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Seasoned Rookie

4 years ago

Solved

Sims 3: Game Won't Launch + Origin required error message

Hello everybody,

I'd first installed Sims 3 on an older PC Win 7, it worked just fine. Upgraded to a completely new setup, Win 10 also worked just fine. I remember playing this game until earlier this year, sometime in Feb-March 2022 before I stopped playing. Did not uninstall/reinstall/touch either TS3 or Origin in either way.
Got back today, I could log in just fine on Origin and it showed that the game was installed and ready to play. At that time I had Late Night and High End Loft Stuff installed along with the base game. After clicking Play it would disable the Play button (as it usually does when the launcher is running). However, I couldn't see the launcher anywhere. I loaded up Task Manager, couldn't see it there either.

While I was searching up solutions and reading various threads, the launcher after a very long time finally showed up - but with an error message "Origin is required to play the game...", after which it closed and Origin's Play button was again enabled. I will attach the error message with this post.

First thing I noticed, the Sims3LauncherLogFile.log is totally blank. According to the solution I had found, I moved the Sims 3 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts to my desktop (and renamed it to backup). No success. A new Sims 3 folder was not even generated. Then I both Updated and Repaired the game via origin. No success.

Uninstalled everything through Origin, then cleared the Origin cache thing (deleting Origin folder in App Data + deleting everything in Program Data > Origin except for Local Content), restarted the PC, logged in again, and installed only the base game. No success.

Then I decided to follow this thread: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10700883#M247761

I followed puzzlezaddict's solution.

I installed DirectX 9 as per the instructions they gave to the letter. As in, I created a DX folder and ran the DXSETUP.exe and restarted the PC. No success.

Uninstalled and reinstalled .NET 3.5 as per their instructions. Restarted PC, no success.

Uninstalled and reinstalled VC++ 2005 x86 as per instructions and the link they gave. Restarted the PC, no success. So I uninstalled this one, located the version that came with TS3 and reinstalled, restarted PC. No success.

Uninstalled and reinstalled VC++ 2010 runtimes (both x86 and x64). The links in posted were showing an error page, so I searched it up on Google and clicked on the link to the Microsoft website and downloaded from there. Restarted PC, no success.

I noticed by then that the TS3 launcher would show up under Origin in the Task Manager (Processes) with 32 MB taken up for memory, then gradually drop down to 25 MB, and after a long while load up the launcher but with the error message.

I tried to bypass the launcher as given in that post. Now, under Origin in the Task Manager, Sims 3 (32-bit) would show up instead of the launcher, but it would not load or show an error message. Changed the names in the Bin back to the original ones.

Multiple times I saw puzzlezaddict recommending the reinstallation of DirectX 9, so I kept doing that. No success ( I mean that the launcher wouldn't show up for a long time and when it finally did, it got with it the error message "Origin is required to play the game..."

I ran a dxdiag. Attaching that as well as the error message here.
Please help.

DxDiag.txt89 KB

technical issues

puzzlezaddict
4 years ago
@NidhiBaliga If you look in the lower-left corner of the launcher, you'll notice that your patch level isn't showing properly (patch 0.0.0.0 is not a valid version). So between that and the other steps you've already tried, I'd suggest doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of both Origin and Sims 3. Start with the game

Rename the Sims 3 user folder, the one that was previously in Documents\Electronic Arts, 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.

Next, uninstall Origin:

Quit Origin if it's still open, then right-click on the Task Bar and open the Task Manager. Scroll through looking for Origin entries. If you find any, click on them and End Task.

Next, clear Origin's cache.

Launch Revo again and uninstall Origin, and when it's uninstalled, select "Moderate" again and Scan.

If Revo finds any remaining registry entries, select all, delete, and click Next.

Revo will display "Remaining Data and Folders. Select all of them except for the "Origin Games" folder, if it appears. (This is where other Origin games are installed by default.) Delete the rest.

Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Next, download the full Origin installer and run it. Here's the direct download link:

http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe

Be sure to run both the installer and Origin itself as an admin: right-click on each and select "Run as Administrator." When it's reinstalled, download Sims 3; you can just download the base game, to save time, if you want.

Restart after installing and before playing, and allow the game to create a new Sims 3 user folder rather than reusing your old one. Run both Origin and the game as an admin.

If this doesn't work, please let me know whether you still see version 0 in the launcher.

6 Replies

puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago
@NidhiBaliga If you look in the lower-left corner of the launcher, you'll notice that your patch level isn't showing properly (patch 0.0.0.0 is not a valid version). So between that and the other steps you've already tried, I'd suggest doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of both Origin and Sims 3. Start with the game

Rename the Sims 3 user folder, the one that was previously in Documents\Electronic Arts, 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.

Next, uninstall Origin:

Quit Origin if it's still open, then right-click on the Task Bar and open the Task Manager. Scroll through looking for Origin entries. If you find any, click on them and End Task.

Next, clear Origin's cache.

