Hi, I have a Macbook Air and I'm attempting to install TS4 for the first time on an external hard drive.
My process:
-Went into Disk Utility and re-formatted my external HD so that it was classified as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
-Downloaded The Sims 4 from Origin with the destination in Origin (under "Installs & Saves") set to the location of my external HD. I granted Origin permission to access documents on a removable drive. After the game finished downloading, I launched the game once to confirm it was working (it was).
-Followed the instructions on Bluebell Flora's post to create a symlink for the Electronic Arts folder; this appeared to work initially. My EA folder was transferred to external HD and an alias was created in my Documents folder.
-I get the error message “The Sims 4 is already running” when I attempt to launch the game.
-I consulted the instructions in Bluebell Flora's post about this error message. I went into my privacy settings to confirm that Origin has permission to access both Documents Folder and Removable Volumes. The Sims 4 has permission to access Removable Volumes (there is no option listed to grant it access to the Documents Folder specifically).
I also tried granting both Origin and The Sims 4 full disk access, repaired TS4 with the option in Origin, and restarted my computer afterwards but this didn't resolve the issue.
I am still getting the error message and it's been difficult to troubleshoot because as far as I can tell I've followed all the necessary steps in the process - I would be massively appreciative if anyone could help talk me through this! Thank you so much in advance for any help.
You're muddling up the permissions for the game and Origin.
Origin - needs Full Disk Access. It does not need access to the Documents folder.
The Sims 4 - needs access to the Documents folder. If it doesn't you get the "already running" error message. You need to grant access in System Settings > Security & Privacy > Files and Folders.
It may help to read through the guide again to get a full understanding.
@BluebellfloraOnce I grant Origin Full Disk Access, there is no longer an option to change its access level on the files & folders tab. It is grayed out and defaults to "Full Disk Access".
The same thing applies to The Sims 4. If I grant it Full Disk Access, I can no longer change its access level on the files & folders tab. If I revoke Full Disk Access, I only have the option to allow it access to Removable Volumes. There is no option to allow access only to Documents.
Here are some screenshots that reflect what I see when I give only Origin Full Disk Access.
I understand perfectly. I'm trying to illustrate that for my computer, once I turn on "full disk access" for a particular app, it removes the ability to toggle any further changes on the files & folders tab. I also do not have an option to *only* allow Documents access to The Sims 4 on the files & folders tab (without granting Full Disk Access). As you can see above, if full disk access were hypoethetically turned off for TS4, I would only be able to toggle its access to "Removable Volumes" on the files & folders tab. Therefore, I assumed I needed to turn on Full Disk Access for TS4.
Here is a larger screenshot showing The Sims 4 with full disk access. When I attempt to launch the game, even though The Sims 4 has full disk access, I still receive "the sims 4 is already running" error message.
I've also tried running it with disk access turned on for TS4 and turned off for Origin, and I still get the same result.
