Hello, I recently rebuilt my PC and was forced to switch to Windows 11 as that is all that was available to purchase. I’ve spent the last 3 hours going through Sims 3 fixes and every single one I’ve found is not fixing my game. For context, I am able to launch the EA App and get into the Sims 3 launcher, but upon clicking the blue play button within the launcher I am taken back to the EA App. I don’t know if it’s notable that it will sometimes tell me that the Sims 3 is already running, but other times it doesn’t show this error. Here is everything I have tried so far with no success:- Installed DirectX 9 and rebooted my PC- Made sure .net framework 3.5 is turned on- Unsynced my sims 3 folder from one drive, and then uninstalled OneDrive for good measure (didn’t want it anyway tbh)- Made sure Windows Security has exceptions made for the EA App and all Sims 3 exe files- Tried LazyDuchess’s Alder Lake patch (I have a 13th gen processor and not a 12th, but I was told it might still work)- Tried using powershell script to force Sims 3 to use one CPU core when launching- Tried using task manager to force Sims 3 use one CPU core when launchingI honestly don’t know what to do at this point to make the game work on my new PC. I’m attaching the DxDiag file to the post in case that gives any helpful information. Any help would be appreciated– thank you!

Unfortunately, none of these options have worked for me.I tried moving the Electronics Arts folder to my desktop to no avail, and I used PowerShell (Admin) to activate the command and restarted my PC. I also followed the troubleshooting post you linked and its saying my username already has full control and is already the owner of the folder. There is still no Options.ini file and I am still encountering the issue where upon restarting my computer, the launcher opens, I click play, the launcher reopens again for some reason, and then upon clicking play again it tells me that the game is already running.

Okay so I got it to work, but I'm honestly not entirely sure what did the trick. After reinstalling Windows 11, I was still getting the error that the game was already running. I then got another error saying something about a missing dll file and that reinstalling the game might help, so I did that but still got the already running error. This is the part where it gets confusing. A solution that I tried before was creating a PowerShell script to limit the Sims 3 to launch using only one core, and just in case I tried rerunning that program via PowerShell before launching the game. Another thing I did around the same time was realize that because I reinstalled the game, I needed to go back into Properties > Compatibility and click the box to run the program as administrator. I had this box ticked before I did the whole Windows repair and game reinstall, so I'm honestly not sure which one or if both did the trick, or if me reinstalling Windows 11 did something to make both of these things work better, but that's how I managed to fix my game. I will update in case I figure out exactly what might have worked, but for right now if you're having this issue I would recommend trying the PowerShell script and making sure you are launching the program as an administrator (and of course using the Alder Lake patch if you have a newer CPU). And maybe try a clean reinstall of Windows 11 in case that did something.Here is the link the PowerShell script tutorial I used:https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-won-t-open-Alder-Lake-Intel-12th-gen-CPU/m-p/11144265#M249006

I am having the EXACT same problem! I have spent the last week trying to resolve this. Can someone please help

@NinjaAibou707 You are or at least were at some point seeing the Alder Lake issue, which affects most 13th- and 14th-gen Intel processors as well. Are you specifically applying the workarounds to TS3.exe, without the W? That's the executable the game would use with an EA App install. I can't tell from the dxdiag when these errors happened—you might have resolved that issue only to run into another one. So if you've been using TS3.exe and still can't play, please try to launch the game one more time, then look for new errors in the Reliability Monitor. Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each day. Today is on the right. Look for an error that happened at exactly the time of your most recent attempt to launch Sims 3. If you find one, double-click it to see more details, then copy that info and paste it into a reply here. If you don't see a new error, check back in an hour or so—the Reliability Monitor doesn't always update right away.

