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[CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 DLC shows as installed, won't load in-game
Overview jump to: I have the CAS Demo installed jump to: I don't have the Demo or I'm not sure whether I do jump to: I have a Steam or Epic install jump to: I'm lost/please help Before doing anything else, please clear the EA App's cache, repair the game (Sims 4 > Manage > Repair), and restart your computer, then see whether your packs load. Sometimes the fix is really that simple. There is currently an issue with Sims 4 where newly installed packs won't load in-game. The cause is that the EA App installs these packs into the wrong folder. The App shows the affected packs as installed, but the game doesn't read their data. The most common cause is having the Sims 4 CAS Demo installed, but this can also happen if a computer somehow has two copies of Sims 4 itself installed. In both cases, the game is running from one folder but the pack data is in the other. The fix is to find the folder where the packs are being installed, remove or rename this folder, clear the EA App's cache, and download the missing packs again. I have the CAS Demo installed If you have the CAS Demo installed, it will likely be here: Look inside the folder for your missing packs, for example in this case, EP13 (Growing Together) and SP16 (Tiny Living) are installed into this folder: The quick fix, which works at least some of the time, is to move these folders into the folder for the Sims 4's program files. You can find the proper file location within the EA App: open your library, click the Sims 4 icon, select Manage > View properties, and you'll see the file path. The pack folders, in this case EP13 and SP16 , need to go inside this Sims 4 folder; you can simply drag and drop them, or cut and paste. Once you've moved the folders, clear the EA App's cache and repair the game: open your game library, click the Sims 4 icon, and select Manage > Repair. Then load the game and see whether the affected packs load. If this doesn't help, you can rename the CAS Demo folder; any new name or additional characters should suffice. Or, if you have no use for the CAS Demo anymore, you can simply uninstall it through the Windows control panel or Start menu. If you get an error when trying to uninstall the Demo, restart your computer. Alternately, open the Task Manager, find the EABackgroundService in the background processes list, right-click its name, and select End Task, then try again. If you've already moved the packs' folders to the proper Sims 4 folder and it didn't work, it's best to delete these, clear the EA App's cache, and download fresh copies. You can download them through Manage > Manage Add-ons. ↑ I don't have the CAS Demo/I'm not sure If you don't have the CAS Demo installed, or you're not sure whether you do, you can run a search for the missing pack(s). Open a File Explorer window, click This PC in the left panel, then enter the name of the folder for an affected pack in the search field in the upper-right corner. (See this article for a full list of pack folder names.) For example, if Growing Together isn't loading in-game, search for EP13: You can see here that the folder is inside the CAS Demo folder, but you may also find that you have two "The Sims 4" folders for other reasons; these guidelines apply in any case. You'll also see a folder inside __Installer\DLC, usually a folder inside Delta, and perhaps other files if the pack includes a new world. These can be ignored; the only result that matters is the one directly inside a folder with "Sims 4" in the name, as underlined in red. In contrast, this is the result when searching for a properly-installed pack, in this case EP05 (Seasons): Once you locate the folders for the missing packs, you can try moving them to the proper location, i.e. the location the EA App lists for the game's program files. Clear the EA App's cache and repair the game afterwards. You can find it by opening your game library, clicking the Sims 4 icon, and selecting Manage > View properties: If this doesn't fix the issue, you can rename or uninstall the CAS Demo, if you have it, or delete the secondary folder. (If you get an error, restart your computer, or open the Task Manager and kill the EABackgroundService.) If this doesn't help either, you may need to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of all Sims 4 content, minus your user folder, as well as the EA App. ↑ I have a Steam or Epic install If you've installed Sims 4 through Steam or Epic, but you at some point installed the game through the EA App, the App may be installing packs into an old Sims 4 folder rather than the one that Steam or Epic uses. Here again, the first step is to search for one of your missing packs. Open a File Explorer window, click This PC in the left panel, then enter the name of the folder for an affected pack in the search field in the upper-right corner. (See this article for a full list of pack folder names.) For example, if Growing Together isn't loading in-game, search for EP13: The only thing that matters here is the EP13 folder installed directly inside "The Sims 4": this is the pack itself, and it needs to be in the same location as the rest of the game data. You can see that above, however, EP13 itself is installed into an EA Games folder, even though other folders labeled EP13 are inside Delta and __Installer within the Steam install's folder. The fix here is to delete the "The Sims 4" folder inside C:\Program Files\EA