and video card. If you take your PC to a computer shop it will cost you $200-$350 (parts + labor). Your video card is very simple to upgrade, you can do it yourself. It will cost you about $85 for that.

For the total cost of roughly $285-$435 to upgrade your PC I do not think it is worth it. I recommend that you save the money and buy a new computer.

Hi Alycia :-)

What exact problem are you having? Can you list yours in details please?

Joey

HP Pavilion, GeForce 6150SE nForce 430, 4gb RAM running Sims 3

Hello,
4 GB of RAM is fine, no need to install more for the Sims 3. The GeForce 6150SE graphics card is one of the slower Sims 3 performers but should not be giving you trouble while playing the game. The 6150SE card demands a higher powered CPU and more RAM while running the Sims 3. The 4 GB easily covers the extra demand but I am not sure if your CPU also covers the raised requirements (minimum of Intel 2.6 GHz Pentium “D”).

Can I have the CPU specs of your computer please? Here is a new program I found that will easily tell you your CPU specs. http://www.piriform.com/media/10110/spsetup100.zip

Could I also have the HP Pavilion model number please? It should be labeled or etched somewhere on the case.

Hi Dae,

I am assuming that you have a Mac computer and want to play the Sims 2 Double Deluxe which is a PC version? What exact Mac OS is your computer running?

That is the first I've heard of a program launching when attempting to uninstall it. Then again with a new Windows operating system weird things happen before the release of SP1.

I just noticed a Windows 7 Microsoft update was just released less then 12 hours from now. Its description says it fixes "stability" issues. I recommend that you update your Windows 7 via Microsoft update then uninstall The Sims 3 using the free version of Revo Uninstaller. It does a LOT better job than any Windows uninstaller.

Revo's download site
http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html

Be sure to use Revo's "Advanced" uninstall method.

After the uninstall restart your computer and reinstall Sims 3 again. Hopefully the Windows 7 stability update takes care of your problem.

Aw okay, I assumed you had XP or Vista, sorry. Your system specs are easily exceed the Sims 3 minimums and should play it at most settings. You already thoroughly uninstalled and reinstalled The Sims 3, so there is one other fix I can think of…
Visit your video card manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your specific model.

I believe your problem might be the version of DirectX you have installed on your PC. All current nVidia cards are not compatible with DirectX 11, even the top of the line $500 cards.

My suggestion is that you uninstall DirectX 11 and Sims 3. Then install Sims 3 and DirectX 10.

I can't think of one game out right now that uses the newer DirectX 11. So there is no need to install it even if your card supported it.

Hi Jessica,

I need the make and model number of your computer please. An example would be Dell 5700.

Also I need to know if it is a Laptop or Desktop.

Brilliant, thanks for your help!

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new laptop, and I want to be able to play Sims 3 well on it (my current laptop does run it, but verrrry poorly). I've narrowed my selection down to three, and I'd like a second opinion. Mobility is also an issue; I'd rather a 13.3" screen and the lighter the better.

In price order, highest to lowest:

1) Samsung R522-JSOPL.
Intel Pentium Dual Core
2.1GHz
3GB RAM
320GB Hard Drive
ATI Radeon 4330 512MB
Windows 7 Home Prem 32 bit

2) HP Pavilion dv6-2100 - or HP Pavilion dv6-1400. I'm not exactly sure of the difference between these two (apart from price!). This is the link I'm looking at: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF04a/321957-321957-3329744-6435...
Having just seen it in real life, it seems quite heavy and bulky. Is there a 13.3" version?

3) Acer Aspire 5732ZG-433G3Mn
Intel Dual Core T4300
2.1 GHz
3GB RAM
320GB Hard drive
Radeon HD 4570 512MB
Windows 7 home prem 64bit

The Acer is my favourite looking and feeling one, but it doesn't have bluetooth, which is a pain. It's the cheapest though, so I could always get a usb bluetooth thing.

I would really appreciate some help - I really want to make sure I'm spending my hard-earned cash wisely! Thanks a lot in advance.