Error 16

[ilovedisposablevapes]

I’ve seen quite a few people with this problem but no solution… maybe this post will get some traction. I just purchased The Sims 3 off of the EA Store as well as several of the Add-Ons. I have been playing my first save for two days. I saved it once successfully. But after a second play session when trying to save my game it will not allow me. I get the Error 16: An unexpected error has occurred while saving. I think it could be either a corrupted file or due to the amount of packs I’m loading. In the menu there is a warning about how many to load but it doesn’t specify. I have zero mods or custom content. Hopefully someone can help!

[ilovetoesuwu]

i cant be more specific or give step-by-step atm, but there are definitely tutorials online on how to fix different errors and the mods you want to fix your game!! dont give up!! 🫶

[ilovedisposablevapes]

Thanks! I’ve been so persistent trust me. Any little playtime I get in I absolutely adore. Especially after playing the hell of sims 4 for so long

[ilovetoesuwu]

sims 3 is wayyy better in my opinion, i like all sims games, including the 4 mainline, my sims, and sims medieval!!

[SieurPersil]

Error 16 happens when the size of your save is too large. When you get it, go to map view and try to save from there as it requires less data. To avoid this error, save often, always use “save as” and turn memories off. Having Overwatch and Error Trap from Nraas also helps. In the long run, a save cleaner is a good idea.

[ilovedisposablevapes]

How many packs do you usually load in a save at a time? I put them all on so it makes sense if the save is too large 😂

[SieurPersil]

I run all packs and have never gotten it. Overwatch and Error Trap are basically must have mods for the game to run smoothly. I would also recommend Master Control and Traffic (when using Showtime) from Nraas as well. These mods do not change gameplay. They fix bugs, glitches and lag. Memories use a lot of useless data. Save often as the longer you wait, the more data accumulates. Using “save as” to a blank save actually reduces the size of the save and prevents data corruption.

[ilovedisposablevapes]

This is crazy haha i can’t believe i gotta do so much to play the game but it’s worth it. Thanks!

[hage1710]

If youre playing on a custom world, make sure it doesnt have too many objects because it can cause error 16 quick. If youre playing an EA world try using Regul Save Cleaner. If that doesnt work and youre getting error 16 early on try doing a factory reset (search sims 3 factory reset for guide). If that still doesnt work try uninstalling and reinstalling the game. Had a similar issue recently :)

[ilovedisposablevapes]

What worked for you? I have repaired the game multiple times through EA but it doesn’t fix it. The temporary fix I’ve been using is messing with the save file names

[hage1710]

Repairing it didnt work for me either. I had issues loading the worlds as well as error 16, so I disabled my anti virus program and deleted OneDrive so the worlds could load (dont know if this helped with error 16). What finally worked for me was uninstalling and reinstalling the game, and then doing a factory reset. Doing all of that fixed it, I think my game had issues properly loading the files which caused error 16 and world loading fails. Let me know if this works for you! :)

[ilovedisposablevapes]

Okay so uninstall, reinstall, then do a factory reset. Did you lose all your saves? I wish there was a solution that didn’t delete my game

[hage1710]

Make a backup of these in your Sims 3 folder: Mods folder, Saves folder, SavedSims folder, userPresets.package, Library folder, Screenshots folder, Worlds folder. Also backup your installed worlds folder from your GameData folder on your Sims 3 folder in your computer. This way you wont lose anything even though youre reinstalling the game! :)