I'd suspect the hairs. If the hairs were made with tools that were pre-patches or post-patches, they can affect the game (or maybe it is just their really high poly count). Really, with Sims 3, it doesn't seem to be just the mods that you need to test. Objects cloned from certain items or with early versions of tools caused the blue lots that totally toasted neighborhoods. So, first take out those custom hairs and test again.

I use the CFF-Explorer to keep my game from crashing or getting those errors on saves, but I removed certain hairs from my mods folder as well. With them in, the game would crash when I used them. Without them, I had no crashing. Maybe they were just the straw that broke the camel's back for me and pushed my system over 2 gigs of RAM. Anyway, without them in and with the CFF-Explorer (and no WA or HELS), I haven't had the crashing or problems saving anymore.

I did have a problem with my game when I tried the CAW tool for a few days. All three games that I played with it installed wouldn't open for me again after I uninstalled CAW. (I had used system restore to undo a windows update I didn't like.) Even when I reinstalled CAW later, those games were toast. I had to revert to the copies I had on my desktop.

I don't have WA or HELS, but that CFF_Explorer in the above link worked for me. I have a quad-core Vista machine with 8 gigs of RAM and was getting the error 12 and 13s as well as crashing to desktop until I used that program to allow more than 2 gigs of RAM for game use. Good luck!

The EA story progression block must be checked for AwesomeMod's story progression to work. Checking the TS2 style option should allow aging the way it was in TS2 with your other chosen families not aging until you play them.

I had to use Twallan's supercomputer to get more than 8 sims even with the config set to enable that option. I experienced the same situation noted above by simmah.

If not sure how far you've taken your sims in this challenge.

My starting sim has no problems making friends and staying over as she is a charismatic mooch. She was able to have the baby with her as she visited as well. I just had her choose places with a crib. She also nicked a crib from the Goth attic just in case.

I had her marry one of the roomies (Stiles McGraw) after getting pregnant the first time. Then they both stayed at the same house one night and she got pregnant with her second. He is a loner and doesn't make friends as easily as she does, but I figured someone had to carry the second babe around. (You might have intended for her not to marry, but just raise them to children one at a time. If so, sorry. I'll replay it.)

So far, rummaging has been the most profitable as Bella found a large space rock worth 3.5k. Stiles is tending their garden as well as others' so he has food when a picnic basket isn't nearby. Mooching, however, works well for her.

His musical skills are much better than hers, but tips haven't been significant.

The additional requirements for raising spawn do make the game play more challenging.

Both AM and SC play well together, Nekonyami.

Well, I already made the klepto, so no honesty point for her.
I can see the move objects as a cheat as it saves the cost of wall and covering. I was just envisioning a trashed out yard with old appliances sitting around at the time. So, I won't go there.
I put in one fence along the property that bordered a neighbor, but left the rest of the property open; so I'll see if a toilet will go there or not (if one is appropriated some night). Otherwise, I just might build an outhouse someday.
I picked a rather expensive lot close to the beach in Sunset, so any extra money made in tips should be eaten up in bills.
I guess I'll get started and see how it goes.

I was refering to the toilets and sinks at the gym and library. There is also a tub in the gym and the gallery in Riverview, so I wanted clarification on that. Of course, if my klepto happens to nick a toilet, I won't put it back.

They have to improve their music skill a lot before tips would amount to much, but I really have only had them play for tips when an opportunity called for it or they had a want to it. So I guess I'll find out how that pans out.

Also, collection is okay as long the rocks, bugs, and seeds aren't sold, right? They get those wants to collect now and then. Unlike some, I actually try to make my Sims happy.

I think I'll play the no use of buy or build mode, but I'd like to use the move objects cheat to place items that might need a wall if some lucky Sim happens to nick something that requires one. Of course, creative fencing might be interesting. Does fencing work the way it did in Sims 2 to allow bathroom privacy?

Clarification wanted:


No mention is made of toilets, sinks, or tubs. I'm guessing that tubs were just an oversight, but that the use of toilets and sinks is allowed. So if I have a slob, (s)he can wash up in the sink. Is that correct?