Games, or wherever that extra folder is. (If you can't delete it, restart your computer, and make sure the EA App and EABackgroundService are NOT running in the Task Manager.) Then clear the EA App's cache, restart your computer, and install only the affected packs, not the base game, through the EA App. If this doesn't help, you'll need to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of Sims 4 and the EA App. Please see here for more details. ↑ I'm lost/please help If the above doesn't help, please see the accepted solution of this thread, which should appear immediately below this post. You can also run a search for one or two missing packs, as described above, and post screenshots of the results in this thread. If you do this, be sure to list the packs that aren't working and those, if any, that do show up in-game. ↑Solved63KViews17likes1218Commentsloading finishes before objects even finishes rendering
the loading screen to the household finishes too soon, and objects barely finishes rendering. i must wait for a min for the objects to fully render, like sometimes the objects are blurred out, doors not rendered yet, the ground terrain not rendered yet. and when sending my sim to eat a meal, the plate or that item disappears so that it can render and sometimes, its just so awkward, looking at a sim eating the air, so i need to wait until it renders the plates. note: this is a laundry list bug tip for the upcoming patch, not an urgent help.leoparduniverse72 hours agoNew Traveler21Views0likes3Comments[CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 Failed to Launch Game
Overview Failed to launch game An error on our end caused the launch to fail. Try again a little later. This is currently something of a catch-all error, caused by a variety of issues. And the game may in fact start but crash immediately after launch. Trying to relaunch the game immediately after it's crashed can cause the error as well. While troubleshooting this issue, each time the game fails to load, make sure the EA App is closed (exit out of it; don't just X out the window), and open the Task Manager and end the EABackgroundServices entry in the background processes list. Alternately, restart your computer. Workarounds jump to: Remove mods jump to: Clean user folder jump to: Set exceptions in antivirus jump to: Change OneDrive settings jump to: Update graphics driver jump to: Uncommon causes jump to: New admin Windows account These workarounds are listed in order of how frequently they cause this issue. So to avoid wasting time on steps that are unlikely to help you, it would be best to try the suggestions in order. Before proceeding, please repair the game. If you've installed through the EA App, open the App library and click Sims 4 > Manage > Repair. For a Steam install, open your Steam library, right-click the Sims 4 tile, and select Properties > Installed files > Verify integrity of the game files. Remove mods The most common cause of this error is a broken mod, and the most efficient way to find out if that's your issue is to remove the entire Mods folder, and delete localthumbcache.package, in the same Sims 4 folder. This doesn't mean playing without mods—if it helps, you can test your mods and cc until you find the broken file or files, then restore the rest. If it doesn't help, move on to the next steps. While testing, use the new Mods folder the game created when you launched it without mods. Transfer individual files or subfolders rather than the entire Mods folder, and use the fresh Resource.cfg file rather than your old one as well. ↑ Clean user folder If removing only the Mods folder doesn't help, remove or rename (these have the same effect) the entire Sims 4 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts. If it copies instead of moving, or you get an error when trying to move it, stop here and see the OneDrive section below. Otherwise, when you launch the game, if it launches, a clean folder will spawn with no content. (Your saves and other content will be intact in the folder you've moved but temporarily unread by the game.) Don't add anything to the new folder yet; just see whether you can get far enough to start a new save and play in live mode for a bit. If this works, you can start moving your content from the old Sims 4 folder to the new one. Start by testing your mods and custom content, if you have any. Use the new Mods folder and Resource.cfg file the game creates rather than your old ones. Test your mods and cc in batches, or use the 50/50 method described here if you have a lot of files to sort through: https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Finding_Problem_Custom_Content#The_50.25_Method Once you're done with your Mods folder, you can transfer the contents of saves, Tray (saved households and builds), Screenshots and Recorded Videos if you care about those, and Options.ini if you don't want to redo all your in-game options. The rest can be discarded; the game will regenerate the files and folders as necessary. ↑ Set exceptions in your antivirus Your antivirus blocking the game from starting can cause this issue as well. Look for any recent actions involving Sims 4 or the EA App, and set exceptions/exclusions as necessary. The exceptions should be for TS4_x64, TS4_DX9_x64, and TS4_Launcher_x64, or the Bin folder they're in; set one for EADesktop.exe as well while you're there. This article has instructions for Windows Defender and a couple of common third-party programs: https://crinrict.com/blog/2020/10/add-exceptions-to-anti-virus-programs.html