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Hotfries12345's avatar
Hotfries12345
Seasoned Newcomer
3 months ago

Sims 3 won’t launch on new gaming laptop.

I got my laptop in May of this year and I was really excited to play the sims 3. Whenever I try to play the game the only thing that pops up is a black screen with a white line across it. I’ve tried everything and I’ve  given up, please help.

5 Replies

  • Hotfries12345​  Try forcing the game to launch in windowed mode.  Open Options.ini, in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 3, search for fullscreen , and set it to 0 (zero).

    If that doesn't help, please let me know what game version you currently see in the lower-left corner of the Sims 3 launcher.  Please also provide a dxdiag.  Click Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

  • Hotfries12345​  There's nothing concerning in your dxdiag, which is of course good, but it also means there's no obvious reason why the game isn't working.  So as a test, please create a new admin Windows account and try playing there.  Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account or any email address.  (You can keep declining until you're asked some security questions.)  You won't need to reinstall anything, at least not now.

    Before trying to play, clear the EA App's cache and repair the game (Sims 4 > Manage > Repair).  If you use a third-party antivirus, disable it, temporarily of course, before you repair, and leave it disabled until you've tested.  As long as you don't do anything else at the same time, your computer should be safe.

    If this doesn't help, please do a clean uninstall and reinstall of Sims 3 and the EA App, as described here:

    [Read First] Running Sims 3 in Windows | EA Forums - 8323446

    I would suggest disabling a third-party antivirus while reinstalling too, just to be thorough.

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