So I make a mooching, kleptomaniac, slob who is a charismatic virtuoso. Then the befriending and mooching starts until a guitar can be purchased. You didn't mention if tips were allowed.

I'll be a guinea. I don't have WA or HELS though, so I might not be of much use to you. 

The wording didn't get changed in the first post, but it is indeed the updated mod.

Go to the Pudding Factory. Read the first thread. It's clearly marked as the place to ask questions about store content.

Next time at least use the search function before starting a new thread. Also, capitalize I every time you use it as a pronoun.

Sorry, Chilltown. I read the question as a direct response to the post immediately before it. The linked forum had stressed that one shouldn't copy and paste data over the existing lines, just to add the modifications to the end. So I was thinking of backing up before making a change.

Actually, I believe it was in direct response to this:


The .exe refered to is bcdedit. It isn't enough to tell the game to allow the use of more than 2 gigs if the operating system doesn't allow more. Vista 64 apparently allows more RAM to be utilized (once checked with the CFF Explorer), but Vista 32 and XP systems need additional authorization. Reading through the link shows that "/maxmem 3072" allows 3GB to be utilized, but sometimes "/3GB" needs to added as well for XP systems. Note the forum includes a disclaimer NOT to copy and paste over the original line but to just add the change to the end of the line.

The secret to getting Vista to accept new applications and changes is to put them directly on your desktop and alter the data there. (It's the same way I have to change the resource.cfg file.) Always backup the original file. (I keep a folder on my desktop for original files and then alter a copy.) After moving the TS3.exe file from the Sims 3 folder to a folder on the desktop, place a copy of it directly on your desktop (outside the folder). Make the change allowing more than 2 Gigs of RAM by simply checking the appropriate box. Then place that copy back in the Sims 3 folder.

For now, my game isn't crashing or erroring. The CFF explorer appears to have made the difference. There were a lot of other things mentioned in various threads that I also tried that might have helped me play longer without errors or crashing.
I keep my cc limited to a very few, small-sized files.
I changed my themed desktop image to a plain color.
I deleted my AVG 9.0 that had been updated from 8.5 to a fresh install of the 9.0 version.
I was already playing with "high detail lots" set to "3," which may have been my default. (Someone on a thread at the Sims 3 forums mentioned his or her system crashed or errored at anything over 4.)
I started deleting all caches before each game play, so they wouldn't bloat beyond the magic number that might crash my system.
I added Sims 3 to my DEP exception list.
I uninstalled the EADM that I never use.
I started quiting the game before surfing the net, rather than just minimizing it.
I use 3Booter and the FPS limiter.

The bottom line is: Do not put too much stuff in Sims' inventory. It can lead to corrupt objects and problems with the hand tool. However, using a frame rate limiter (found in the 3 Booter thread) and adding Sims 3 to DEP exceptions now keeps my system from crashing or getting error 12s/13s.

Warning the following is TMI, but for those who might want all the background info, here it is:

With me, I think it was a case of too much stuff in inventory. I had been hording almost everything there (copies of books, all the garden stuff to include almost 500 bags of money in one Sim's inventory, and all the current Sims' paintings) so that the take was smaller when one of the legacy siblings moved out. Also, I haven't had the swimming in cash, living in luxury, or perfect garden LTWs yet.

I somehow got a corrupt guitar that keep multiplying when one Sim would take it out and put in back away. I couldn't sell it. It was probably because I had so much stuff in inventory that the grab hand feature would lock up on me.

Anyway, I saved a copy of the game when I first got the guitar glitch. I kept playing the family for another week with a lot of error 12s and a few 13s and a couple CTDs. (I simply deleted all the caches and kept playing, getting a few more hours in each time.) I saved a copy of the family with house to the library after the generation VI heir was born about a Sim week later.

When the game was really frustrating due to all the non-saves and crashes, I took a break and played with CAW. That turned out to be my downfall and my salvation. After installing CAW, the saved games that are played change as if an EP was installed. (I don't have WA.)

