Forum Discussion

Bluebellflora's avatar
Bluebellflora
Hero+
5 months ago

Unable to start: The Sims 4 is already running - Mac only

If you're experiencing this error message it doesn't mean your game is already running, the actual message itself is incorrect. It means The Sims 4 cannot access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 fold...
external drive
launching
clouddjumperr's avatar
clouddjumperr
6 years ago
@mlkhny I need help! Every time I try to launch the Sims 4 on my mac, it just says "Unable to Start". How did you fix this problem?
Margyb9's avatar
Margyb9
Rising Rookie
3 years ago

Was playing Sims 4 earlier today and my game crashed.The game totally locked. I restarted my Mac and tried to re-open the game. Won't load the game. Getting an error message that states the game is already running. Tried repairing it. No change. Tried un-installing Origin. No change. Tried moving the Sims 4 folder from my Document/Eletronic Arts folder to desktop. Game will open, but only as a new game without any of my lots, families, etc. Moved the f9lder back, and the "game is still running" message again appears. 

  • Bluebellflora's avatar
    Bluebellflora
    Hero+
    3 years ago
    @Margyb9

    That's very interesting that a new Sims 4 folder fixes the issue. Were you prompted to allow the game permission to access the Documents folder when you relaunched the game?

    A good test would be to move the Sims 4 folder to the desktop again so a new one is created and the game properly launches. Then quit and move over one save and see if it still launches. If it does, systematically move over saves and test the game is still working.
    • Margyb9's avatar
      Margyb9
      Rising Rookie
      3 years ago

      Thanks for replying. When  I opened the game with the original EA folder on my desktop, the only option I had to play a game was to start a new one. I made a quick random sim and when I went to put it into a neighborhood, all my neighborhoods were in the original condition. All my data was not there (figured the saves from myn0d EA f0der needed to be moved back in. you suggested I move one save at a time back into the game, but there are tons! I've had 4 active neighborhoods, with 8-10 families in them. A lot of time put into all of them. 

      • Bluebellflora's avatar
        Bluebellflora
        Hero+
        3 years ago
        @Margyb9

        Yes, the point of a new Sims 4 folder is to start clean again. Clearly something in your current Sims 4 folder is causing the issue, maybe Mods? It's unusual though as normally this error is a permissions issue but that doesn't seem to be the problem in your case.

        You need to figure out what is causing the problem in your Sims 4 folder and the only way to do that is by the process of elimination. Start with a clean folder and move content from your old folder back in, testing after adding each file. You could move over the saves in batches, again testing after adding each batch. When you have a problem launching you know the issue is with a save/mod in the batch you just moved over so remove that batch and move over the contents individually. If you narrow it down to the save/mod causing the problem I would be happy to test it for you.

About The Sims 4 Technical Issues - Mac

Do you have technical issues with The Sims 4 on Mac? Get help from the community here!8,204 PostsLatest Activity: 46 minutes ago

Community Highlights