Error code 12 in the sims 3

The error code 12 that can be found when playing The Sims 3 it's quite an annoying bug that has been bothering users for a long time. The bug itself prevents users from saving their progress, which makes the game totally useless. Being able to save your progress is vital in any game and The Sims 3 is no exception.

There are many solutions suggested by people online that other players have confirmed to work and our suggestion is to take a look at these solutions before leaving the game.. Good luck!

Solution 1: increase the page archive on your PC

The paging file is a kind of last resort that Windows goes to when it runs out of physical RAM. When memory runs out, the system will use this occupied space on the hard disk to free up more RAM for applications that are actively being used.

Please note that your hard drive speed is much slower than RAM, so increasing the paging file heavily is not the same as adding new physical memory, but it may help and users have confirmed that adding a bit more physical memory to their PCs helped resolve error code 12.

1. Right click on the This PC icon, usually found on the Desktop or in Libraries, and choose the Properties option.

1. Click on the “link” Advanced system settings on the right side of the window and navigate to the Advanced tab.

2. In the Performance section, click Settings and navigate to the Advanced tab of this window.

1. In the Virtual memory section, click Change. If the check box next to the option “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” is marked, uncheck it and choose the partition or drive where you want to add more paging file memory.

2. Once you have selected the correct disk, click the radio button next to custom size and choose the initial and maximum size. The general rule of thumb for solving the problem with The Sims is to allocate two more gigabytes than you already used.. Make sure to set the initial and maximum size to the same value.

1. Apply the changes and open the game. Try to save your progress and see if your issue has been resolved.

Solution 2: try to clear each Sim's inventory.

Sometimes, players play for a long time, which causes the game to be saturated with all kinds of elements that sometimes prevent the game from working normally, especially on PCs that are not so sophisticated.

This is probably a good reason to try to simply clean up the game by selling some unused items from the Sims' inventories.. Sell ​​these items and try running the game and saving your progress again. Many users confirmed that this works!!

Solution 3: fix game confusion

Sometimes, the game confuses and thinks that certain files have been corrupted and just doesn't save anything or perform other actions. There are ways to activate the restore mechanism that should go back to normal and they include following the set of steps below, that can be confusing, but this method is one of the best that can lead to the error code disappearing 12.

1. Tab out of the game (do this without closing the game by switching windows using Alt + Tab on a PC, the command + ~ on a Mac).

1. Open a Windows Explorer or Finder window (depending on the operating system you are using).

2. Navigate to the location where your saved games are saved. Common saved game locations are as follows on different operating systems:

Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10:

C >> Users >> USERNAME >> Documents >> Electronic Arts >> Go Sims 3 >> Keep

Windows XP:

C >> Documents and settings >> USERNAME >> My Documents >> Electronic Arts >> Go Sims 3 >> Keep

Mac OS X:

Macintosh HD >> Users >> USERNAME >> Documents >> Electronic Arts >> Go Sims 3 >> Keep

1. Delete any folder whose name ends in the extension .bad and has the name of your save game at the beginning (for example, Michael $ 0027s Game.sims3.bad). These are the failed saves you tried to make recently.

   

2. Cut the folders that contain the name of the game at the beginning and that end with .sims3 or .backup and paste them in a backup folder that you should create on your desktop. These files are actually the active saved games that have not been corrupted yet.

3. The problem can also be solved without creating these backups, but you better make sure everything goes well.

4. Try saving your progress again and don't worry about lost files. The game will automatically generate new ones, which can cause the save process to take longer than normal as more data is being copied from RAM to permanent storage.

Solution 4: lower graphics settings

Go Sims 3 it is a memory consuming game but it has a certain memory limit that it can consume (3,7 GB in Windows operating system and 2 GB and Mac OS X.). When the game reaches this limit, it can cause various bugs and issues and the way to fix it is to reduce the memory consumption of the game.

This can be done by adjusting the game settings and reducing it for better performance.. This will also make the game appear lower quality, but it's definitely a price you'll have to pay. What's more, it's good to optimize your PC and disable background apps to free up some memory. Follow the instructions in this article to optimize your PC's performance for maximum gaming enjoyment.

1. Open the game and click on the three dots in the lower left corner. Click on the Options menu and go to the graphics settings tab.

1. Set the screen size to a lower value if you experience low FPS or want to get rid of the error code 12. You should also be able to see a lot of sliders like Texture Detail, Tree detail, etc. You can try to turn them all off or you can turn off some of them and see if the problem is resolved. If you are playing on a low-end PC, consider turning most of these sliders to the left.

2. Users have also reported that playing the game in windowed mode reduces the chances of receiving the error code. 12, so be sure to test it on the same screen.

3. Apply your changes and see if the error code 12 still appears.

Solution 5: make sure your drivers are up to date

Having the latest drivers is definitely a must, no matter what problem you encounter or what your intentions are with your PC. Outdated drivers often cause errors that can only be fixed by updating them. Unfortunately, no app or game will recommend you update, nor will the error code contain information about it. Therefore, it's better if you update them as users suggested to fix the error code 12 immediately.

Even if only one controller caused the problem, better to know that you updated all drivers, preventing the problem from occurring with another controller.

1. Select the Start button, type Device Manager and select it from the list of results.

1. Expand one of the categories to find the name of your device, then right click (or press and hold the button) and select Update driver. For graphics cards, expand the Display Adapters category, right click on the graphics card and select Update Driver.

1. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.

2. If Windows can't find a new driver, you can try looking for it on the device manufacturer's website and following their instructions.

Note: If you are using Windows 10, the latest drivers are usually installed alongside other Windows updates, so make sure you keep your computer up to date. Windows Update runs automatically on Windows 10, but you can check for a new update by following the instructions below.

1. Use the Windows key combination + I to open Settings on your Windows PC. Alternatively, you can search “Setting” using the search bar located on the taskbar.

1. Find and open the section “Update and security” in the settings app.

2. Stay on the Windows Update tab and click the Check for updates button under the update status to check if a new version of Windows is available.

1. Yes there is one, Windows should continue the download process automatically.