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Level 1

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Sims 3 Problems

I am posting this in hopes that someone out there can actually help me with my Sims 3 gameplay problem. I understand that this is an Apple forum and Sims 3 is NOT an Apple product, but I have exhausted my options through EA games. No one with their technical support teams seems to know how to help me or about Macs at all. I kept getting troubleshooting instructions for PC use!

So, my problem is that the Sims 3 game works perfectly fine, but when I go to save the game, it doesn't do anything. The game doesn't freeze per-say, but it does not save and I have to force restart my computer. When I reopen the game, my attempted saved game is listed but will not open. I am using an Intel-based iMac and I meet all of the system requirements (I actually bought a 1 GB RAM chip and installed it myself to make sure I met the requirements, I have invested some money into this process!)

If anyone could help me or point me in the right direction, I would really, really appreciate it. Thanks!!

iMac Intel, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jun 14, 2009 2:11 PM

25 replies

Jun 21, 2009 12:32 PM in response to harryp_888

Mine isn't having the problem you are, but instead, it isn't saving the data. When I re-open the game, my town doesn't show in the list--however, the save file is there in the Saves folder (as is the backup file). But using the backup instead of the actual save makes no difference.

Think this is a related problem? Thoughts?

mestein Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2009 5:26 AM in response to harryp_888

I have a 2.4 ghz with 2 GB RAM memory. I wonder if the RAM is the the issue? I launch it from the hard drive. I won't even know how else to launch it!

Jun 22, 2009 1:44 PM in response to mestein

Well I guess there is no other way......its just i have placed a sims 3 icon on the dock and launch by clicking it - if you do something different it may be worth trying that method - anything is worth trying?

If I do a save and quit on mine I get the spinning symbols and the game seems to quit before the save is done...but then the save finishes and I get returned to the desktop - not overly slick so can understand why some might have problems.

Maybe it is the Gb issue - do the other people with problems have 2 or 4 Gb?

Jun 26, 2009 2:37 AM in response to mestein

I have had the exact same problem! If I wait about an hour, it finally does save, but it's not worth wasting hours of my time just to save things. I called EA tech support and was also annoyed by the technicians' sorry lack of Mac-awareness. After several days of communication with them via e-mail and phone, they finally claimed it was a faulty disk. But I told them it couldn't be; I was so desperate I purchased a second copy of Sims 3, and it responded the exact same way, with the saving bug.

Would the Genius Bar be willing to address this problem even though the game's issued by EA?

I wonder if (like someone said before) The Sims 3 is conflicting with another program. On my Mac, I have Rosetta Stone, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Microsoft Office, Skype, and ProtectMac AntiVirus. Does anyone else who's having this problem have any of these programs installed? Maybe we can find a common thread...?

h3rby

Level 1

0 points

Jun 30, 2009 3:27 PM in response to mestein

I have precisely the same issue with the PC version of the game. It's not an OS issue, though it does interest me to see that you are running an Intel-based MAC.

I haven't been able to find an answer for this either. This only happens intermittently for me, but when it does, I either lose the whole save file and have to retreat to a backup, or I lose everything that happened since the last successful save.

I'm 100% sure that this is an issue with the Sims 3 Software and not an issue with our hardware, but good luck convincing them of this.

sheren

Level 1

8 points

Jul 1, 2009 7:26 AM in response to mestein

hi,
i'm having the same problem recently...though before i could save the game without any problem but after a week or so of playing, the forever saving started and i dunno whats wrong so i uninstalled and installed the game again....but then nothing happens...the forever saving is still there and i have to restart my again macbook 😟

Jilleen

Level 1

0 points

Jul 3, 2009 9:31 PM in response to mestein

I have the same exact problem. The game plays okay, a slight jump here and there....but when I go to save, it doesn't freeze, it just doesn't save and I have to force quit. I waited up to an hour and it still didn't save. I didn't try contacting anyone about either. I literally bought my macbook a week before the game came out. I actually was considering buying a pc, only becuase of sims becuase I didn't want to wait for the mac version to come out, but when I heard this version would be for both systems I went for the mac, obviously. Now, though I'm slightly disappointed. It's not the disc either, I've been playing on my boyfriends pc for weeks, no problems what-so ever. Hopefully someone can figure out how to solve this. It's very annoying.

Jul 9, 2009 8:26 AM in response to mestein

I am having the same problem. I called EA the first time and they said they would escalate the matter. I heard back from someone via email on July 7th and they asked if I was running as an adminstrator which I am. They also asked if after doing a force quit if I saw a family by the name of Ramierez in the saved games (which I am). They said if they did not hear back from me within 144 hours then they will assume the mater has been resolved. I have since sent them 3 emails and spoke with a tech last night that was not familiar with macs. I can't believe that I cannot get a straight answer from anyone. I spoke with someone at Mac and they said that it definitley isn't my computer. I am running the game on a Mac OSX 10.5.7 and I added more memory (thought that was the problem). I now have 2.5 gb of memory. I can play the game but just cannot save it - whats the point in that

Jul 9, 2009 1:34 PM in response to mestein

Just like the rest of you I am having the exact same problem when saving a Sims3 game. It is really driving me crazy and I cannot understand how a company like EA can make such a terrible mistake?! I sincerly hope that a solution to this matter will come up soon...

Jul 9, 2009 6:25 PM in response to mestein

I bought Sims 3 for my wife, it plays and saves with out issue. My computer is stock without any upgrades, and all patches were applied for Sims3.

Sims 3 Problems