Re: Failed to launch error
Hello hello! Please remember that I have complied this from several different sources and that ANY one of these COULD work for you, but none are guaranteed! Before you do ANY of these steps, PLEASE COPY YOUR SIMS 4 FOLDER TO A SAFE LOCATION. If you cannot copy the ENTIRE file, please COPY your Save, Tray, and Mods folders to a safe location! I recommend your desktop. This will ensure you always have your current starting point to go back to if you need, it feels a lot better when you know you have it, I promise. Before you do any of these steps, please try to Run as Administrator at least ONCE while having your mods folder disabled; this seems to work in some cases to restore the correct file pathing and get everything going. Good luck, and I hope you’re back to Simming soon!
1: Disable your Mods Folder (just rename it Mods - Disable) → Run as Administrator → Exit → Renable Mods folder → Run as Administrator again
2: Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open task manager and End Task on ‘EA Background Service”. ‘Run As Administrator’ on your Sims 4 game by right clicking on the Desktop Icon. ((Thank you Maxis Match CC World for this one!))
3: Clear your EA App Cache Data via the app. Help Menu (Top left hamburger bar) → App Recovery → Clear Cache → Sign Back in → Repair the game → Run as Administrator ((Thank you Twisted Mexi for this one!))
4: Clear your EA App Data Manually. Windows Task Bar → Type %AppData%\Electronic Arts → Delete this file → Run as Administrator
5: Repair the Game with all Mods Removed.
6: Delete the resource.cfg file in your mods folder. Mods Folder → Search resource.cfg → Delete → Restart the EA App and then Launch the Game via it This creates a new resource.cfg file.
7: Uninstall and Reinstall ONLY the EA App. That’s it, that’s the method.
8: Start the game with everything (save, mods, tray) removed completely from your Sims 4 App. Please make sure you have those backups for this step! The point of this one is to have a completely vanilla game while not creating a full reinstall, allowing the game to read only its own files to determine if there is an issue. Create one new save file with one new Sim -> Add in your Mods Folder ONLY → Try to restart the game → This will narrow down if it was an issue with your mods, or a conflict in one of your saves.
9: Update your Graphics Driver. Either your computer’s system can do this, or if you know your graphic driver brand you can go to their website and check for an update. Even if you don’t think you need one, you might.
10: This is a Windows OS ONLY Fix! EA App → Manage → Advanced Launch Properties → Type -dx9 - Save ((Thank you Alex, @atraxatrocity on X for this one!))
I do apologise in advance to those who these fixes will not work for, I truly do understand how frustrating this is, but once you have exhausted this list, it is likely either an individually broken mod, OR just not something on your side at all. We do know that the Sims Team are officially investigating, as they have made a reply on X via TheSimsDirect There are many more individual fixes that people have been finding, but they are usually related to looking through the mods folder and finding individual issues, or logging back in to the EA App (which can be achieved by ending the EA Background Service.) I hope one of these helps you! If I find any more, I will update! - AJ :) ❤️✨
