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EA_Mai's avatar
EA_Mai
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6 years ago
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[Info] The Sims 4 macOS Catalina Troubleshooting

Edited: Check the solution in the comment below! [ Spoiler ]
mac
  • EA_Mai's avatar
    EA_Mai
    6 years ago

    Hi everyone,

    We just released a patch for the game to address some of the issues you have been reporting:

    Update 10/23/2019 - 1.56.55.1220

    Hey Simmers!

    Small but important update for macOS players. Catalina players have had a bit of a rough time thanks to some changes in how applications access files. This has made game play a little bumpy. This patch makes things work more reliably for Catalina users!

    Additional information:

    • Simmers on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) will be prompted to allow The Sims 4 access to the Documents folder. Grant this request.

    -SimGuruGnome

     

     

    Please, update your game and give it a try!

    Oh, and if you pressed 'Deny' when the game asked for your permission to access Documents, let's fix that!: go to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Files & Folders -> Fine “The Sims 4” in list and check the “Documents Folder” check box

nadahlia's avatar
nadahlia
6 years ago

Help! Since yesterday there's this error message appearing "Unable to start. The Sims 4 is already running", which is not true. The game is nowhere running which I can see through Activity Monitor. I've been trying everything, even switching to a different Apple account but it still didn't work. Even uninstalling every little file of Origin and Sims on my computer did not do the job. Please help ☹️ I've lost all hope of playing...

  • ventrap's avatar
    ventrap
    6 years ago
    @nadahlia As dmz06 replied a few pages back :
    "What I found is that my Sims folder has a "UserData.lock" file in it that, for some reason, causes this problem. To get passed it on my machine I deleted the lock file from "~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/".

    Try using Finder to go to your Documents -> Electronic Arts -> The Sims 4 folder and rename/delete/move UserData.log, then try relaunching. If you prefer the command line then open Terminal and try:

    rm -rf "~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/UserData.lock"

    Then try to launch the game again."
      • Gio_22_lol's avatar
        Gio_22_lol
        5 years ago

        i got the sims 4 this december on macbook air 2020 (macOS Big Sur) and it worked fine until now, when i open the game it says that the game is already running. i've followed the advices above, i resetted the game, reinstalled, updated and repaired but it didn't work so i deleted the file userdata.lock and the game works BUT DOESN'T SAVE the pregress. so everytime i have to create a sim and build an home and it wont save. please help!

    • aajvell93's avatar
      aajvell93
      6 years ago

      This makes my game run, but I cannot load my saved games.

    • les250071's avatar
      les250071
      6 years ago

      @ventrap This worked for me. I just moved the userdata.lock file to my desktop and it opened. Still very slow however and all my saved games are gone... :/

      • misspurpail's avatar
        misspurpail
        6 years ago

        the same happened for me except i made the mistake of DELETING that file ☹️

  • megan_skeens's avatar
    megan_skeens
    6 years ago

    Hi all,

    I've been playing The Sims 4 on my Mac for a few years now. In the past couple of weeks, I have been having issues accessing TS4. My system (macOS Catalina Beta 10.15) and my games through Origin have all been updated. Today when I tried to play TS4, I got this error message: 

    I'm not sure if there's anything I can do at this point? I read certain posts saying TS4 won't be able to run on certain Mac operating systems, but I am not sure if that affects me or not. I've tried reinstalling Origin, restarting my Mac, made sure that it wasn't actually running on the Activity Monitor, changed permissions on Origin and TS4 (advice I read from another post) but nothing has worked. I'm not sure what else to do, if there's anything at all.

    Does anyone have any advice?

    Thanks,

    Megan 

    • tayllah's avatar
      tayllah
      6 years ago

      Here is the advice from this thread from a few years ago. Hope this helps!

      - Close the game (and anything else that's open // save whatever was open)

      - Log out of your Mac profile (press the Apple in the top left corner and go down to log out)

      - Create a new profile (Don't worry you won't need to keep it, it's just for the brand spanking new settings and files)

      - Go into your new Mac profile

      - In your files section locate the folder (Electronic Arts) containing the sims 4 game.

