I've read through the other threads here but haven't seen a resolution to my problem so I'm hoping that someone can shed some light on the issue I'm having.

I pre-ordered the limited edition version of the game and have been playing just fine up until today.

Last week I upgraded to Snow Leopard and still had no problems with game play... until I upgraded to the 1.4 Patch this afternoon. I'd been holding off on the update but decided to take the plunge.

After the (1.4) update the game would load but then completely crash anytime I clicked on any build or buy buttons whatsoever.

I uninstalled the game completely (including the EA folder in my docs) and reinstalled from scratch, did the update, with the same results. (Note: I did not add any CC)

I'm wondering if there is a problem with the combination of the 1.4 Update and Snow Leopard. I saw something on the EA Support site, albeit for PC, that seemed to suggest that there is an incompatibility with new NVIDIA drivers and the Sims 3. Could it be that the Snow Leopard driver updates are incompatible with the 1.4 patch?

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I'd really appreciate it. Thanks


FYI – Here are my computer specs:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz

GRAPHICS:

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT:

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0407
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 3212
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected

I forgot to ask: does anyone know if there is there a way (on a mac) to install a previous game update prior to 1.4? Thanks.

Yes, there has definitely been issues with nVidia, but according to EA, on the Mac it's with the 7300/7600, which you can read about on the main site here.

They don't specifically mention your card, the 8600 but it may very well be a similar issue.

And unfortunately, no, I haven't heard of a way to manually update to a specific game version. With EA it's all or nothing.

I have exactly the same specifications for my macbook pro, except with the graphics I have PCIe lane width x 8, not 16. I have not had any problems with snow leopard and the 1.4 update working together.
I am sorry I am not more help, but I know with sims 2, when I did a reinstall once, I had all sorts of problems at first because I did not uninstall everything properly first. Maybe this could be a problem.

Thanks for your responses,

Just to confirm, to uninstall the game, do you just remove the Sims folder in Applications and the EA folder in Documents? Are there any other file locations I missed? Thanks.

I can't access the game right now but there hopefully is a Read me on the disk that says what all needs to be removed if you're uninstalling. But for sure, you'd want to uninstall any preferences files too, so look for any sims3 related plists.

Update: just to let you guys know that I uninstalled AGAIN, restarted, reinstalled and did the 1.4 update. It's working just fine now. After testing I went ahead and re-added all my CC both package and sims3pack files. Everything seems to be just fine. I have no idea what the problem could have been other than perhaps an install or patch glitch. Go figure.

Anyway, I'm grateful for your help here and fast responses. I guess the lesson is, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Cheers.

Happy simming!

Just so you all know:
If you ever have any issues on a game on the Mac after an update it is generally because the game that played before the update had differences in it that were either a security risk or faulty. The ability for a game to play is not necessarily an idication of a "health" Mac.

So, now you know that the game should be re-installed if you are unable to get it working.

Note: Some times you can simply trash your preferences files for the game that is having trouble after updates. That may also fix it many times. Either way...now you know.