If your antivirus isn't covered, consult the publisher's online documentation for instructions. A search for "[antivirus name] set exception" will probably find a user manual. ↑ Change OneDrive settings If OneDrive is running on your computer, whether you use it or not, it can block Sims 4's access to Documents and cause this error. First, try pausing syncing. Right-click the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen, or sometimes hidden in the Tray (^ icon), to see the option: If this helps, the underlying issue is OneDrive, and you may want or need to adjust your settings accordingly. You can choose which folders to sync, stop OneDrive from syncing your Sims 4 folder or all of Documents automatically, or get rid of OneDrive entirely. Please see this guide, specifically the "I don't want OneDrive to sync my files" and "I want to get rid of OneDrive" sections, for further help: [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 saves/user content disappearing (PC) | EA Forums - 11838402 ↑ Update your graphics driver Some users have fixed this issue by updating an old graphics driver. If you know how to do this on your own, go right ahead. To find the current driver version and date, click Windows key-X, select the Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click the name of your GPU (the dedicated card, usually Nvidia/AMD, if your computer has two), and select Properties > Driver. If you update through the Device Manager, which has an Update button in the menu, you will probably get a slightly older driver than the most current one. This is fine for testing purposes, and this driver may still fix the issue; just understand that you won't necessarily be up-to-date, and you may be told you already have the current version when you do not. To get the most current version, go to the driver downloads page hosted by the manufacturer of your GPU. If you don't know how to do this, or you'd like help or confirmation before proceeding, or trying to install the driver you've downloaded throws an error, please reply to this thread. Include a dxdiag. Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop. From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons. ↑ Uncommon causes These have been the underlying cause for a few uses but don't appear to be major contributors. Still, if any apply to you, try the suggestions. Disable Game Mode and Game Bar: Both of these settings are under Windows Settings > Gaming. DirectX 9 mode: Sims 4 now defaults to DirectX 11 mode on most computers. To force DX9 mode in the EA App, open the App game library, click Sims 4 > Manage > View properties, add -dx9 to the box, and save. If you play through Steam, open your library, right-click Sims 4, select Properties > General, and add -dx9 to the Launch Options box. Windows insider build: For certain other EA games, a couple of updates to the Windows beta build can trigger this error. I haven't seen this apply to Sims 4 yet, but if you're running the insider build, please see the accepted solution of this thread. Conflicting software: For other games (not Sims 4 as far as I've seen), MSI Afterburner or RivaTuner Statistics Server can trigger the error. You can close all unnecessary apps in the Task Manager; be sure to check the background processes list as well. ↑ New admin Windows account It's possible that the problem is caused by a setting or broken permissions in your main Windows account, and the fastest way to test this theory is to create a new account. It must have admin rights (not a standard user account), and it must be local, as in, not connected to your Microsoft account. The account name can only contain letters from the Roman alphabet and numbers, no special characters, accents, or anything else that isn't standard. To create a new account, open Windows Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, click "Add someone else to this PC" (under Other users, not Your family), click "I don't have this person's sign-in information," then "Add a user without a Microsoft account." Choose the username and password, answer some security questions, and you'll see the new account. Click it and select "Change account type" to make it an Administrator account if it's not already. It should say "Administrator - Local account" when you're done: Click ctrl-alt-delete, select Switch user, and sign into the new account. Then open the EA App (and Steam or the Epic launcher if applicable) and try to launch Sims 4. You shouldn't need to reinstall anything. Your saves and other user data won't be available, but that's fine for the purpose of this test. If Sims 4 works in the new account, it means the problem is contained to your old account. You can simply continue playing in the new account if you want. For any saves or other user data you'd like to transfer to the new account, sign into the old account again and copy the relevant files to C:\Users\Public. This folder is accessible from all user accounts; you can grab the files from there once you're in the new account. If you'd like help fixing your old account, please see below. ↑ If nothing else in this guide helps or applies to you, OR if Sims 4 only works the new admin Windows account but you'd like to play in your old account, try the other steps listed in this thread, which is for a distinct but sometimes related issue: [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 Unable to Start, Already Running | EA Forums - 11818313 If those don't help either, please reply to this thread. Let me know whether the new Windows account worked. If it did not, please provide a dxdiag. Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop. From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons. ↑1.6KViews5likes70CommentsCAS white screen/crashing