      - Copy that folder and all of its contents onto a USB

      - Log out of your newly created Mac profile

      - Log onto the one you usually use (the one you use to play the sims 4)

      - Locate your Electronic Arts folder and delete it***
      ((***If you have specific mods you want go into your Mods folder and place the ones you want onto your USB))

      - Now take the mint (untouched) Electronic Arts folder and copy and paste it where the old one was.

      You should now be able to play the game :D

      ((***for the mods make sure the game works first and then log out and add your mods to the new mod folder))

      • megan_skeens's avatar
        megan_skeens
        6 years ago

        Hi there,

        Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I don't have a USB, so I am going to have to go out and buy one. 

        After I posted my issue last night, I did find a solution to get my game to launch. This is what I did: 

        "What I found is that my Sims folder has a "UserData.lock" file in it that, for some reason, causes this problem. To get passed it on my machine I deleted the lock file from "~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/".

        Try using Finder to go to your Documents -> Electronic Arts -> The Sims 4 folder and rename/delete/move UserData.log, then try relaunching. If you prefer the command line then open Terminal and try:

        rm -rf "~/Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/UserData.lock"

        Then try to launch the game again."

        So, I've been able to launch the game now, but it's running incredibly slow, freezes, and shuts down. I changed some settings in-game to have graphics on the lowest setting, but that hasn't helped much. 

        Sigh.

    • EricaWilliamsx's avatar
      EricaWilliamsx
      6 years ago

      I tried deleting the userdata.lock file in the sims 4 folder and that seemed to work for me! 🙂 

  • kiwibluespring's avatar
    kiwibluespring
    6 years ago

    Well at least there are multiple users with the same issue, and not just myself. Hopefully that alerts the developers and prompts a quick patch update 🤷‍♂️

    • Valdemar19022's avatar
      Valdemar19022
      6 years ago

      I've spoken to EA support (origin support) for two hours to figure out, what could be done - and nothing else than what everyone in here is suggesting. I certainly hope they will figure out to update the game with a patch asap - this is ridiculous! 

      BTW, when I delete the user data lock file, it simply creates a new one.

    • mariaaguirre98's avatar
      mariaaguirre98
      6 years ago

      Have you figured out a way to play yet?? 

      • RebeccaOscarSim's avatar
        RebeccaOscarSim
        6 years ago

        My Sims will open in windowed mode (so minimised) and works however I am unable to save any progress.... 

  • jtyler2009's avatar
    jtyler2009
    6 years ago

    I am not using the beta version, I just updated to the official version of thee new mac IOS software. But it keeps telling me the game is running and cant be open with this code 

    [ed35e0ea:29f00e76:00000000:18a1dd51]

     

    I tried running the game and it froze so i forced closed it and even restart my computer. nothing. i just tried that whole origin reset thing. still not working. any word on when we might get it working? or any suggestions 

    • jtyler2009's avatar
      jtyler2009
      6 years ago

      I just say the whole delete the user data lock. and i did that now its up and running. 

      • ToKiHyou's avatar
        ToKiHyou
        Seasoned Scout
        6 years ago

        Hi!

        When you removed data.lock, does it still upload your saved game?

        Because for me it forces me to create a new sim ☹️

        Best regards,

        Toki 

    • McHolz's avatar
      McHolz
      6 years ago

      Just updated to Catalina, the official (ugh should've held off) now Sims 4 is giving me the

      Unable to start:

      The Sims™ 4 is already running.

      [ed35e0ea:29f00e76:00000000:18a1dd51]

      poop -_-

      I am glad I am not the only one. Here is to hoping there wll be a patch soon.

  • rach1002000's avatar
    rach1002000
    6 years ago

    My laptop did the new IOS update this morning and now my Sims 4 game will not open. Every time I go to launch it it brings up an error box saying it is already running which it is not. 

    I have tried rebooting my laptop, plus relaunching the game and repairing it etc. Any help would be appreciate.

