@livvie77,
Editing this to add new information since it had been awhile since I played the Strangerville Mystery!
I had forgotten that you are supposed to scan the ground or floor and not the machines. If you are underground deep into the secret lab where most of the spores are, it is best to wear the hazmat suit! 🤨 You will see the pinkish/purplish spore clusters once you scan. 🙂
Earlier post follows:
do you play on a console or a PC/Mac? If you play on a PC/Mac do you happen to use Mods or Custom Content (CC)? 🤔
If you use Mods/CC please do the following:
1) Move the Mods Folder to your desktop
2) Delete localthumbcache.package file in the game folder.
3) Fix you game in Origin by logging in and go to Library, then right-click on The Sims 4 and choose the "Repair Game" option from the list. Wait until Origin finishes repairing all your packs and not just the base game.
4) Now, when you turn on your game again, it will create a new mods folder that will be empty. Check to see if your game is now working without mods/CC.
5) Now you can try adding back items from your Mods folder one at a time checking your game each time to see which item is causing your game to not work properly. If you have a lot of items, you can try the 50/50 Method.
The CC creators will usually update the CC items and Mods after these updates, so when you find out which one is the culprit, you can get the updated version from whoever made that item of CC in the first place. You should try these steps anytime you have problems in your game to rule out CC/Mods problems. It is the responsibility of the Mods/CC creators to update their items anytime EA releases a patch/update, and it is the responsibility of the people who use Mods/CC to make sure they are using the most recent version.
That said, it has been a while since I last played the Strangerville Mystery. It could be that you are supposed to just click to scan on one particular machine and just haven't found the right one. Or there could be a bug I don't know about. 🤔
