@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/
"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).
@henriette79 Please try playing in a new admin Windows account. Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account. You'll be able to sign into the EA App and (try to) launch Sims 3 without reinstalling anything. Let me know whether it works, and if not, what error you see.