I had to restore my system to an earlier date because I could no longer post pics on photobucket or view hairs on XM Sims with the recent security updates. (They both have pop-ups that my system doesn't like and it would simply shut off the connection to them.) That restore took my system to a pre-CAW install and grayed out my legacy game and a couple others that I had played after messing with CAW. The game said that the expansion pack needed for the saves was no longer available. Reinstalling CAW didn't bring back the ability to play those saved games though.

So I put in the week-old legacy folder from before the birth of the gen VI heir and evicted the family and bulldozed their house and put the library family with the gen VI heir and their house on the lot. (This way, I replicated the previous hood as closely as possible.) In addition to losing a Sim week, I lost relationships and used Twallan's supercomputer to make the youngest siblings children of their parents again. Then I cleaned out the inventory of every Sim. I deleted most of the produce (but I kept the perfect items as well as apples and watermelons). I kept the money bags, but I redistributed them among the Sims more evenly. I sold all the copies of books except for a masterpiece. I kept their paintings.

After a few days of not letting one Sim play the corrupt guitar, I noticed that I could sell it. His inventory showed 10 guitars, though he really only had one. However, it sold all those in inventory as well as the one that was in the living room and paid 3,600 (the price of 10 depreciated guitars).

I haven't had any error 12s or crashes in the few Sim days I've played this lot, so I am hopeful that I'll make it to the end of the legacy yet.

I did download the CFF explorer; but when it denied me permission, I didn't pursue the issue. I am not crashing right now, so I'll just keep that in reserve. I did however add Sims 3 to my DEP exception list and I am now using the FPS limiter as well. (I didn't need the 3booter, so I didn't look for the frame rate limiter in that thread before.)

EDIT: Yeah, I spoke too soon. My Sims objects file in the world cache folder was 399k and my script file was huge when my game crashed this time. I guess I'll have to relook at the permissions to get the CFF explorer to allow more than 2gigs of RAM after all. It could be that I just had the game on too long. I had it minimized while I surfed the web earlier instead of quiting and reloading it again.

I gave you all the information needed to conduct a search by providing the name of the mod as well as the name of its creator: Twallan's supercomputer. I do realize that where the file is stored has moved around a bit; but really, it is easy to follow the moves as notices have been left behind. The folks at MATY do stress the importance of learning to search for one's self, and I hate to be an enabler. Hopefully, you've found the computer download already and can happily play an overstuffed household.

Simply get Twallan's Supercomputer and you can have more than 8 Sims in a household. However, remember that it is EA patches and stupid coding that cause the problems. Complaining about a fix to which  you didn't contribute and aren't required to use makes no sense.

When I get an error 12, I just exit without saving and start it up from the last save. This Sim almost has 200k lifetime points and is close to maxing his guitar skill. I don't need to boot him out of the legacy home to make room for another Sim, but I'll boot him out with the bad guitar if it'll stop the error 12 save problem (after he gets those extra 3k points that'll net another legacy point).

Everytime one Sim plays the guitar, another appears in his inventory. At first, I couldn't take the guitar out into the physical world or sell it and I couldn't tell him to play it, but then he played an invisible one on his own one day. Everytime he plays, one more guitar shows in the stack. Now I can usually grab one of the guitars in the stack and drag it to the virtual world. (He currently has a dozen stacked in his inventory.) That lasts until he finishes playing and then one more guitar shows in the stack. Often, I just click on one of the guitars and tell him to play and he plays an invisible one. I think it's the cause of my current error 12 problem, so I will have to move him out with the guitar in his inventory and see if that solves my saving problems.

Even without WA, I've got a real lag on my mom's computer. It's a bit like the 1 a.m. slow down: walk a few steps, stop, walk a few more steps, stop, walk a bit more, stop, pick up the baby, stop, play with baby, stop, feed the baby, stop, put the baby down, and it's two hours later without accomplishing much at all. I quit the game and delete the cache files, hoping a fresh start will help, but I wonder if it's just the cc hair on the child and toddler combined with school bus and work transport slow down whille playing a large lot. I really don't have large cc files (just a few modest-sized hair ones) and the only mod is AM. It is frustrating.

