Sims 3 Launcher Buttons Not Loading & Launcher Stops Responding

As a small update, I tried launching the game directly from the TS3W.exe file and was able to get the launcher to come up with buttons (attached another screenshot) but some of the launcher is whited out and some of the buttons don't have text. When I click the play button, the launcher presumably crashes because it just disappears from the screen and from the tray that shows running apps.

NinjaAibou707  As a test, please try playing in a clean user folder.  Move the entire Sims 3 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, 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 see whether you can launch the game and start a new save.

If that doesn't help, clear Edge's Internet Explorer-mode data and try again:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/view-and-delete-browser-history-in-microsoft-edge-00cf7943-a9e1-975a-a33d-ac10ce454ca4

This worked for me and I was able to launch the game from a normal looking launcher-- thank you so much! Should I just try and slowly add back the files I had from the other folder now?

NinjaAibou707  Yes, exactly.  If a particular file or files give you trouble, but you want to keep them, let me know what they are.

You also don't need to transfer everything.  Any file the game recreates on its own you can skip as long as it doesn't contain useful data.  Here's a description of everything in the user folder:

https://sims3.crinrict.com/en/2011/01/faq-user-files.html

Okay so I started re-adding files back into the clean folder and it looks like the DCCache folder is the one that's causing the problem because as soon as I re-added it my launcher is going crazy and crashing again. Does this mean there's a problem with some of my store content that's installed, and if so is there a way for me to figure out what would be specifically causing the problem?

NinjaAibou707  DCCache contains all content installed through the launcher, so the problem could be your Store stuff but is more likely your custom content, if you've installed any through the launcher.  That includes cc that came attached to sims/households/lots you added as well.

Files that end in .ebc are bundled Store content, and those that end in .dbc are custom content.  The game reads each type in order, starting with dcdb0 and counting up from there.  If a number is missing, it doesn't read anything after that.  For example, if you remove dcdb3.ebc, it won't read dcdb4.ebc, but this will have no effect on the .dbc files, and vice versa.

Point is, if you want to test the individual files, you can add them one at a time, or you can test them one at a time, separate from the others, using Method by Mell on this page:

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

If you do end up needing to reinstall your Store content, here are some suggestions:

[Read First] Sims 3 Store guide | EA Forums - 11157679

So I got only a couple of steps in to the Method by Mell before running into a problem. I moved all .dbc files to my desktop and then added back in dcdb0.dbc back into DCCache and started the launcher. When I go to the installed content tab, I can see items in the installed content for just a moment before my launcher crashes. 

NinjaAibou707  Then something in that file is probably broken.  But the files that end in .ebc are completely separate, so test those as well.  And you can test dcdb1.dbc by renaming it, as in Method by Mell, as well as all the subsequent .dbc files, that is if you have any and want to preserve them.

Okay gotcha, I will continue to test the other files. Is there a way I can identify the specific object that's causing the corruption within the .dbc files and/or what should I do with other files I run into that are broken?