Re: Game Shutting down

@Caturra75  You can try resetting the system DPI (dots per inch) to the normal 96 (100%), instead of the 120 (125%) it is now.  That wouldn't normally cause a problem for Sims 4, and if it did, I'd expect the game to crash right away.  But since you got a message about screen resolution, it's worth trying.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5990-change-dpi-scaling-level-displays-windows-10-a.html

I'd be interested to know what the notification said specifically, if you can still find it.  If you can only get a screenshot, don't worry about translating; it should be easy enough to figure out.

I understand why you'd want to give up at this point, but the thing is, you'll at least need to update Windows, for the overall health of your computer.  While your build will be supported for a little longer, it's still better to update now for various reasons, not the least of which is that other software you might be running will be optimized for the newest build.

If going through the whole process of manually updating to 1909 is too much trouble, you can try force updating to 2004 (the newest build) through the Microsoft website.  One of the reasons 1909 is better to try is that HP hasn't released graphics drivers for your laptop for 2004 yet, but that's not necessarily fatal.  Please first make sure that your laptop does support 2004 though: hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and you should either see a prompt to download and install feature update 2004 or a message that your computer isn't quite ready.

If you can in fact install 2004, don't do it through this page.  Instead, open Edge (yes, specifically Edge) and go here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

There will be a button at the top of the screen to download the newest version of Windows.  Click it, and Windows should take care of the rest.  Be sure to back up critical files beforehand, as is always a good idea when updating your operating system.

@Caturra75  Well, that would explain the crashing, and no translator app necessary: the system didn't find a graphics driver and defaulted to the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.  That's enough to crash anyone's game.  The question is why your presumably still installed Nvidia driver stopped working.

Please go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4, open config.log, copy the first 40 lines or so (stop when you get to Options), and paste them into a post here.  Please use a spoiler tag, so it's not too long; the button is next to the other formatting options.  Now that you've updated, please run a new dxdiag as well.

I'm thinking this might be as simple as installing a new driver directly from Nvidia, but I want to double-check with that second opinion, in case there's something I'm missing.  Plus, I don't want to be wrong and make you then go through another clean uninstall of the driver.

@puzzlezaddictI hope the issue is easy to fix, it has been a long journey ahah


Here it is: 

@Caturra75  Okay, so you do still have the newest Nvidia and Intel drivers provided by HP, and Sims 4 is starting out using the Nvidia driver, but apparently at some point that changes.  The question is why.  Please open a File Explorer window and enter

C:\Windows\Minidump

in the address bar.  There should be a couple of .dmp files in that folder.  Right-click on each one and select Copy, then right-click on your desktop and select Paste.  From there, you can zip them together and upload them to the free filehosting site of your choice.  Please link them here so I can take a look.

@Caturra75  When did you BSODs occur?  Do you remember specifically?  it's fine if you don't, just please check the original date on the file you uploaded, not the one you copied to your desktop but the one in C:\Windows\Minidump, and let me know if it's from when you were playing or soon after.  This could be related, or it could be a separate issue.

Edit:  An hwinfo log would also be useful to see.  I don't know for sure that anything obvious will be there, but it's good to check.  Download hwinfo from here:

https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

You don't need to install anything if you don't want to; just choose the Portable version, unzip it, and launch it from Downloads or wherever you want.  (If you would like to install, be sure to click the green button, not the orange one.)  Restart your computer, and don't open any other apps.  Launch hwinfo, choose "sensors only," and click the icon that's a sheet of paper with a + sign to start logging.  Save the file to your desktop for easy access later.

Wait five minutes, then launch Sims 4 and play until it crashes.  Click the same button to end logging.  Then upload the log to a third-party free filehosting site and link it here.  Please leave it in .csv format, or if you use OneDrive to share, please compress it in .zip format instead.

@Caturra75  Okay, so if it happened during the updates, it may be completely unrelated.  Of course it could be another underlying symptom of the same problem, but that's not at all clear.

I edited my earlier post to ask for an hwinfo log, but maybe you didn't see it.  This would give a report on your hardware, every sensor available to the system.  It's definitely worth checking.

@Caturra75  Thanks for the hwinfo log; it was quite illuminating.  The first thing to note is that your processor runs very hot, each core fluctuating between 70 and 90° C for most of the time you're playing.  This isn't necessarily an issue, since the critical temperature is 100°.  The CPU thermal throttles just a bit here and there, which it should do to protect itself, but it doesn't hit its max, and it doesn't look like overall performance is affected much.  So while it's possible for these kinds of temperatures to cause crashes, I would guess this isn't the cause.

