It appears that once a new patch is released, many users have issues. That’s understandable. However, for the most part these issues are game-breaking, giving players an Error 16 Code in which they are not able to save their games. Luckily for me, I do not have this issue (I played awhile this morning and was able to save with no hiccups). But explain that to the dozens of fans on this site and over at the official forums.
Until we can get an official word from EA, I’m not exactly sure what you should do. A crafty Sims 3 player came up with the following work-around in this thread for those who installed the patch:
First off I want to remind everyone to backup before you boot up any new patch/ep
Secondly if you do get error code 16 and dont have a backup, dont panic.
Go to your sims 3 save file which for windows users is in the documents file.
Delete the two files that are actual files (one will be a .bad file). then rename your .sims3.legacy file to .sims3 and you are good to go.To prevent this error (hopefully wont be needed for long), instead of simply saving you need to “save as”. *edited*
I doubt this will solve everyones problems, but if you have anymore workarounds post them.
You may want to hold off downloading it until a representative from the Sims Team posts a note at the official site. I’ll keep my eye out. Oh, and if you are getting the famous ‘Invalid File’ error, you need to restore any .ini file and remove any mods you may of downloaded – they conflict.
It dind’t work… now I can’t play anymore… nice…
My saved games don’t even load let alone save!
How can i download the last version, before very last patch 1.6? I uninstalled my game and now i cant load my saved games until i download all patches. But my game is totally slow, with bad graphic if i have the very last patch….
Check the Sims 3 Patches section of this site and look for the 1.4.6 game update – pick the version you need 🙂
The only issue so far that I have encountered is that my game is extremely laggy and choppy. Granted, it’s on max settings but before this patch it ram perfectly fast on max settings. I understand this patch is huge, but enough to cause my game to slow down this much? Something’s not right. 🙁
Thanks for post
Que lata me meti al pc hoy con ansias de jugar a los sims 3 , y me tope con una nueva actualizacion , que para mis adentros me dije ( genial ) , siempre me ha corrido bien , sin problemas , pero hoy ….. estuve 30 min sentada frente al pc cruzando los dedos para que me cargara la casa ¬¬ ! es el colmo , siendo que juego con los graficos mas bajos y todo , para no tener atados , sienod que mi computador es bueno . solo espero que EA de alguna respuesta ante este problema , porque si en algunos dias sale TROTAMUNDOS , que me espera ¬¬ !
Game stuck on launch page after patch. Will installing WA solve this? Confused.
Ah thank you for posting this! I’ve been trying to access TS3 forum for about 2 hours now. Page takes FOREVER to load so I haven’t been able to access any useful info. I purchased World Adventures this morning. And of course with installing the EP I had to install the patch. I had a few weird problems with the launcher and patch, it kept trying to install the patch once it was already installed. I loaded up the game with no problems. Loaded up my current legacy and again with no problems.
However like others my problem came when I tried to save. The first time I tried to save it actually saved. About 20 mins later I tried to save again and I got the dreaded “error 16” code. I tried the “save as” and it worked. I exited and reloaded the game to make sure it actually saved. When I tried tried to open the legacy everything was blue, it was as if the file was corrupt. I finally stumbled upon your post. It took me a while to figure out which files to delete and rename but I finally did. So far my legacy has loaded up no problems. I did lose the little progress I made today but that’s no biggie. I will try to save again, although I’m still a bit nervous.
A previous poster has also mentioned the game having a lag. I too have noticed a slight lag. Before all of this I could play my game on the highest settings with ZERO lag. I think this patch needs a new patch asap.
Ok so I am having a couple DIFFERENT problems….No save problems ect. My problems I am encountering is:
1-the loss of traits and inability to cheat them back.
2-the loss of lots… as in, a giant blue lot, with nothing on it, and nothing is clickable. Not to mention my sims dont live on it anymore…now they live in some house that happened to load…Even the town commercial lots do not exist. it is almost as if the files were erased and the game is trying to make up for it.
