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

Here I am going to list the solutions that most of the players have tried and started enjoying the game without any problem:

1. Ensure the minimum requirements
2.Update the drivers for your video card, sound card, and motherboard
3. Disable your antivirus software
4. Troubleshoot the registry
5. Launch Sims 3 in windowed mode.
6. Video card overheating
7. Update DirectX
8. Delete custom content
9. Clear the Sims 3 cache
10. Reinstall Sims 3
11. Restore the system to a previous state

Ensure 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
Ø 1 GB of RAM
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 of RAM
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 your video card, sound card, and motherboard drivers

It is very difficult to play Sims 3 game with outdated video card drivers. Often times older video card drivers are 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

Temporarily disable your antivirus software and try playing again. It was observed that the Sims 3 game often crashes with antivirus software.

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 the user or the program may lead to a game crash 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 this, click Options | Enable full screen.

Video card overheating

Make sure your video card is adequately cooled if it is an overheating problem.

Update DirectX

Sims 3 depends on DirectX. If the latest version of DirectX is not installed, please install / update it from Microsoft’s official website.

Delete custom content

If you just installed custom content, try removing it. To do this, open C: Program Files EA Games and delete the contents of the “Downloads” or “Mods” folder.

Clear Cache Sims 3

Corrupted files in the Sims 3 cache can crash the game due to incorrect information retrieval. Click Start | Documents | 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, restore the system to a previous state when Sims 3 was working fine. To do this, click Start | All programs | Accessories System Tools | System restore. Follow the wizard on your own.