igazor post_id=87332 time=1644713374 user_id=6716 wrote: That one has been having players scratching their collective heads for a while now, as we keep pointing out that it can cause issues. Does this observation help?

I had a search through my mods (as in searching inside the actual package files), and I think I've found the culprit, though I need to remove and test.
I have https://modthesims.info/d/593104/testin ... -v0-6.html and https://modthesims.info/d/628160/adults ... dlers.html installed. That second one, has a notation that it conflicts with the first mod, but they can be used together... IF you install Puddingface's compatibility script... and Puddingface is also the author of the Skydome_EveryoneCanCarryChildren mod, so... I suspect something in the compatibility script is what's causing that to show up on my mods list.

Gonna remove the compatilbility script and TheSweetSimmer's mod for now and then go in-game and try to generate a script error log to see if the Skydome mod still appears on the list.

Edit: And YES... it seems I also had that other mod installed.... just gonna take out all of the mods by that creator for now, and sort it out later. It's so confusing when the name of the mod is one thing, the archive file is another, and the actual package file is yet a third name different from the first two. The actual package name is: "TST_ChildrenCanCarryToddlers.package"

Ktarian wrote: ↑

February 12th, 2022, 8:20 pm

It's so confusing when the name of the mod is one thing, the archive file is another, and the actual package file is yet a third name different from the first two.

I agree! Had this discussion with another member in this post last month. Here's how I deal with it.

Sarah_Sims wrote: ↑

January 2nd, 2022, 2:10 pm

The way I work around the two issues mentioned above is to rename all the mods I install with the actual name of the mod, as displayed on the website I download it from. That way, I know what to search for when looking for one of them and it also helps to find it online again, if I ever need to. When I type the actual name of a mod into Google, it finds it with no problem and it's usually the first entry at the top of the search results page.

Sarah_Sims wrote: ↑

February 12th, 2022, 9:04 pm

I agree! Had this discussion with another member in this post last month. Here's how I deal with it.

Hey Sarah. Yeah... I am usually pretty good about re-naming things when I download them, but in this case, the file I actually downloaded was named 'ChildrenCareForToddlers.rar' and if I'd thought that name was confusing I might have renamed it (a quick search shows that searching for that file name instantly brings up the appropriate mod page).

What really tripped me up here is that I usually expect the package file inside the archive file to have the same name as the archive file... not be something that is randomly different and seems unrelated. I clearly didn't pay enough attention in this case, as I was installing a lot of different child and toddler mods at the same time.

Ktarian wrote: ↑

February 12th, 2022, 6:53 pm

Someone told me to try out Process Monitor about.... a week ago? But I haven't had a chance to really use it much yet (Mom was in the hospital all week and I've just been exhausted)... I'm also unfamiliar with it as a program

Befor you launch your game
- open the windows task manager by right click on your windows taskbar (you don't need an external programm)
- you can see under first tab Process the Memory (RAM) usage
- open your game and while playing
- use Windows button on your keyboard to switch to "start" taskbar
- left click taskmanager in your taskbar and the same way click sims 3 to go back into the game
- OR while in game use TAB + left ALT to switch between the previous opened tab and current
(ESC + left ALT will switch to all open tabs in order)
- you can set a timer with your smartphone like 30 minutes so you don't forget to check the RAM usage, then start timer again

- always save as after you styled a sim in CAS or are in build mode (this increases RAM usage a lot)
- I recommend install nraas SAVER Saver
it prompts you to save (also while in CAS or town-build-mode)

Agree with just using Task Manager rather than ProcMon. but I wouldn't recommend Alt+Tabbing into and out of TS3 if playing in full screen mode. That's a good way to get the game stuck (and crash) on the task bar. A much safer way, although less convenient, to switch into and out of the game is to use the built-in Game Options function to enter windowed mode and minimize the game to the task bar instead.

Or use Windowed Borderless Gaming so that the task bar is always visible.

I was really surprised by the issue myself when I switched over from the Mac version to Windows many years ago. For all the problems that the Mac version had, and there were (are) many, this was not one of them!

igazor: interesting, I never had problems with switching open windows via tabs or Windows Button to toggle the taskbar.
I found this shortcut for switching sims 3 into windowed mode by using ALT + Enter (of course with boarders) and the same to reverse.

What do you you think about the shortcut CTRL + Shift + Esc to open taskmanager directly?

I just wanted to check in briefly before I sleep, since I saw these replies. Hey C-Dark, I think I failed to mention that ProcMon was recommended to me as a way of identifying possibly problematic CC installed, or mods, by checking which files were accessed and if any of them were accessed an abnormally high number of times.

If I’m only checking for RAM spikes, then I agree Task Manager is sufficient.

@igazor Thanks. I’m actually playing in borderless windowed mode via Lazy Duchess’s Smooth Patch, so no worries on that score.

I verified that the Skydome mod no longer shows in error trap logs. I was in game for perhaps 3-5 minutes, did not enter CAS or build/buy, and then paused and attempted to save. (I always use save-as.) It gave me Error 12 and then crashed.