For what it's worth, I had my first Error 13 last night.
My sys is a quad core with 8 Gigs of RAM and nVidia graphics with its own gig of RAM on a Vista 64 bit.
I play with minimal cc (some modified hairs for children and tots mostly) and no mods but AM. Also, I don't have WA.
I was playing my legacy family in Riverview that is just starting its sixth generation. It is a bloated lot with probably too many paintings lining the walls. I also keep the tombstones as the family members die and all of their plaques. I tend to play with the house full of Sims and only send off spare siblings if they want more spawn.
After the most recent update (1.8.25), my legacy house went from two active non-playable ghosts (a master thief and mad scientist) to seven running around the house 24/7. Some have taken to floating around downtown, but mostly they prepare meals, eat, sleep, use the bathroom, work out, play video games, fish, and haunt items in and around the main house. EA doesn't recommend playing with more than eight Sims on a lot and then gets the idea to let all the ghosts run-amok!
So now with 15 animated beings running around on a huge lot, I am getting more problems than just embarressed sims in the bathroom, dishes all over the kitchen table, musical beds, and occassional bottle-neck. One of the eight living Sims played a guitar in the park that got stuck in his inventory. I didn't have the option to take it out or sell it as only the pointer, no hand or gear, appeared over it. (A guitar eventually came out of his inventory after the sim played an invisible one when I sent him to the park and he decided to play on his own. It was replaced with another unplayable guitar though, and he currently shows 3 unplayable guitars in his inventory.)
Then, another sim couldn't go to work at the theater after doing a performance there earlier in the day. The rock star wanna-be was able to go work on his next shift, so I didn't worry about him too much. Then, another Sim, who wants to be Mr.Evil, couldn't work his shift one day. His wife just had a baby, so I put it down as paternity leave. The theater and the warehouse are the only two places to which I have deeds. So I am not sure if collecting money somehow resulted in their not being able to work. Anyway, you can see that several glitches lead up to the inevitable error 13.
I had recently started clearing out my world cache files for Riverview when I deleted the other caches on a new AM load. This was after discovering their whereabouts after the new update work-arounds for cc. This might not have been a good idea; but as they are regenerated, I hoped it would help the stuck guitar and it might have even though I have some corrupt left-overs that may disappear when that Sim dies.
Anyway, I just thought I'd add to the database of possible corruptions leading up to the error.

Additionally: My unbreakable water sprinklers' animations still appeared on after selecting "turn off" but I could neither turn them on or off afterwards, only "play in sprinklers," and the plants wilted, so they weren't actually on. Also, I can't age the baby up early even after getting the "it's her birthday" announcement in either my legacy game or in another family in an almost unplayed Sunset Valley.

Julie - click the modify button. Do not double and triple post!

I had luck with just deleting the cache files and restarting.

When I quit the game while everyone, but the ghosts, were sleeping; the time was set to triple speed, but the minutes clicked by slowly one at a time (like the old 1 a.m. lag).

I cleared the four main cache files and even the two riverview ones in the world cache folder.

After restarting the computer and the game, the triple speed worked just fine and I had no other lag problems.

I am not playing with WA or the CAW, and my computer is a quad core with lots of RAM; so that might make a big difference.

Here's mine. It's very basic. It allows for three levels: the main folders, sub-folders, and sub-sub-folders:

Priority 500
PackedFile Mods/Packages/*.package
PackedFile Mods/Packages/*/*.package
PackedFile Mods/Packages/*/*/*.package
PackedFile Mods/Packages/*.dbc
PackedFile Mods/Packages/*/*.dbc
PackedFile Mods/Packages/*/*/*.dbc

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ywmoya1tzkl/Resource.cfg

More information is needed. If you put AwesomeMod in the package folder, one might assume that other mods might be causing a problem. You don't mention the mods folder, but I'll assume you do have the packages and hacks in the "mods" folder and that is where you resource.cfg file directs the game to look for them. I'll also assume that you do have the required framework with the appropriate file in the games/bin. If you have the framework, does your resource file allow for sub-folders? It could be that you need to allow sub-folders. It could be that you need to try AM without any other mods. It could be that you forgot to copy over the framework.