That's not to say the temps don't matter.  It's a good idea to take steps to help cool the laptop while you play: point a fan at it, elevate it (use a laptop tray or put books or something under the corners), or get a cooling pad.  It would also be a good idea to open the laptop and have a look at the fans, if you're comfortable doing so.  There are plenty of guides on YouTube for opening and cleaning any given laptop, so you can have a look and decide whether it's something you'd be willing to try.

Interestingly, the graphics card temperatures are totally fine.

What I think is more likely to be causing your crashes is your system running out of memory.  While 8 GB RAM is enough for Sims 4 and Windows, it looks like there's something else using too much memory while you play.  In fact, your computer is using a lot more memory than I'd expect even before you launch the game: out of 8 GB installed, the system only has 3.5 GB available to begin with.  And that drops under 1 GB for most of the play session:

You can see that virtual memory available drops to zero towards the end, I'm guessing right when the game crashes:

Did you run the test with other apps open, and if so, which ones?  Windows normally manages memory better than this, although RAM-related crashes are not an uncommon problem in Sims 4.  Have you ever manually changed any settings related to virtual memory or the page file?  An artificial limit could prevent Windows from allocating the resources it otherwise would.

Otherwise, if you restart your computer and don't open any apps at all aside from hwinfo, what does it report for physical and virtual memory available?  You don't have to log another session; just let hwinfo run for a couple of minutes with nothing else open, then screenshot the first category of readings, stopping at page file usage.  If it's higher than 2 GB, please look through the Task Manager for any apps using a lot of memory.  You might have a few starting with Windows (maybe even something from HP), and disabling those when you play could help.

I'm still asking for a second opinion though (again), in case I'm missing something important.

Edit:  Apparently I left out something important.  To clarify, are you still testing in a clean user data folder?  If not, was this test in an existing save or a new one?  How much custom content do you use, in GB (if any); and approximately how many mods do you have?

 Hi   @Caturra75 I am the second opinion. 😉

This is HWInfo result shows as @puzzlezaddict rightly said, clearly why the game is crashing. 

Now we have to find out why this happens.

• Please preform a clean boot.
• Start HWinfo to log as explained by puzzle before.
• Play the game for 20 minutes or until it crashes.
  
• Load up the log file.

Then:

• Press the windows key and "R" at the same time.
• Copy and paste "sysdm.cpl" (Without the quotes) into the new Window > ENTER
• Go to the "Advanced" Tab > Under "Performance", click "Settings" > Go again to the "Advanced" tab.
• Under "Virtual memory" > select "Change"
• If "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" is set, uncheck it.
• Select the Windows system drive > Select "Custom size"
• Change "Initial size value" to "16384".
• Change "Maximum size value" to "16384".
• Apply = OK.
• Restart the System.
• Play the game.

It should take considerably more time before the system crashes. 

@puzzlezaddict

There was a few apps that automatically opens by starting Windows, those were the only ones runing. Anti-Virus, Steam, Discord and Origin (I think the only ones).
And yes, sometimes I can feel my laptop getting really hot.
I deleted all my save files when I reinstal Sims 4 and Origin.
I haven't tried CC or modes in Sims 4 yet... because of this issue. I have only downloaded 2 sims and a house from gallery.

@Caturra75 

That was my fault, leave the dot (see edit above) out and it will work. 🤭

But please wait until @puzzlezaddict or I get back to you, because you could play inside the clean boot without crash I like to check the hwinfo log first.

@Caturra75  Please open the Task Manager's Startup tab and see what's listed.  Please take a screenshot of what's listed.  For any app you don't absolutely need running, select it and click Disable.  Then restart your computer and see whether the game crashes.  Also, if it's not on the list, please let me know what antivirus you're running.

It may be that one of the startup apps is taking too much memory even when you're not using it.  Shutting everything down could be enough, although testing is the only way to find out.  You can always open apps like Discord and Steam when you need them, but they don't need to be running while you're playing Sims 4.

@Caturra75  Please screenshot the contents of the Arranque tab in the Task Manager, so we can see what's there.  Even if you've disabled everything listed, it would be good to know what might have been causing problems.

