@kippjones11 Before doing anything else, please clear the EA App's cache:
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/
and repair the game: open your game library, click Sims 3, and select Manage > Repair.
As a test, please move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop. If you see an error when trying to move it, or the folder copies rather than moving, stop here and let me know.
Otherwise, try again to play. If the game launches, a clean Sims 3 folder will spawn with no content. (Your saves and other user content will be intact in the folder you've moved but temporarily not read 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.
If the game still won't launch, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
@puzzlezaddict Firstly, thank you for responding with so much information, I greatly appreciate it.
When trying to clear the EA app's cache, this is what popped up for me instead of a confirmation window:
I tried restarting the app and followed the clear cache steps again but got the same result. I can still open the EA app, but not the clear cache prompt. It's not giving me the confirmation screen instructed through the link you attached. Should I disregard and try repairing the game? Or how do I fix this error too?
@kippjones11 Please uninstall the EA App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine). Then restart your computer, download a fresh copy of the App's installer, and run it. I'd like to know whether clearing the cache works this time around even though there shouldn't be any data worth removing—if the process still doesn't work normally, that points to a system or possibly account issue that needs to be addressed. In that case, I'd like to see a dxdiag.
If clearing the cache works, please repair Sims 3 and try to play.
@puzzlezaddict Ok, I uninstalled and installed a clean copy of the app and it fixed the issue with clearing the cache. Initially when trying to repair my game it got hung up on an error message but I restarted the app a couple of times and managed to get through and complete the repair. I followed your instruction on moving my Sims 3 folder to my desktop, it didn't prompt me with an error or copy, it moved cleanly. However, it still will not launch the Sims 3 and provides me with the same error message I originally mentioned. I ran the dxdiag and attached it below
"As a test, please move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop. If you see an error when trying to move it, or the folder copies rather than moving, stop here and let me know."
Hi! I tried to do this, but first it said I had to be an administrator to do this. I clicked accept, and after that, it said that a file was open or something like that. So I couldnt move it to desktop. What does this mean/do you know how to proceed?
@henriette79 Where is Sims 3 installed? I ask because this sounds like what happens when you try to move the game's program files, not the user folder. In an EA App install, the program files are here by default:
C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 3
But perhaps you chose a different location. To find out, open your App game library, click Sims 3, choose Manage > View properties, and you'll see the file path there. Let me know what you find.
Please also let me know whether you have any saves or other user data (mods, custom content, saved builds, etc.) you'd like to preserve.
Yes, the install location is as you said C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 3\
And no, the only thing installed is the base game - no saves, mods or dlcs (i do own some dlcs though, and would like them installed at some point, but figured I wouldn't want to waste time and disc space, before I got the base game to run).