Hello, thank you for your reply. I was indeed patching the TS3.exe without the W, and just in case I tried repairing the game and re-patching after I got your reply and I still encountered the same error. I relaunched the game and this is the information I'm getting from the Reliability Monitor (under spoiler tag).Spoiler (Highlight to read)SourceSims 3SummaryStopped responding and was closedDate‎12/‎13/‎2023 1:37 AMStatusReport sentDescriptionA problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exeProblem signatureProblem Event Name: AppHangB1Application Name: TS3.exeApplication Version: 0.2.0.32Application Timestamp: 568d4bacHang Signature: 984bHang Type: 67246080OS Version: 10.0.22621.2.0.0.768.101Locale ID: 1033Additional Hang Signature 1: 984bd69d3d41532f406b89d5737a6862Additional Hang Signature 2: 7aeeAdditional Hang Signature 3: 7aee7f38c58c751165f53957c7994e15Additional Hang Signature 4: 984bAdditional Hang Signature 5: 984bd69d3d41532f406b89d5737a6862Additional Hang Signature 6: 7aeeAdditional Hang Signature 7: 7aee7f38c58c751165f53957c7994e15Extra information about the problemBucket ID: a7b4d2a3e5c6775682b8f8ef6ac85c0f (1349101795569851407)SourceSims 3SummaryStopped responding and was closedDate‎12/‎13/‎2023 1:37 AMStatusReport sentDescriptionA problem caused this program to stop interacting with Windows.Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\TS3.exeProblem signatureProblem Event Name: AppHangB1Application Name: TS3.exeApplication Version: 0.2.0.32Application Timestamp: 568d4bacHang Signature: 984bHang Type: 67246080OS Version: 10.0.22621.2.0.0.768.101Locale ID: 1033Additional Hang Signature 1: 984bd69d3d41532f406b89d5737a6862Additional Hang Signature 2: 7aeeAdditional Hang Signature 3: 7aee7f38c58c751165f53957c7994e15Additional Hang Signature 4: 984bAdditional Hang Signature 5: 984bd69d3d41532f406b89d5737a6862Additional Hang Signature 6: 7aeeAdditional Hang Signature 7: 7aee7f38c58c751165f53957c7994e15Extra information about the problemBucket ID: a7b4d2a3e5c6775682b8f8ef6ac85c0f (1349101795569851407)I also wanted to mention that I tried another tip for setting up an unlinked administrator account on Windows and trying to launch, and for some reason the Sims 3 actually launched over there (the first time the game has launched at all on my new PC). However, I am for some reason now getting an error on my main Windows account that the Sims 3 is already running every single time I hit play, even after using task manager to shut down EA App and trying again. I keep seeing that tip for testing it on the clean unlinked account, but I can't find anywhere that describes why that is significant and what steps I need to take on my own Windows account based on that information. Or does that just mean I have to switch accounts everytime I play sims 3?

Sims 3 Won't Launch on New PC w/ Windows 11

17 Replies

NinjaAibou707
Seasoned Rookie
2 years ago
I just tried it out and I am still having the same issue unfortunately. ☹️
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
2 years ago
@NinjaAibou707 Did you get an Options.ini in the new Documents folder, and if so, did you tell Sims 3 to launch in windowed mode?

If that didn't help, or you had no Options.ini, please change the location of Documents back to the default C:\Users\username\Documents. I'm going to ask someone else if they have other ideas here, but it might take a couple days for a response. In the interim, you can play on the new account—it's simple to transfer content back and forth. I understand it's not your preferred solution, but at least it's a workaround you can use for now.
NinjaAibou707
Seasoned Rookie
2 years ago
I unfortunately am still not seeing an Options.ini file in the new folder or after restoring the default location. And yeah that will be okay for right now until someone maybe has another idea-- thank you so much for all of your help and suggestions, I genuinely appreciate all of the effort you put in to help me.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
2 years ago
@NinjaAibou707 I got that second opinion, and the only other suggestion the other person has is to try a repair install of Windows:

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/repair-install-windows-11-with-an-in-place-upgrade.418/

This shouldn't delete any of your data, but if you get to step 14 and are NOT asked to keep personal files and apps, back out and start over.

If this doesn't help, then the only good option I know of is to use the other Windows account to play Sims 3 going forward.
Fl0raSpirit
2 years ago
Hey there, so I am having the exact same issue with my sims 3. I open the launcher via the EA app and everything is fine with that, but as soon as I press play it doesn't open, but instead the EA app opens. I've tried pretty much every single method here to fix the issue, I tried cleaning out corrupt files using command promt and theres nothing else I can do beyond that point. I don't mind resetting my entire pc and removing all its contents to get a fresh start but now I've found I'm running into another issue with my brand new PC. Anytime I try and reset it, I get the following message: "There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made." I keep getting this error no matter which way I try and reset my PC, I've tried countless advanced methods to get it to reset but nothing is working. I have a feeling this is probably the root cause of why my sims 3 isn't playable in the first place.
Fl0raSpirit
2 years ago
@puzzlezaddict I also tried to do this but I don't have the option to "Fix problems using Windows Update".
NinjaAibou707
Seasoned Rookie
2 years ago
Okay so I got it to work, but I'm honestly not entirely sure what did the trick.
After reinstalling Windows 11, I was still getting the error that the game was already running. I then got another error saying something about a missing dll file and that reinstalling the game might help, so I did that but still got the already running error. This is the part where it gets confusing. A solution that I tried before was creating a PowerShell script to limit the Sims 3 to launch using only one core, and just in case I tried rerunning that program via PowerShell before launching the game. Another thing I did around the same time was realize that because I reinstalled the game, I needed to go back into Properties > Compatibility and click the box to run the program as administrator. I had this box ticked before I did the whole Windows repair and game reinstall, so I'm honestly not sure which one or if both did the trick, or if me reinstalling Windows 11 did something to make both of these things work better, but that's how I managed to fix my game. I will update in case I figure out exactly what might have worked, but for right now if you're having this issue I would recommend trying the PowerShell script and making sure you are launching the program as an administrator (and of course using the Alder Lake patch if you have a newer CPU). And maybe try a clean reinstall of Windows 11 in case that did something.
Here is the link the PowerShell script tutorial I used:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-3-won-t-open-Alder-Lake-Intel-12th-gen-CPU/m-p/11144265#M249006

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Sims 3 Won't Launch on New PC w/ Windows 11

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