After that, I set up process monitor and then loaded up the game again. (Yes, I cleared all the trash files first.) I did the same thing except I made no attempt to save, and quit without saving after a few minutes. The results were interesting, but I wasn’t sure if They were skewed because I had turned off pre-loading (based on advice received elsewhere).

So I saved that first ProcMon log and turned pre-loading back on and reloaded my game again, basically a repeat. Unfortunately, that time after I closed TS3 I found that ProcMon was unresponsive and then it crashed… I decided that was a sign to be done for the night.

on my phone, so no details at present. Will add them tomorrow. Biggest note for me was that I saw the travel files being accessed a lot…. I’ve always resisted deleting my travel data in the past, because I love WA and at least two of my families have traveled extensively. =\ Maybe I should reconsider it though.

Ktarian post_id=87358 time=1644752047 user_id=23684 wrote: I failed to mention that ProcMon was recommended to me as a way of identifying possibly problematic CC installed, or mods, by checking which files were accessed and if any of them were accessed an abnormally high number of times.

Hm, that's interesting, maybe I try this tool too

Don't miss my recommendation about nraas SAVER, which automatically prompts you to save as including a number at the end -1, -2 etc (you can change the time, default is 30 minutes). I saw that you don't have it yet.

C-Dark wrote: ↑

February 13th, 2022, 6:42 am

Don't miss my recommendation about nraas SAVER, which automatically prompts you to save as including a number at the end -1, -2 etc (you can change the time, default is 30 minutes). I saw that you don't have it yet.

I had Nraas Saver installed for years, but removed it a couple of weeks ago, actually, because Awesome also has a save reminder feature and I didn't feel I needed both. I save in rotations, using numbers, so like, HSFC1, HSFC2, HSFC3, HSFC4, and then back to 1 again, usually, though I'll start a new sequence sometimes if something odd is going on. Recently removed a lot of old saves from the folder and stored them elsewhere for safekeeping.

BTW, if you want to try out Process Monitor, let me know and I can share the Filter settings I used to weed out everything but TS3 data.

Anyhow... so I actually took a screenshot of Task Manager also when I was loading up the game. I probably should have kept an eye on it more, but it was showing: 11.7% CPU | 1,424.4MB Memory | zeroes in Disk and Network | Power Usage: Very High
I keep wondering why the power usage is so high. but the power usage trend still said 'Low', so I don't think that what I saw here was an issue. However, this was during start up, and I forgot to keep an eye on it during the save attempt. ^^;; I'm also a little uncertain at what number value the Memory would become precarious.

In the results log I saved, Process Monitor showed that the files accessed most frequently were game files.I'm not actually sure if that's normal or not... (or may have been caused by turning pre-loading off?) I may have to ask the person who recommended Process monitor to me. In any case, in fourth place we have a Bridgeport Travel data file, but this one gets interesting. Each of the above was noted only as being opened once, and closed once, but read many thousands of times. In the case of the Bridgeport travel data... it was read thousands of times, but also opened and closed a lot... There is Bridgeport travel data because the family that originated in this save was originally in Bridgeport, and moved to Hidden Springs via Traveler. There's also Travel data for Oasis Landing, Egypt, China, and France, and they all have this oddity in common, where they're opened and closed a lot. All the others were much lower numbers though. The next highest was Oasis Landing, and it only had 37 opens and closes.

So I think the next thing I'd like to try is deleting the Bridgeport travel data. I've no need to ever send the family that's from there back there.

First though, I think I'll try loading up and attempting to save a few more times while keeping a closer eye on Task Manager. Hopefully if ProcMon doesn't crash again I can also get comparison data for 'when pre-loading is not turned off' to see if the game access data looks the same. And next time... I'll save the full log. This time I apparently only saved the 'spreadsheet' basically that shows how many times individual files were accessed. Still learning this tool.

On a side note, do Lots in the library and Sims in the bin actually contribute to Error 12 issues? I did recently add a handful or two of lots to the library, and I do seem to have a lot of sims in the Bin. These would be easier to do without, or take out while playing this save than removing items/data that might affect the save internally, so they're tops on my list to take out if they actually contribute to the problem.

C-Dark post_id=87356 time=1644749996 user_id=236 wrote: igazor: interesting, I never had problems with switching open windows via tabs or Windows Button to toggle the taskbar.
I found this shortcut for switching sims 3 into windowed mode by using ALT + Enter (of course with boarders) and the same to reverse.

What do you you think about the shortcut CTRL + Shift + Esc to open taskmanager directly?

A bit off-topic for the OP, but just wanted to address this...

Alt+Enter is a TS3 game keyboard shortcut in and out of windowed mode. That's fine, it's the same as using the Game Options method.

The flaw where the game gets "stuck" to the taskbar into or out of full screen mode is really a very old Windows issue, so it's not really TS3's fault. I remember J4Ks explaining it to me many years ago and Win 7 was current back then. Or rather, it was current in my house at the time -- the years sometimes all blend together i n my mind now. Anyway, not everyone has this issue and maybe it's better now with Win 10 but I also use Windowed Borderless these days so it wouldn't be very easy for me to check. When the issue did occur, for those of us it affected, it didn't happen on every game session or app switch. For me maybe it was 10% of the time, but that and J4Ks asking if I was crazy for even trying to fix this were more than enough to change my behavior.