After the last patch update, the game crashes when the sim reads

Question

Hi, after the last patch update (and I don't mean the first big update to the new crystal pack, which took place, I think, on February 27th, and I don't mean the one that came right after that to fix the bugs, but another one, the second patch update) the game started crashing every time the sim started reading a book, or when I sped up the time.

Today it happened four times, each time I wanted one sim to read a book while the others did other things and I watched them primarily. Suddenly my laptop strangely clicked two or three times, followed by the game crashing without any error message. I got no Last Exceptions orange messages, no messages from Better Exceptions saying I should update any mods. Yes, I'm using some downright outdated mods, but until this particular game update, which was supposed to fix disappearing moodlets and other things, I personally had everything working fine. I'm only now having this problem, is anyone experiencing something like this please?

I just want to know if this is happening to other people and if it's the update's fault. The sim just reads the book, the game crashes. I speed up the time, the game crashes. It's never happened to me before, I have an Acer Nitro 5 laptop, two years old, it handles all other games without a problem, e.g. Hogwarts Legacy, so with the minimum requirements there shouldn't be a problem, plus all of a sudden like this. Thank you.

I tried clearing the EA cache, removing the localthumbcache file, optimizing the game, and updating the graphics drivers. I've also removed a few mods, so far nothing has helped. But if it's a deficiency caused by the update, nothing helps me either.

luthienrising · Answer

@SweetySimon Please test with no mods or CC at all, rather than just without mods you suspect to be the issue: Exit Sims 4 then drag your Mods folder to your desktop. Then delete the file called localthumbcache from Documents &gt; Electronic Arts &gt; The Sims 4. If you think you might accidentally forget to exit without saving after testing, copy your Saves folder to your desktop too, to back it up. Now open Sims 4 and see if you still have the problem. If you don't, you can start the process of figuring out what from your Mods folder was causing it.

sweetysimon · Answer

Thank you, I've been looking into it all day today and so far I've managed to confirm that it really should be the mod's fault, not the game update. So now I'm gradually testing mods and looking for the ones that might be bad.

luthienrising · Answer

@SweetySimon Thanks. If you isolate it something not already on Broken/Updated Mods , I'd like to know what.

sweetysimon · Answer

I removed the Mods folder from the documents, cleared the cache, "fixed the game" in Steam, removed the localthumbcache, and started a new game to check if the game would still crash all over again the moment the sim reads a book while I possibly speed up the time.&nbsp;After the above precautions, the game didn't seem to crash anymore, so it does indeed look like a faulty mod was causing the problem in my beloved saved game position. Okay then, I checked one mod at a time, updated, disabled, etc. I gradually put them back into the Mods folder, nicely in groups, so I could more easily find the culprit. But the upshot is that all the mods I've put into the game and checked this way, one by one, appear to be fine. The new game with the test sim didn't crash once while I was reading the book, though maybe that only happens at a certain skill level? Or maybe when she has items from other mods in her home, when she has downloaded books in her inventory? In that case, I'd have to start checking all over again and it would be really infuriating&nbsp;At the very end of my testing I had only one mod left, Pregnancy Books by Kiara. I was hoping that the very last one would be the wrong one. After all, they are books, which could be related to the game crashing when reading books. BUT, when I put this mod into the game, the game didn't crash while reading. However, these pregnancy books didn't appear in my game at all, even though the mod was definitely in my folder and was even enabled in the game settings where it showed up. But the books were not available for purchase at all.&nbsp;So now? I'm totally confused. When I took all my mods again, including the pregnancy books, and put them in the game, the game didn't crash. In that new saved position. However, I'm worried that if I remove the new test save position and want to go back to my favorite save game with all my families, items and houses, the problem will reappear. And I'm still no closer to figuring out what is causing the crashing when reading. Now I just don't know what to do anymore.

luthienrising · Answer

@SweetySimon KiaraSims is in the process of updating all her mods. If it's not on the Updated list, there's a good chance it's not working right now, especially if you don't own all Sims packs.

I wonder if the most recent hotfix made a difference too, coincidentally -- it was partly for inventory issues.

As for the saves, I'd suggest keeping a copy of your current Saves folder on your desktop, including your test version. That will give you extra restore points if the issue recurs, and they'll be better ones than completely starting over.

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After the last patch update, the game crashes when the sim reads

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