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camifowl's avatar
camifowl
New Novice
11 months ago
Solved

Sims 4 start screen greyed out

I have removed every mod from my folder. I have deleted localthumbcache. I have deleted LastException files. But nothing will get rid of the greyed out start screen every time I open the game. I cannot click or do anything and I'm scared that I will have no choice but to lose all of my saves. 

gameplay issue
  • foxglovefaun's avatar
    foxglovefaun
    11 months ago

    i think i ran into the same problem, but i found a solution and i hope it solves your problem too.

    TL;DR: try hitting the ESC key.

    my start screen was totally greyed out, and i couldnt load or start a new game or access settings or anything. i cleared my cache and repaired the game via the EA app, went through and removed all recent mods in case there were any offenders.

    what wound up working for me was after loading up the game i just pressed the ESC key. im not sure why but it cleared the greyout and let me access the start menu like normal.

    im not sure what's up! it gave me an in-game ad the second i cleared it up, so i think there may be something with the start menu alert system, but the ESC key got me up n running again.

    if this isnt it, i hope you find a solution soon!

14 Replies

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  • crinrict's avatar
    crinrict
    Hero+
    11 months ago

    Try the following

    • Close the game
    • Rename Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4 to Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4_Old
    • Repair the game
    • Start the game. All your content will be gone now as the game created a new folder. All your saves/.. is still in the old folder so not to worry
    • Start a new save game
    • Check if you still have the error
    • Report back with your results for further steps on how to get your stuff back.
  • camifowl's avatar
    camifowl
    New Novice
    11 months ago

    Does repairing it mean I should uninstall and reinstall? I repaired the game in the EA App but nothing changed, forgot to mention that. I do have my Sims 4 folder saved and renamed on my desktop, however. Does this mean my saves will be okay?

  • foxglovefaun's avatar
    foxglovefaun
    11 months ago

    i think i ran into the same problem, but i found a solution and i hope it solves your problem too.

    TL;DR: try hitting the ESC key.

    my start screen was totally greyed out, and i couldnt load or start a new game or access settings or anything. i cleared my cache and repaired the game via the EA app, went through and removed all recent mods in case there were any offenders.

    what wound up working for me was after loading up the game i just pressed the ESC key. im not sure why but it cleared the greyout and let me access the start menu like normal.

    im not sure what's up! it gave me an in-game ad the second i cleared it up, so i think there may be something with the start menu alert system, but the ESC key got me up n running again.

    if this isnt it, i hope you find a solution soon!

  • hyggehaus's avatar
    hyggehaus
    Seasoned Newcomer
    3 months ago

    I figured out a workaround for now. If instead of clicking the X you click “save now” and then click the Home tab after, all is copacetic. Hope they fix it soon

  • DarkDiamondSims's avatar
    DarkDiamondSims
    New Adventurer
    2 months ago

    When the game loads and immediately brings you to a pop-up ad that takes up the entire screen, instead of pressing the X to exit, press Esc. It just worked for me!

  • pixifroot's avatar
    pixifroot
    Seasoned Newcomer
    2 months ago

    OMG thank you, you're a life saver this worked for me... I'm really starting to get so frustrated with all these bugs in a game I've spent hundreds of dollars on :/

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