The fact I cannot get to the forums on TS3’s site is infuriating…I guess I’m used to dealing with Blizzard and World of Warcraft where everything oh I dont know…..works before it is released….and isnt game breaking. Ive uninstalled/reinstalled 2 times now. It will work fine until I save and exit. But it DOES allow me to save and everything is fine when I do.
mehh…i dont wanna dl the patch…..but what it says itll fix and add is so awesome…
pls maxis ppl…fix it!! 🙁
Thank you so much for your ‘save as’ tip. You just saved 3 hours of progress for me…. 🙂 EA is to be thanked for giving us the ability to see our sims dreaming, but needs to test its patches a bit more prior to release, I think.
My problem is sorta like Kittysnax’s.
I also lost several lots, that now appear as a big blue square. I also lost all the personal content inside their backpacks, also all books from the bookshelves and all food from the fridge had vanished.
But the main thing is that if I go to buy mode or build mode, then I can’t go back to the game. I can buy things, build things, and do whatever I want, unless going back to play, cos the mouse starts with the circle thing, “waiting”, but it never loads. Funny stuff is that the music is still playing, endlessly, and that if I move the mouse around, names of the buttons still appear, and I also can move around the lot (moving the mouse to the edges, not with the right button thing). But it never loads.
So what the hell! I expect a new patch to solve all this by tomorrow or I guess I’ll reconsider buying World Adcentures. Why would I ever wanna buy it if I can’t play?
Hey, your advice was excellent. I was experiencing the same issue with the Error Code 16 and did just as you said to do. It did take some super sleuthing to find out what files to delete, but it made sense when I found them. 🙂 Thanks a million! You saved me from throwing my computer out of the window and organizing a peaceful protest towards Maxis. And by the way… long live the Horde!
I am having major problems with this new patch. Not only did I experience the error 16 message but when I exited the game I could not click on my family because it said an expansion pack was removed. I am so frustrated because I am on the third generation with this family lol and its been on epic lifespand! I tried what was recommended and it worked. I got my family back but my game still does not save, only when I click “save as” and overright. I tried editting town but all the bottoms disappeared and I was forced to close the game. Its so choppy and the interactions are just so weird. My swimming pool is black as well and neighbours keep disappearing. I tried going on to the official forum, which I have been keeping tabs with, but I can’t get on!! I am so frustrated!!
Okay it didn’t work!! I just re-started my game again and the families were back but none of the “save as” I used registered. It just went back to where it saved before the download of 1.6.whatever! I am so frustrated…really, really, really, annoying! And the official forum won’t load…so I can’t get onto it!
It told me 2 update 2 1.6. i updated it. now it won’t let me play. it’ll show me the launcher, i’ll click the “play” button, the screen will go black, and then it will either just disappear, or it’ll disappear AND turn my wallpaper blue >_> is any1 else havin this problem?
I’m having a problem getting on the game. It takes a long time to load about 10 min. and when I get on my graphics looks like crap and my game lags. When
I’m having a problem getting on the game. It takes a long time to load about 10 min. and when I get on my graphics looks like crap and my game lags. When I get to the neighborhood I click to enter a house and then it freezes? Before I done the new update it was fine? now I cant play either. Anyone knows what’s going on?
Ebony, I am afraid the whole patch is a huge mess that’s causing a number of issues on various machines. Your best bet would be to backup your content and reinstall The Sims 3 game and go patch-less until EA puts out another fix – which hopefully will be soon.
