@ladyboxx When the error reappeared the most recent time, had you added mods or custom content back to the user folder? If so, does it help to remove them?
Please also let me know what antivirus you use and whether it helps to set exceptions for Sims 4 and the EA App. You may need to remove the Electronic Arts folder from Documents and (temporarily) start over after setting the exceptions: sometimes an antivirus has changed permissions on a folder and won't revert the settings just because you've now exempted whatever it was flagging in the first place.
There were no mods in my game folder in the most recent time, no. There have also been previous times in the last few days where the error has happened with a brand new Sims 4 folder and no mods. I use the default Windows microsoft defender antivirus since I can't afford any of the good paid ones, but it has never given me any virus warnings and I only download mods from tumblr, patreon or tsr. Hadn't even downloaded any new cc in weeks when this error randomly began.
I'll try setting EA and the sims 4 as exceptions with that tmr and generating a new electronic arts folder and see how it goes, I don't understand why the windows antivirus would randomly change permissions on those folders though if it even did
@ladyboxx Windows Defender is generally fine, both in terms of protection and in allowing the apps you'd actually want to use. But Controlled Folder Access can act up sometimes. In case you haven't found the relevant settings, here's a good guide:
https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html
If that doesn't help, please create a new admin Windows account. Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account. You'll be able to (try to) launch Sims 4 without reinstalling anything; let me know how it goes.
Tried that today, as well as doing a clean reinstall of my drivers with NVIDIA's tool which didn't get rid of the error. Then I used the -w command to force the game to launch in windowed mode. Without my mods, it launches fine, but even when I remove the command line the settings won't let me change to fullscreen saying "unable to change display settings, reverting to previous settings", I even tried alt+enter. With mods, it becomes nonresponsive on the loading screen. So then I used -f to force the game into fullscreen, it launched so I added one subfolder of my mods in that I know for a fact the game launched fine with the other day when I was slowly readding the mods in, and it gave me the error again even when I removed the mods until I deleted thumbnail.cache then it launched again, but the next time I got the error back.
Game launched fine the three times I tried on a local administrator account so problem must be connected to my account but I don't understand how to fix this. I think I've tried everything I can now, and all my other games work fine. I don't know what is causing this error and I honestly don't even think I'll be able to play the game again.
@ladyboxx The easiest path may be to play in the new admin Windows account. I'm not saying your current account is unfixable, only that it might take more effort to find the problem than is worth it to you. And I'm not sure I'll be able to figure it out, although I'll keep trying as long as you're interested.
For the new account, whether you want to use it permanently or only until you find the problem in the old account, you can transfer your saves and other user data easily enough. Open a File Explorer window, click This PC in the left panel, double-click the C drive, and open Users > Public. This folder is accessible from any account on the computer. While in the old account, drop your saves and anything else you'd like to use into this folder, then grab the files once you're back in the new account.
Keep in mind that some of your mods and custom content may be broken, or if none of them are now, that will probably change after the new patch drops in a few hours. So you may want to save yourself some time and only test the files after the patch, or play without mods and cc until your favorite creators release updates.
Community Manager
.png){kind=link}