If I spend too long in CAS, the screen either goes completely white or just crashes altogether. When the screen goes white, I still hear CAS music, and the cursor still moves, but I have to use Task Manager to close out the sims. I've been having to make my sims little by little, saving between each time. It takes forever and is very annoying! I don't use CC or mods, and I've already tried deleting mods folder, and onlinethumbnailcache folder. Nothing works!meatball4532 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer29Views0likes3CommentsCRASHING
On a daily when I try to move household, travel etc. the game spins forever while loading along with crashing every single time. I have cleared cache, uninstalled the game and recovery option for the within EA Sports App. Any update or suggestions would be greatly appreciated can't enjoy the game before it crashes each time.Jazzie06872 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer11Views0likes1CommentUnplayable, cannot get past menu screen
Hi, I recently re-downloaded the SIMS4 with Cats & Dogs and was very excited to play after a few years. The first couple of hours it worked fine, then it stopped working entirely. Issue 1) It gets stuck on the blue loading screen. Issue 2) I cannot click anywhere in the initial game menu to resume the game (or start a new game). I have a Surface Laptop 3, processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G7 CPU @ 1.20GHz (1.50 GHz), Windows 11 Home 24H2. Basis steps I have done to resolve this so I can play: - Restarted Sims 4 (multiple timess) and removed/reinstalled - Restarted EA App (multiple times) and removed/reinstalled - Run the Repair via EAP (multiple times) - Rebooted PC (multiple times) - Ran from within the EA app, or from desktop, or directly using C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 4\Game\Bin\TS4_x64.exe I have no mods. Deleted localthumbcache.package within the folder, deleted folders within the cache and cachstr folders so they are both empty. Ran the game in Window version (not full screen). Copied the entire folder to desktop and launched from there. Then I deleted the copy but still lost my save. I also launched in offline mode and launched using -dx9. It does not work and I've lost my saved household so willing to try to get this to work so I can start fresh. It's getting frustrating as I've spent hours researching and figuring out what the problem is or what I am doing wrong. Any ideas? Thank you for your help, Yvon63Views0likes9CommentsThe game is unplayable
I'm really fed up with the bugs in this game. I cannot play with any of my families. The game allows me to go to world selection, but then keeps sending me back to world selection after selecting my sim family. Even when having created a new sim and going from there I have the same issue after I go out of CAS. Does someone have a solution for this? I have checked my mods and none of them are causing issues. I have not installed new content or mods since the last time I played which was a few months ago when the game was still playable.Danootjee4 hours agoNew Novice110Views3likes9CommentsFlashing timer
My Sim teen is at high school, and the event timer now flashes really fast when her school day is almost up. Usually, it just pulsates slowly, and I'm fine, but I have photosensitive epilepsy, and it's flashing super fast. I do not have mods or CC.KimmeyBug5 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer12Views0likes1Commentmy game isn't working... but is it really the game?
Hey! Every time I open sims, my mouse and screen freezes. I have this laptop for the purpose of sims 4 so it was definitely a bit upsetting. I've tried everything i can think of and even searching online doesn't help. I've deleted the EA app, repaired Sims over and over, deleted all my mods, made sure to end the task of sims in the sims folder, NOTHING is working at all. Could someone help me out? Also, it doesn't look like the screens freezing for other players that I've seen online with a tint or an icon popping up. Help!!! By the way, I have touch screen, and I can click things with it, I just need to close and re-open the app to see what I clicked did. I had played the Sims for about 36 hours (on and off, not straight) before I began having this problem.46Views1like2CommentsLaptop Recommendations Please
Hi, I am looking for a new laptop to play the Sims 4 and only the Sims 4 on, as my current laptop is a Windows 10 and will no longer be supported/receive updates after next month. I have all the expansion packs, a number of game packs, stuff packs, kits, and I enjoy using a small amount of mods and build CC. I don't need ultra high graphics, but I do need it to run all my packs, mods, and some cc. I have found this HP laptop, but I am not sure if its overkill for what I need. https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/product.aspx?id=C0EY8EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB If anyone has any other laptop recommendations I would really appreciate them. I am based in the UK and do not want to spend more than £750. I am willing to wait until Black Friday or the January sales to get a better deal. Thank you.Simswhynotplay5 hours agoRising Novice44Views0likes3CommentsSims 4 keeps crashing during game play pls help!!