yep, thats what I did after loosing my Legacy family that was almost to gen 4…I re-installed and went to patch 1.4.6 and so far I havent had a single problem. Except that content I made and uploaded to TS3’s website when i was playing WITH the new patch will not work. (obviously) /crosses fingers >_>
-Kittysnax @ thesims3.com <–not an email address, just where ya can find me ;3
I am an Italian player and also I like you I have almost the same problems as fences that are unfavorable hacks that do not work anymore that I can not take pictures when I select the photo from the phone’s interaction sim.Ho already tried uninstalling and installing putting directly to the patch 1.6 but nothing changes with this patch the game is very slow I hope that EA do something soon
PLEASE BE WARNED! Error Code 16 DELETED my game! I saved my game (no problems), and then I tried to exit to the Edit Town tool. The game asked if I wanted to Save and Exit, and I selected yes, just because it’s a force of habit. This was the first time I got error code 16. After attempting to “save and exit” a few more times and continuing to get error code 16, I figured I would just close the game and reopen it. However, when I got to my main menu screen, MY TOWN WAS GONE! I checked my “Saves” folder in my documents, and the folders for Riverview (the town I was working on) have completely vanished. They’re not even in my recycle bin. All that’s left of my town are the files Riverview1.sims3 file and Riverview1.sims3.backup, both of which haven’t been updated since June 6th. BEWARE, you might lose your game too! And to think I was actually considering buying the expansion… I certainly won’t now that a buggy patch (that I was forced to apply in order to play the game) DELETED the Sims / Family / Community I’ve been building for the past 2 months!
I have a differnt problem then any i’ve read after installing the update i get an error message before i can even open the launcher that say “there was an error during startup. please check the log for more details” anyone help me i just wanna play world adventures of i would just not bother with it!
so before i knew the patch created many errors. the “save as” thing worked but everytime my sims come home from vaca all the sims in the town are invisable… i havent heard of anyone else having this problem… any advice?
I ment to say that i downloaded the patch…
So I downloaded the Ep and both patches.. I can get around the error code 16 but when a sim comes home from vacation all sims in town are invisible! I tried saving and reloading the game but their still not appearing..( good thing i have many saved files now) they still move but their bodies are still not there
i really need help!
abilities are gone!! how can i fix it??
I followed the instructions from The Sims 3 Team https://easims.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easims.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=23834
but it only lets you run the game per se, can’t make any modifications eg my Sim got married, when the wife wanted to move in the game got stuck on “processing” – this happened three times. They say they are working on a fix patch…but this is really frustrating in the mean time!
i didnt follow what to do bc i have no clue what to do and well its niot the fact that it isnt saving it will save its that when i split a house hold then it goes to my clip board then when i try to add it to a diffrent house hold it says processing and i did the new update on 11/18/09 and i tryed it before and it did the same thing i thought it was fine but it isnt, wow
please help im the one above this one
There’s already the patch 1.7
It solves the error 16 from the previous patch 1.6
Now we can play!=)
I downloaded the patch 1.7 but still like joanna, when my sim is about to get married, and move in with her husband the screen get stuck on “processing”. Does anyone know what is going on?
ugh. im having the blue lot issue too. i have had to restart my game about 7 times and cant get anywhere. whats the point? im so angry. i am switching to sims 2. how can they release this game with so many problems?
its unacceptable. what a waste of my time.
Arty, my friend told me she has downloaded the new patch but that her game has slowed down tremendously. I haven’t downloaded it yet – I plan to this afternoon. She told me that she had to copy all her CC to a backup folder, reinstall Sims 3, then the new patch, but the game is rediculously slow, even without the CC. Are you still having the same problem when your Sims get married?
it seems to be slow for many folks. I think in order for it to run properly you need to do a fresh reinstall and leave any mods/custom content out. They didn’t design their games to be custom-content friendly. Of course, I cannot confirm if this will fix it… 🙁
Well, I installed the patch…an am at the same point where my Sim just got married. When it asked to confirm the new household (new Sim moving in) it got stuck on processing.
I’m going to reinstall and see if that helps…
Joanna, can you confirm whether or not reinstalling did any good?
I’m having that same issue and it’s extremely frustrating. I didn’t realize it might be a problem with the patch. Wonder if having the new expansion would help the problem, also, or if it’d still be there?
So how come you can save your game?
Well… I was trying to play today and every time I switch houses the game stops… all the tools disappear…
This sucks… I am seriously thinking in playing Sims 2…
There was no better game…
And I don’t like the new expasion pack they created either…
hi my traits work when i hadn’t got the update but the update my traits and life rewards are not there and idk wot to do i have deleted all my mods plz help me
Hi everybody!
