Sims 3 Launcher Not Working

@alexmaxzac  At this point, there probably isn't much more you can do other than some kind of reinstall of Windows.  If you have an install medium for 8.1, you can do a repair install; if you don't, you could do a reset.  Or you could install Windows 10, which may be the best outcome overall.

Let me know if you need help with any of these options.

@puzzlezaddict Ah ok, would this mean that my files would be erased? If so, would there be anyway to keep my files?

I really wouldn't want to lose my saves, but if I have to, to play the actual game, then that would be ok.

Thanks.

@alexmaxzac  In theory, upgrading to Windows 10 wouldn't erase your files, and I believe a repair install wouldn't either, although I'd have to look up the details for 8.1.  (The reset would delete everything.)  In practice, any time you do something like this, it's best to back up all your critical data beforehand.

If you don't have an external hard drive or USB stick to use, you can upload your saves to a cloud storage service (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.), or more than one if the free allotment for each service isn't sufficient.  Zipping folders before uploading them helps with the overall size and with the organization on the upload sites: instead of having dozens of loose files, you'll have a single .zip that you can extract back into a folder with its internal file structure intact.

@puzzlezaddict Ok, how would we do a repair install. I really wouldn't want to delete my files so could you make sure that this wouldn't?

Thank you so much for being so so helpful.

If this doesn't work, then updating to Windows 10 will be my next resort 🙂

@alexmaxzac  For a repair install, you need a Windows 8.1 install medium.  Here's a good tutorial:

https://www.eightforums.com/threads/repair-install-windows-8.26095/

Still, back up everything essential first.

@puzzlezaddict Hi,

I tried to do the repair install and I seem to be getting nowhere unfortunately. There seem to be countless errors popping up or it gets a bit too complicating.

If I may ask, how would I update to Windows 10? As this is now what I am looking at to hopefully resolve it.

Also, just a thought, would clearing IE cache help? As this is what the whole error process started with, the bad image error on the ieframe.dll file which then was replaced with this error message.

Thanks.

@alexmaxzac  You could try clearing IE's cache, sure.  It wouldn't have anything to do with the system errors you're seeing, but maybe it would help Sims 3.

Here's a good guide to upgrading to Windows 10.  I'd install using an ISO or USB stick, not the direct path through the Media Creation tool.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2267-upgrade-windows-10-a.html

It looks like if your Windows 8.1 product key is active, it may automatically grant you a Windows 10 license.  Even though the upgrade program officially ended years ago, people report that it still appears to work.

When Windows 10 is installed, you'll need to install drivers too.  Windows may find some for you automatically, but double-check that you have all of these:

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ch/en/products/desktops-and-all-in-ones/lenovo-h-series-desktops/lenovo-h50-50-desktop/downloads/driver-list

There's no harm in running them all: if that driver or a newer one is already installed, Windows should tell you, and you can move on.