    • Rename23321's avatar
      Rename23321
      6 years ago

      You've got iOS running on your MacBook…?! You must be really talented to have managed that as it's a mobile operating system! 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @rach1002000  I take it you're running Catalina, and now your Sims 4 game won't work?  I've merged your post into the master thread for macOS issues.  Please see the solution on page 1 (accepted for visibility) for troubleshooting steps you can take.

    • Monibra99's avatar
      Monibra99
      6 years ago

      I tried suggested and nothing worked. The only thing that worked for me and now I’m playing again without any problems so far is sadly but truly uninstall the game and origin and install back. I lost everything specially that my girl was already an Alchemist 😭😭😭 

  • MythKit01's avatar
    MythKit01
    6 years ago

    Today I updated to the latest OS as recommended. 
    Now running on macOS Catalina 10.15 and suddenly my sims won't open at all, pop up box keeps saying Sims 4 is already running.
    I have restarted my computer but still the same message.
    I can assure you it is not running at all.
    I guess I may have to go backwards to whatever I was running on before.

    Not Happy.☹️

    • Bluebellflora's avatar
      Bluebellflora
      Hero+
      6 years ago
      @MythKit01

      I’ve moved your post as it is not relevant to the Lion thread. Please read the Accepted Solution on page one of this thread (2nd post) for the two workarounds for Catalina users.
    • cattymccarty's avatar
      cattymccarty
      6 years ago

      This is happening to me as well.

  • simmyfroggy's avatar
    simmyfroggy
    Seasoned Ace
    6 years ago

    @Bluebellflora
    Catalina seems to have major issues with running the Sims.
    I updated yesterday and got the "game already running" message. So I went through all the necessary steps as mentioned in the troubleshooting guide pinned in this forum. Game worked fine.
    However, when I started today, I got the same message all over again.
    While I know the steps work, I'd really appreciate not having to set up my game settings every time I want to play, backup and move my saves and tray and screenshots.

    Is there a way to avoid this bug happening again? Other than starting with a clean game every time?

    ETA: more (possibly already mentioned) info:

    - deleting UserData.lock stops the "Game is already running" message

    - after that, I still have to reset the TS4 folder altogether, start the game, exit game, move my backups into the active folder, then start again to have all my saves and library

    - all the .ini setting files copy over fine (which means I don't have to set up everything from scratch and they're not the cause of the issue, I guess)

    Tech: Macbook Air 11'' (early-2015), 4GB Ram, 256GB SSD, Intel HD 6000 (if relevant) 

    • Bluebellflora's avatar
      Bluebellflora
      Hero+
      6 years ago
      @simmyfroggy

      You shouldn’t have to be resetting the folder every time. So long as you start with a clean folder after the update then copy over your saves/tray/screenshots/mods files into the newly created folders you should be fine going forward. You should not have to be trashing the UserData.lock each time either. Are you running the next beta update or the GM/public release?
      • simmyfroggy's avatar
        simmyfroggy
        Seasoned Ace
        6 years ago
        @Bluebellflora Yeah, that's what I expected. I just did a laptop restart and it worked fine (no need for a clean folder) so I'm gonna cross my fingers that this morning was an unfortunate glitch.
        I'm on the public release version of Catalina.
    • krisbextor's avatar
      krisbextor
      6 years ago

      The ‘game is running’ and freezing bugs happened to me after updating to Catalina too.

      I followed the suggestions and everything works fine now, Here’s how i solved it:

      1. Go to the Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder. Move the whole folder to Desktop 

      2. Launch the game to the main menu, then quit
      3. Inside the Sims 4 folder at your Desktop, copy the ‘saves’ folder to Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 (do the same for Mods and Tray)

      • aestes71's avatar
        aestes71
        6 years ago

        I've now completed those steps and the freezing continues. :-( :-( I don't know what else to do!

  • aasalp's avatar
    aasalp
    6 years ago

    I have the same problem. I don't know how I can fix it.

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