I’ve got the same annoying problem with a “Move In” progress. The “Processing” time took a whole night and with no result. I thought the game stuck, but I can move my mouse and the PC says the game uses 15% of my processor and up to 2GB of memory, so, it’s running. But no way to Move In sims. Any ideas?
Hello!
I also have found a few problems after the newest patch. The last few times I played my game one of my families got all glitchy. It started with only showing the lower level of a 3 level house on the town view mode, and showing that with a roof as if it was a bungalow which it isn’t! Secondly I had 3 sims on my lot, and if I clicked on the son, and looked at his relationships, he has a friend who is a big red square and all the traits etc are all red. After making the mistake of checking out his friends I clicked on his mum, and the game began to do what you used to do on Sims 2, as if I had clicked CNTRL and clicked her at the same time… they were both selected somehow and I couldn’t control them equally.
Now I got frustrated and moved to another family and had them move house. The first time I did this I sold all their things and the game crashed. The second time I went back and made them move house and now, like Vic, they are stuck on eternal “move mode”! I can’t enter buy or build or make them move out. HELP!
Loux
Gotta make some corrections: I’m stuck when I propose my belowed to move into my house or after wedding.
why the hell does ea do this, after this patch my game lags every 3 seconds, i try to ask customer support and i dont get an answer, and its been a week, i payed for that dam sims 3 game now they decided its best to wreck my game
Hi there,
I’ve got a problem with a Mac:
after installing the last update 2 days ago, when I launch the game I get a message saying can’t start the app, code 0x6224dd27.
The actual version is 1.7.11.002002.
Someone can help???
Many Thanx
thanks, this really helped me out! now saving works again 🙂
After the last patch my neighborhoods keep turing into blue squares and I have no interactions except for ‘mean’. I”m most certainly not buying the expansion now.
anyone knows how to solve the black water in the pool and no leadders? Thanks
SCREW PATCH 1.7
I have a mac, and now it is saying the the version i am running is incompatible with the data, and asking for me to update. I just did. There is no other update. FML.
ok Thanx
I was having the error code 15 and 16 so I called EA since I’m a mac. Their solution was to uninstall the game then start over; install the first game, play and if everything is good update then install WA. Play and if everythingis fine update. Then install Exp1 and play update. Then if everything is still okay add the custom content play then do the last update. I’ve done all of this and for me the problem is with that damn update!!!! Though I have not had the same sving problem. The problems I’m having now…when i start the game it cant verify that I have an official copy of the game (I have registered sims3 WA and exp1) AND when I try to move my sims to a new house I get that little processing ‘thing’ and it wont go away or progress. I literally watched 3 eps. of 24 while waiting for it to finish processing and nothing happend.
This NEEDS to be fixed!
P.S.~ I also emailed EA support and it took them 5 weeks to get back to me. When I called I was on the phone for 1hr and 35 min…AND they have no idea how to help if you have a mac which is why they told me to uninstall
i’m so dissapointed with EA…. Anyways i thought I just share my methods on how I move out of the house sucessfully.
1.make sure to save every 5 minutes. I realized that the game wont save after about 10 minutes so be sure to remember that.
2. make lots of back ups
3. if you want to move out, restart the game without saving. then go straight to edit town. then evict your family
Hey guys!
I had the same problem as well!
https://easims.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easims.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=23834
I followed that and it works!
Though it only goes back to it before you install the patch
E.G the brother died and the two kids had grown up after installed the patch
Now i deleted the files and now the brother is alive and the kids are back to babies
So…If you installed the patch then made a new game ect that game will but lost!
自己への注意：EAは吸う
After sending my 2 sims to the pool, when i save.. it freezes! 2nd time it has done this.. The game ran perfect before i sent them to the pool.. then it crashes when i save:((((((
OMG!!!! I’v been reading alot of things about error codes on sims 3, and tried what they said and nothing is working and when i try to save this comes up
” An unexpected error has occurred
while saving; Error Code 15. Please
consult the readme for details”
and i dont know what to do!!
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!