Game won't start after pressing play on the launcher

Renfeh​  Have you tried playing in a clean user folder yet?  If not, please do so now.  Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  If it copies instead of moving, or you get an error when trying to move it, stop here and let me know.

Otherwise, when you open the launcher, if it opens, 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 start a new save and see how it runs, that is if you can get that far.

If that doesn't or didn't help, please attach that dxdiag to a reply here so I can take a look.  Not all issues a dxdiag can list show up as flags in the file, in fact that's relatively uncommon among the types of problems that prevent Sims games from working.

And no, the Alder Lake patch won't do anything for you.  It only ever helped higher-end 12th-gen and newer Intel processors; older and lower-end ones and AMD CPUs were entirely unaffected.  Besides, the EA App version of Sims 3 was patched to fix the issue in January.

WHY DID THAT WORK???? I mean, I'm happy about it and all, but HUH??? IT WAS A CLEAN INSTALL! I had already backed up and deleted everything! So, here is my question now, what do I do with all of my saves and custom stuff? Is there a way to test it without having to restart every time a new item is added? Let's just say, I have a bit of custom stuff. As I said in the post, I've been playing it since 2009, and I LOVE a few creators...  😄

Well, I'm rude...

THANK YOU!!!!

Renfeh​  Even if your game install was clean, your saves and custom content mean it's not a true clean/vanilla test.  And cc is known to stop the game from loading on occasion, even after you've been using it a while.  Saves shouldn't, so those weren't causing this issue at least.

Another potential cause of this issue is having a mod that depends on installed content without that content.  For example, if you've installed NRaas Cupcake and your Store Bakery set is missing, or has somehow become uninstalled, the game will crash almost as soon as you press Play.  Similarly, having the NRaas MasterController Progression module will crash the game if you're missing the base MC or StoryProgression mod.

Aside from specific problems like these, you'll need to test your cc and mods to see what's breaking the game.  For .package files, you can use the 50/50 method.  For launcher-installed cc, use Method by Mell, described in this article, to find the broken item(s):

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-custom-content.html

Hopefully you can uninstall the broken item(s), but if not, you can at least remove the affected .dbc file and keep the rest.

Working on it and found that almost ALL of my ORIGINAL FILES don't work or are MISSING from EA app.  NOT HAPPY!!! Having to re-install all of the CC, worlds, and other items is a PITA. When this game came out I bought ALL of the expansion packs, ALL of the stuff packs and a shot-ton of stuff from the store. Now, suddenly it's GONE. 

Renfeh​  Your installed content is in the Sims 3 folder you moved or renamed, so still intact but not loading in-game.  That's part of the point of the test.  You can restore that content once you've sorted through your cc and mods.

For your missing expansion or stuff packs, please list them and let me know whether they're showing as owned and installed in the EA App, under Sims 3 > Manage > Manage add-ons.

I'm saying that they aren't in the EA app. I bought them on disk. Which are in storage. So, moot point there, except that EA doesn't show me as owning them for some reason. Other than that, only about half of everything is back the way it was before this debacle. Sans all of the expansion packs that have gone missing since EA decided to go from a working platform to whatever this thing is that they have now. As a matter of fact, MOST of my EA stuff that I have purchased over the last 30 years is missing... SMH... (sorry, don't mean to rant at you. Unless of course you own a majority share in EA? I do own ALL of the CD's that were part of the original Sims 3 releases. It's just all in storage! (I didn't think to get them out this summer when it was oh, so much warmer than it is now! 

The only ACTIVE EP I have now is Island Paradise. I'm missing a lot of the worlds,  all of the stuff packs, and the REST of the EPs. (that's the other thing, the Sims 3 store doesn't have an accurate accounting of what I own either. And, for some reason, I have three of everything that I DO own???), but I do have Barnacle Bay, Celtic Lands, Dragon Valley, Monte Vista, & Hidden Springs. Funnily enough, the Sims 3 store shows all of the purchases for coins, but none of higher priced purchases made with the coins. Very strange.  

Again, thanks for the help.

Just disappointed, ya know?

Renfeh​  If you still have some of the codes associated with your missing packs, you can contact EA customer support and ask what happened to your content.  You may be able to find the codes in your computer's registry:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2013/09/how-to-find-your-serial-number.html

When contacting support, you'll want the live chat option, not email, so you can explain your request if the support rep doesn't understand the first time.  The idea here is to say "I bought this content, it's gone, here are the codes, please look up their status," or words to that effect.

https://help.ea.com/en/customer-care/

NO JOKE - MOST of the EP's SHOWED UP TODAY on the EA app!!! Very Weird!!! Still missing all of my stuff packs, but kinda cool!