Edit:  So now having looked at the screenshots on my computer rather than my phone, and being able to see more than the first part of the first screenshot, it turns out you're running two antivirus programs at the same time.  McAfee can cause problems all on its own, but even more so when it's running alongside another antivirus and fighting for control, although in fairness this is true for most of these apps.  If you're not actively using it, please uninstall McAfee and clean out its files.  You can find directions on the McAfee site; it's best to use the uninstall tool described in Method 2:

(This link is very long.)

Then the question becomes whether that alone is enough, or whether you'll still need to disable the other apps on startup to play Sims 4 without trouble.  Avast also has periods where it doesn't get along with Origin games, and then it goes back to working, although it usually prevents the game from running entirely rather than just eating RAM.  Still, if Sims 4 crashes with Avast and nothing else running, you could try disabling it temporarily, just to see.

The point is, you can go in order, testing after each step to see whether Sims 4 runs normally.  First get rid of McAfee, then disable other startup apps, then try without Avast, even if you're going to reenable it later.  The approach Holger1405 recommended would be the next step if nothing else prevented the crashes.  It's better, under normal circumstances, to let Windows manage these settings, and only intervene if necessary.  So that's why he's suggesting you try other steps first.

@Caturra75 

You use Avast, a virus scanner that is not unknown for causing problems with games, and McAfee together.

Two virus scanner are not more secure, in the contrary, the are bound to disrupt each other.

The also could very well be responsible for the high RAM usage.

I would strongly suggest to clean uninstall one of them.

(I would look for a official uninstaller or to use REVO (freeware) if you decide to do that.)

@Caturra75  I should have asked before, but is there a reason you have McAfee as well?  Between it and Avast, one does need to be removed: running almost any two antivirus programs side by side can and usually will cause problems at some point.  So if there's a reason to keep one and not the other, that makes it easy.

If you're not sure which one to keep, Avast is somewhat more likely to cause problems with Origin games than McAfee, although both are most often fine.  On the other hand, the free version of Avast is good enough for most people's uses; you may not need to pay for an antivirus at all.  The point is, pick one and only one.

@puzzlezaddict @holger1405  Hey there! 

I've already removed McAffe. I onyl had that app because it came with the laptop, so I didn't touch it sooner...

I've been able to play with no problem since I did the clean boot! :D

I think that was the issue. Yesterday I was playing and the came crashed, but I had Google Chrome open. I closed the app with the task manager and it resolved again. 

That means that I can only play with 0 stuff going on on my laptop? 

I though this laptop was better tbh.

Thank you so much for all your help!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

@Caturra75  It's still worth testing with Avast disabled, even if you want to keep it installed.  Whether it helps or not is useful information.

Chrome is a known memory hog, but you should still be able to play with it open: Windows is normally better about managing RAM use when resources are low.  I'd still like to know what apps are listed in the Task Manager's Startup tab, in part because I'd like to know what else runs when you're not in a clean boot.  The memory use reported in hwinfo is much higher than I'd expect before you started playing—for me, Windows sits at about 2 GB RAM right after rebooting, although I'm one build behind you.

It's possible that addressing the issue of extra RAM use on startup would help, but again, that depends on which apps are enabled at startup and what they're doing.  So please specifically screenshot the Task Manager's Startup tab, not the main one but the one that says Arranque at the top.

By the way, your laptop is good, it just maybe needs more memory.  (Maybe.)  And that's an easy upgrade, and cheap too.  But it might not be necessary, depending on whether you can get RAM use under control.

@puzzlezaddict Here you have it : https://imgur.com/a/TWUY4rQ

About the RAM, will it help about the heating of my laptop? 

Thanks a lot. 

@Caturra75  Wow, that is a long list of startup apps.  It's good that they're all disabled on startup now though—with 8 GB memory, you don't need all that running at the same time.  Just to be clear, does the game crash with nothing else running aside from Origin and Avast?  Does it crash with Avast disabled too?

Adding more memory won't help with the processor overheating, it would just alleviate the memory issue.  You probably just need to clean the fans and/or the vents on the case.  Given the age of your laptop, it's time anyway, or perhaps way past time if you live with a pet that likes to shed.  While your CPU is definitely running hot, it's only barely thermal throttling, so it doesn't need much help to go back to cooling itself properly.  If you clean the vents and fans and still want to do a bit better, you can elevate it while you play—get a laptop tray or put books under the corners or something—or get a cooling pad.