Forum Discussion
Hi!
I'm having a frustrating issue with The Sims 4. Every time I try to start the game, I get the message "invalid game license." I've tried a few solutions, but nothing seems to work.
What I've done:
- Update Microsoft Visual C++
- Update graphics drivers
- Clear the EA App cache
- Uninstall and reinstall The Sims 4 and the EA App
- Perform a clean boot
Can anyone help me?
- gg13012 years agoSeasoned Newcomer
i'm having the same issue since updating the game yesterday, hope someone can shed some light on this
- puzzlezaddict2 years agoHero+
15o900 gg1301 Please make sure the EA App is closed and not running in the Task Manager, not even any related process in the background services list. Do the same for Steam if you use it.
Hit Windows key-R, enter %programdata% in the run box, open Electronic Arts > EA Services, and move the License folder to the desktop. Then try again to play.
If this doesn't help, please let me know whether a new License folder gets created, and if so, whether there's a new file inside. I'd also like to know how many files are in the License folder you moved and how many other EA games you have installed. Try to launch one or two of them as well, if you have any.
- gg13012 years agoSeasoned Newcomer
i've tried that and still no luck.
there is no new license folder.
there were 3 files in the moved license folder (71530.dlf, 1019521.dlf, 1025169.dlf - if that helps)
i have 3 other EA games installed and they all have the same game license issue when trying to run - 15o9002 years agoSeasoned Novice
I have already tried this, but there are no files in the EA Services folder. I tried repairing the game, but the folder did not return. I don't have any other games in EA.
- puzzlezaddict2 years agoHero+
gg1301 Does it help to run the EA App as an admin? Right-click the desktop shortcut and select "Run as administrator."
Do your other EA games work if you restore the License folder?
Separately, can you play any of these games in a new admin Windows account, with the License folder removed? Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account.
Finally, what antivirus do you use?
- 15o9002 years agoSeasoned Novice
My account is already an administrator account, and I also run the EA App as an administrator. I use McAfee antivirus.
- Barbieanna362 years agoSeasoned Newcomer
tons of us are having the same problem, this is riduculous.
nothing works!
- puzzlezaddict2 years agoHero+
15o900 Please disable McAfee, temporarily of course, and try again. As long as you don't do anything else at the same time, your computer should be safe, and you can reenable McAfee when you're done.
The point of a new admin Windows account is not to test in any admin account, it's to test a new account that didn't exist before now. The new account's settings and permissions should all be default, which is most of the point of the test. So please do try it.
- 15o9002 years agoSeasoned Novice
I just switched the Windows user, and unfortunately, it didn't work.
- krfawesome5 months agoNewcomer
Download it on Steam, worked for me. It's gonna look weird and outdated if you try to add mods to it after that though
- puzzlezaddict2 years agoHero+
15o900 The EA App had a recent update that may or may not have helped—it did address a related error that happens when offline. So please do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine), and choose the Intensive scanning method. I'm not saying this will definitely fix the issue, but it's a reasonable possibility, and it would be best to start fresh after this newest update.
- 15o9002 years agoSeasoned Novice
I just tried that, and it didn't work, so I tried again and it still didn't work. I don't know what else to do to fix it. Do you have any more ideas for me to try? Thank you in advance.
- puzzlezaddict2 years agoHero+
15o900 What country are you in? Do you use a VPN, and does it help to disable it? And to make sure, because I didn't see a response either way, did it help to temporarily disable McAfee? I'mt not saying you shouldn't use it in general, but given how many other steps you've already tried, it's worth confirming that this is unrelated to the issue. You'd need to repair the game after disabling McAfee and before trying again to play.
- 15o9002 years agoSeasoned Novice
I'm from Brazil, and I don't use a VPN. I already temporarily disabled the old one, but there was no change