Launch Revo again and uninstall Origin, and when it's uninstalled, select "Moderate" again and Scan.

If Revo finds any remaining registry entries, select all, delete, and click Next.

Revo will display "Remaining Data and Folders. Select all of them except for the "Origin Games" folder, if it appears. (This is where other Origin games are installed by default.) Delete the rest.

Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Next, download the full Origin installer and run it. Here's the direct download link:

http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe

Be sure to run both the installer and Origin itself as an admin: right-click on each and select "Run as Administrator." When it's reinstalled, download Sims 3; you can just download the base game, to save time, if you want.

Restart after installing and before playing, and allow the game to create a new Sims 3 user folder rather than reusing your old one. Run both Origin and the game as an admin.

If this doesn't work, please let me know whether you still see version 0 in the launcher.
NidhiBaliga
Seasoned Rookie
4 years ago
I tried that... ran into a few problems.

First of all, my original Electronic Arts > Sims 3 folder was already moved to the desktop and saved under a different name. When I tried installing DirectX 9 and all other stuff yesterday, when the launcher gave the error message, it created a new Sims 3 folder with only two files, launchermanifest.pid and version.tag. I went ahead and renamed the folder to "ts3 backup".

When uninstalling Sims 3 using Revo, after clicking Scan, it showed me both leftover registry files first, which i clicked Select all and then Delete. After that, it showed me a list of folders and files... which I also clicked Select All and Delete. You've mentioned this happening under uninstallation of Origin but not Sims 3... I hope I didn't make a mistake by deleting both. Then I restarted.

Next I uninstalled Origin like you said. Select All and Delete for both registry and files/folders. However, I didn't find "Origin Games" under the Remaining Files and Folders. I have no other Origin games installed... so I hope that shouldn't be a problem.
Then I tried to download the full Origin setup from your link but the page wouldn't open up. So I downloaded it from the link in this thread: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Origin-Client-Web-Technical/Download-Latest-Standalone-Setup-For-Origin-Here/td-p/4120003
Clicked on Run as administrator... but it showed an "Error Loading Webpage." Tried it with the WiFi off... same thing.
So I opened your link in a new window and could successfully download your OriginSetup. Run as Administrator both with and without internet connection. Same error (I'll attach it below)
I also ran a Reliability Test but I can't attach it (xml file). What next?
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago
@NidhiBaliga I'm not worried about how you used Revo. (And I wrote the guide to uninstalling more than a year ago, so some Revo settings may have changed in the interim.) Since the point was to remove everything, you should be fine.

Origin does need an internet connection when you first install it. If your computer can't connect to EA servers, that could easily explain the issue, and apparently it's not just a corrupt version of Origin or Sims 3. Could you try using your phone as a mobile hotspot for your computer? Make sure it's using data, not your home wifi, in case there's an issue with your router. The point is to see whether Origin can load properly using an entirely different connection.

If that doesn't help, please let me know what antivirus you use, if any, and whether it helps to set an exception for Origin.exe. It's a good idea to whitelist OriginSetup.exe as well.

If the Reliability Test is info from the Reliability Monitor, you can just copy and paste the relevant entries. If it's something else, please let me know what, and you can make it into a .rar file and then attach it to a post.
NidhiBaliga
Seasoned Rookie
4 years ago
Okay, I'll make a few clarifications.
I don't use WiFi. I live away from home and there's no WiFi here... I use a mobile hotspot. I'm just used to calling it WiFi. The last time I played TS3 (Feb-March), I was using a WiFi connection, however I almost exclusively played in offline mode.
I believe the OriginThinSetup (origin client) would install pretty normally although i haven't tried it. I don't get how it's different from the full Origin installer though.
Bottom line, there's no way I can connect to the internet through a different method.
My antivirus (Quick Heal) also expired recently and I haven't renewed it but I haven't uninstalled it either. So I don't know if it's the active antivirus but with limited features or Microsoft Defender is currently protecting. I'll check and let you know.
I ran the Reliability Test and and clicked on Save Report, I believe? It's an XML file which i can't seem to open. Should I just run another test but save it a different way?
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
4 years ago
@NidhiBaliga I don't know what the Reliability Test is, that's why I was asking. I have no idea whether it's useful or not.

You could certainly try the OriginThinSetup instead. I always recommend the full installer because it's less prone to error, but that doesn't mean the other is going to break anything.

I'd also suggest getting rid of your antivirus, at least long enough to test.

If none of this works, try installing Origin into a different location, specifically a different folder that you create fresh just for this purpose. Call it whatever you want; the point is to have a folder that hasn't been exposed to your antivirus or anything else that could cause trouble.
NidhiBaliga
Seasoned Rookie
4 years ago
IT WORKED! Thank you so much!

I genuinely didn't do anything except renew my antivirus + run the full Origin installer and follow your instructions. A clean uninstall + reinstall helped.

And yes, when I said Reliability Test I meant results of the Reliability Monitor.

Thanks again!