So I brought a Acer Nitro v15 2050 about a month ago to play sims and ever since I brought the pack cottage living the game crashing during game play, i don't understand why it can't be the pack as it doesn't sound like it has any bugs anymore they've all been resolved??? I've check the update on the graphics card and it hasn't helped the issue. I then thought that the issue was it was syncing to my one drive so i turn that off and reinstalled sims but it still is crashing. It's so upsetting because i literally just want to play!!!! I've attached the last crash file to see if anyone can help? As i dont understand the file. Thank you!girliepops35 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer40Views0likes4CommentsShortcut Keys Not Working
I load into the game, enter Build Buy Mode all shortcut keys such as E Eyedropper, H Select, K Hammer, G Grid, Ctrl Z Undo will not work. When in Live Mode, all shortcuts are working without any issue. This was first noticed yesterday, 16.09.25, but have not been on for about a week prior. I closed the game and reloaded, but it would not fix. I reset everything to default, didn't not fix it. Eventually, I found what I thought was a fix. Close down game, Documents, Electronic Arts, The Sims 4, Find the file Options.ini, Rename it to Options_backup.ini When you restart the game, Sims 4 makes a new default one. This will restore all Build Mode shortcuts to default. Which it did. Then earlier today 17.09.2025, I logged in again, same issue. I closed the game and reloaded, and after about 5 to 10 mins it just started working as normal again. And, I just tried to play again, not 4 hours later, and the issue has reoccurred. So once again, I closed the game and reloaded, and after about 5 to 10 mins it started working again. I appreciate that the quick fixes are working, but I would appreciate if anybody could let me know if they've have the same issue, found more lasting fixes or know what might have gone wrong in my game? The only thing I can think of that I did 'differently' on the initial log in, is that before loading the save file and incurring the issue, I re activated Seasons, that was disabled via the in game pack selection tool, and loaded into a NEW save.RigorStyx6 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer28Views0likes2CommentsLots Saved to Gallery Library Not Showing Up
I went to save some households and lots to my gallery library so I could place them into a different save. Households I could save and then see them in my library no problem, but the lots won't show in my library. I got notifications that they saved and if I click on the more details in those notifications it pulls up the page for the lot, but it doesn't display in my regular library. I also have the sims 4 tray importer program and the lots show up in their so I know they are in my tray files so idk why they aren't showing up in my gallery library. I'm on PC and play through the EA app. I use some mods/cc, but I've tried removing my mods folder as well as repairing my game and restarting my PC and the issue still persists.Huskyviolingamer6 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer13Views1like1CommentNo Screen For Gameplay
After updating all my mods and several reinstalling of Sims and EA App, I still cannot play any type of gameplay or build buy. My screen is a blueish green and anything that pops up on the screen remains. I have no mods or anything installed. This has been happening since the August update and its very frustrating please fix your game!!!!!Solvedqsocraaiitjp6 hours agoRising Novice77Views0likes8CommentsSims 4 Black Screen on Startup
Whenever I try to boot up the Sims, it'll play the intro logo and load in- but then it'll cut to a black screen at the New Game/Load Game etc screen. I need to use task manager to close out of it as well, and I've reinstalled it twice. Can anyone give me a hand?11Views0likes1Commentsomeone who understand the last exceptions /origin vs EA platform, please help
I have been trying to understand why I have been having issues with my game lately. I do not know how to read the "last exception" but I noticed this and now I have concerns. I have never used cc or mod - do not use cheats unless I absolutely have too but this is so different. I did, a long time ago use Origin platform to play sims 4. After the urging of the game and prompts to change to the EA platform, I did..... I have been using it for years now and today - when trying to understand the "last exceptions", I found this: I underlined and made it Bold.... I don't understand why it says Origin Version when I have not used that platform in ages! How do I get my game to recognized that I am using the EA platform? Or is this the problem???? Origin Version: 13,550,0,6063 Modded: False SystemInfo: Windows 11 10.0.26100 GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 32.0.15.7700, GUID: DC495571-6BED-11F0-B27E-207918B6FFD5 </desyncdata></report> </root> I also don't know which tags to use.rujuta4me6 hours agoSeasoned Ace23Views0likes1CommentThere's a problem with your game's setup. Please reinstall your game. 1.109
Hello fellow Simmers, After successfully downloading the new update of 18 September 2024 I couldn't launch the game. It told me to reinstall everything due to a problem with the files. I do not play with mods and have most packs, so that's going to take a while ☹️ I tried repairing and restarting first but to no avail, the message stayed the same. I wondered why this is happening and thought it would be wise to let the team know. I saved my inlog rewards and save file so will report back if it works after the reinstall. I run my game on a PC only used to play the Sims 4 but it still runs on Windows 7 Ultimate. edited title for visibility. -puzzlezaddictSolvedM_Starlighter17 hours agoSeasoned Rookie4KViews0likes69CommentsGame crashes when moving Sim into world
Hello, I am experiencing a serious issue with The Sims 4, here are the details: I am using a completely clean installation of the game (no mods, no custom content, no previous saves or worlds loaded). I have a backup of my household that i want to keep safe. I created a new Sim in a new game and tried to move them into the world (Willow Creek, game game world). The game crashes every time at the exact same moment when I try to move them into the world (after I create a Sim). I also tried using the Gallery to add the Sim but the game still crashes in the same moment. This happens even without any mods or additional content being used. I need assistance because I cant add Sims to a world wothout the game crashing, but I want to keep my backup household safe. Please advise on how to fix this issue Thank you very much for your helpMarianka99917 hours agoSeasoned Newcomer55Views1like4Comments
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