Re: Re: Sims 3 launcher won't open and reopens ea app

Puzzleaddict, thank you so much!  Playing on a new, local Windows account worked perfectly!  You really are a hero!

Unfortunately, that fix (playing in a new Windows account) worked for 24 hours.  This morning I’m back to the launcher not opening and bouncing me back to the EA app.  Sigh.  It sounds like this is happening to alot of people, so I’ll wait with them for a fix.

@Sherinicole  Do you use a third-party antivirus or some kind of cleaner app?  The former could be blocking Sims 3 or the EA App in some way; the latter could be deleting essential files.

If you don't use either, please run a virus scan on your computer.  I'm not saying you definitely have a virus, only that it's a possibility worth investigating.  Download Malwarebytes (the free version is fine) from here:

https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download

Open it, click Scan > Custom Scan > Configure Scan, check all the boxes both for scans and for your C drive, and let it do its job.  This could take anywhere from a few minutes to multiple hours, so you may want to set it to run while you're doing something else.  Please attach its report so I can take a look.

Thanks, much, puzzleaddict, for persisting with me through this annoying issue.  I tried disabling Norton 360, and the launcher wouldn't open.  I ran Ccleaner, then deleted it, and the launcher wouldn't open.  Finally, I ran Malwarebytes.  It didn't give me the option for a custom scan, that I could see, but I did the scan that it offered.  It found nothing, and the report is attached.

@Sherinicole  The option for a custom scan might have moved, for example behind another option like Configure.  But it's important to find it, wherever it is (and it was there when I checked three weeks ago), because it's much more thorough than the simple scan that's offered right away.

I'd go find it myself, but I'm on a Mac right now and wouldn't expect the settings to be the same as in Windows.

Found the custom scan option.  Sorry!  It didn't detect any problems, but the report is attached.  Thank you, as always.

@Sherinicole  That's good to see, but also a bit disappointing since a virus would have explained the issue and possibly been an easy fix.

As a bit of a shot in the dark, please try telling Sims 3 to launch in windowed mode, again in the new account.  Go into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, open options.ini, search for fullscreen , and set it to 0 (zero).  If this alone doesn't work, set your user and system DPI to 96 (100%), restart the computer, and try again.  Here's a guide for changing DPI scaling:

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

If this doesn't help either, let me know, and I'll as for a second opinion on this from someone who's better with Windows issues than I am.

Thank you for continuing to help me.  Unfortunately neither of those worked.  It seems so strange that the launcher and game would load perfectly after you suggested trying in a new Windows account.  I changed absolutely nothing, and the very next day it’s not loading again.  Makes no sense.

@Sherinicole  I've asked someone else to look at this thread.  In the interim, just to make sure, was Norton running at any point between when you created the new Windows account and when the game stopped working in that account?  If not, it could have blocked Sims 3's access to the new user's Documents folder, or something along those lines, after the initial play session when the game worked.

Thanks puzzlezaddict.  I did enable Norton again after I got the game running, and it was enabled for all of my unsuccessful tries yesterday.  I just tried disabling it again, and the game wouldn’t run.  I hope that this answers your question.

@Sherinicole  The reason I asked is that perhaps Norton changed the permissions on the new account's Documents folder, or something similar, blocking Sims 3 after the fact.  If the permissions were changed, then disabling Norton wouldn't fix it—the settings would persist even if you uninstalled Norton completely.  So the only truly accurate test here would be to leave Norton not running through multiple launches of Sims 3 and computer restarts, in another new Windows account.

However, please put that aside for the moment.  The person I asked has a suggestion and an info request, so let's try that first.  Please run a couple of basic checks of your Windows system files:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Checkhealth” without quotes, and enter
• If the scan does detect corruption, stop here and let me know
• Otherwise, hit Windows key-X again and open “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)"
• Inside the window, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes, and enter
• The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
• After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X and open “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)” again
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes, and enter
• Post the message you receive here

Please also provide the sfc log, the location of which sfc will list when it's finished.  You can attach the log to a reply.

Puzzleaddict, thank you for your very clear instructions, as I am completely clueless now!  Here are the message and log:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\Windows\system32> sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.
PS C:\Windows\system32> Windows PowerShell

I need to add that after running those recent scans the game is running again.  Hopefully the information I posted will help figure out what was going wrong and how to keep it running.

@Sherinicole  I see a few issues that sfc caught, but I'm not sure exactly what they mean in practical terms or whether they'd have accounted for the Sims 3 problems.  I can try to get some info about that if you're curious.  But the important thing is that you can play again.  Please let me know if you run into any more trouble.

Thanks, puzzlezaddict.  My game is still running and your talents are needed elsewhere!  Very grateful for all of your assistance.

Thanks, puzzlezaddict.  Here for another round!  I reran the DISM and sfc, and the game (launcher) still isn't loading.  Here is the latest dxdiag.

Bumping with an update.  I have redone all of the steps that got my game running last week, but it’s still crashing back to the EA app.  The dxdiag is posted above.

@Sherinicole  Sorry for the late reply.  I wanted to get another opinion on this again since I wasn't sure what was going on last time.  That second opinion suggests running an advanced malware scan with Norton or Windows Defender, whichever you prefer.  For Defender, use the advanced scan method here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/stay-protected-with-windows-security-2ae0363d-0ada-c064-8b56-6a39afb6a963

Once finished, please restart your comptuer and run a repair install, as described here:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

This shouldn't delete any data, but if you get to step 13 and are NOT asked whether you want to keep personal files and apps, back out and start over.

No problem, puzzlezaddict.  You have other problems to solve besides mine.  I ran a full scan with Windows Defender, and no threats were detected.  I then did the repair installation (with appreciation for the idiot-proof instructions).  Unfortunately, the launcher still won't open and crashes to EA app.  Attaching a recent dxdiag, if that helps.

Thank you.

@Sherinicole  Okay, please do a clean uninstall of both Sims 3 and the EA App with Revo Uninstaller.  Start with Sims 3:

• Put aside your Sims 3 folder in Documents\Electronic Arts and rename it to something that doesn't include the words "Sims 3."
• Download Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine) from here.
• Launch Revo, select Sims 3 from the list, and click Uninstall.
• Once the game is uninstalled, select "Moderate" under "scanning modes," and click Scan.
• Review the list, in case there's something you want to save; otherwise, click Select All, and then Delete.
• Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Uninstall the EA App with Revo as well.  I don't have instructions for that at the moment, but the process should be straightforward.  Restart again when you're done.

Install the EA App, then create a new folder into which you'll install Sims 3.  The folder should be on the root level of the drive of your choice, for example C:\Games is fine, but not C:\Program Files\Games.

Thanks, as always, puzzlezaddict.  I completed the steps you outlined.  All the other expansions and stuffs downloaded fine, but Into the Future has been stuck on “preparing” for hours.  Last time I reinstalled (couple weeks ago) I was able to download it through Origin thin, and can try it if you recommend.

Editing to add that the launcher loads up nicely now, so it’s just the issue with the last EP.

@Sherinicole  I would definitely try the Origin workaround again.  I've heard from some players that it still works and some that it doesn't, but the worst that can happen here is that it doesn't help you.  And I'm glad to hear that the game is otherwise working properly.

Thank you for all of your help, puzzlezaddict.  I’m happy that the game is running again and I’ll try the Origin route.  Fingers crossed that I’m not back here making a pest of myself again in a few days.🤞