Sims 3 won't launch - Origin on Windows 10

@cupcakegurl2014 Is this the 1st time you are trying to launch the game or have you played before?

Also could you please post your DxDiag? To post the DxDiag select the 'Choose File' button below the post box and attach your DxDiag text file. 

Thank you!

Hello!  Thanks for you quick reply. 

My daughter has been playing this for well over a year on this PC when it suddenly stopped working.  I believe she said it coincided with a Windows update-but its been a couple months now.  

Here is the dxdiag file.  

Thanks!

@cupcakegurl2014 Did it happen before or after the upgrade to Windows 10? I do believe the issue may be with the graphics card that computer has and that Windows 10 does not have automatically installed drivers for the card. 

Hi Kristi,

It happened after the upgrade to Windows 10 (quite a ways after).

Thanks!

@cupcakegurl2014 I see, so it must be something else ☹️

Just to check does the same thing happen if you launch the game directly from the installation directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin) using TS3.exe or Sims3Launcher.exe?

If you can get the launcher to come up like this, could you please try un-ticking all the expansions and stuff packs in 'Expansions &Stuff' and see if you can launch just the base game.

If the same issue occurs, would you be willing to uninstall and reinstall the game? If you are willing to re-install, you can back up the game saves by following the steps here.

Hi Kristi,

I have tried launching it directly from the TS3.exe and SimLauncher3.exe file with no luck.

I can get the Origin launcher for Sims 3 to come up, and I did uncheck all of the expansion packs but it didn't change anything.

Yes we would be fine with reinstalling the game.  Now we have that through Origin, not a physical disc.  Is the process different?  Can we uninstall it and then just choose to reinstall it through the Original portal-or do we do the entire Uninstall and Reinstall through that?  (I did try the Repair function through the Origin portal and it didn't have any luck).

You mentioned Windows 10 affecting video drivers.  From what I remember my daughter said this stopped working just after Windows 10 did an update.  I don't know if that could have anything to do with it?  

I've read that there could be a resolution problem-in terms of it being too much for what the laptop video card can handle.  Is there a way to set the resolution in a config file before it launches?

Thanks!

@cupcakegurl2014 hey

Look at this thread ( http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/READ-FIRST-POST-HERE-Windows-10-Help-Thread/td-p/4703142 ) and at the first point (updating your drivers) in terms of the graphics card. You can also try the other suggestions there if you haven't already.

Your point about the resolution is actually a very good one, but I would try checking your drivers first. You can see how to adjust the resolution manually here: http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-3/ISSUE-Sims-3-Minimizing/td-p/3230209 - you can see whether running the game in windowed mode will work possibly ( https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-3/black-screens-crashing-or-freezing-in-sims-3-try-windowed-mode/ ) 

Let us know how it goes 🙂 

@EA_Kristi

Hello,

Well we've tried a number of the solutions (adjusting the resolution manually, playing it in Windowed mode) and nothing helps.

Pursuing the driver router, I updated the graphics driver for her PC with what is (according to the Intel site) the most current display driver.  Still nothing.

Sims 3 starts, we get the black start up screen, the cursor spins like its working and then the pop-up 'Sims 3 has stopped working'.

@cupcakegurl2014 As this is a laptop I advise using drivers from the manufacturer's site which in your case is HP. That being said your video chip (which is part of the cpu chip) only has 64Mb of dedicated memory. The minimum requirement for TS3 is a video system with 128Mb of dedicated video memory. There is no rule that says a computer with below specs won't run the software. But there is always the possibility that the software can (and sometimes does) quits working at any time. The Windows operating system is a resource hog and each iteration is worse. There was a recent update (which was extensive and took quit a while to finish) the Microsoft said there will no longer be any service packs so Microsoft will just call it (a really big) update. Ever since that update some people have been having trouble with TS3. This is probably a driver issue that probably won't go away. Actually the Windows update has been out for a while but Microsoft rolled it out slowly so the gazillion Windows 10 owners wouldn't try to download the update at the same time (nice of Mr Gates) so some computers didn't get this update for some time although there was a way to force the update.

Things to try that may or may not work:

- download the video driver from HP even if it is older

- lower the video resolution to 1024X768 - this should require less video memory