Hi, hoping someone can help me figure out this issue.The game will launch and get as far as the EA/Maxis screen and crashes back to the EA Desktop app.I have tried to uninstall and install many times, I have deleted the "The Sims 4" folder from Documents/Electronic Arts, I have done a clean boot and disabled every single app that isn't a windows app and I have no apps enabled to run on startup. I have my mods and CCs in a backup folder on a different drive and nothing is helping. GeForce Experience overlay is disabled and I have uninstalled all Razer applications and still nothing. This has been driving me mad for a whole day now and nothing seems to work. My dxdiag is posted below and there is a StackHash error but I cannot figure out what is causing that so any help would be very helpful. A screenshot of the screen I get to before crash is also provided below.Thanks to anyone who has a clue on what to do here and I appeciate your time reading this!

Oh that kind of sucks hahaha I really do appreciate all the help you've given me these past few days though. If I somehow figure it out I'll reply here for others if they have the same problem.

@CDP445 If you have any Razer software installed (Chroma, Synapse, etc.), please try uninstalling it. If that helps, you can reinstall it again, one app at a time, and test; sometimes all it takes to fix this issue is uninstalling and reinstalling. But please do test once with everything uninstalled to confirm whether this software is the issue. If that doesn't help, please try playing in a clean boot. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-da2f9573-6eec-00ad-2f8a-a97a1807f3dd The one service to leave enabled is the EABackgroundService, which the EA App needs in order to run. Disable the rest as described. When you reboot, go through the Task Manager's background processes list shutting down anything that doesn't absolutely need to be running, for example apps like MSI Afterburner or RGB software might still be active. If you accidentally kill the wrong process and it doesn't restart on its own, just reboot your computer again. If this helps, start reenabling the services a few at a time until the game stops working, then split and test that last batch of services until you find the one causing trouble.

I have no Razer software installed and have uninstalled and reinstalled the game and the issue is still arising.I have tried a clean boot with just EABackgroundService enabled and it is the exact same. I have no unnecessary apps running in the background and all of my RGB software is disabled. Is there anything else you know of that could cause this issue?Thank you for your reply and the effort you give this community, you truly are a blessing!

@CDP445 The particular errors in your dxdiag are almost always caused by a conflict between Sims 4 and something else running on your computer. So please try again, still in a clean boot, except this time also disconnect all nonessential peripherals, which basically means everything except your keyboard and mouse. Even if you'd never play without headphones, it's still a useful test. If that doesn't help, try playing in a new admin Windows account. Make it a local account, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account, and don't sync with any other services you normally use. You'll be able to sign into the EA App and launch Sims 4 without needing to reinstall anything. These errors aren't usually specific to one account, but it should only take a couple minutes to make a new account and test the game. If that helps, it points to something in your main account, and we can go from there. If not, you've eliminated the account settings and user data as possible causes.

Even after unplugging everything except my keyboard, mouse and display port, the problem still occurs. I never had this issue up until I updated the game to the most recent update.The same goes for making a new admin Windows account. I even tried a clean boot with this account and the game still crashes before the main menu.Thank you again for your ongoing help!

Crashing on intro screen! | EA Forums

18 Replies

puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@CDP445 The files look fine from here; I'll download them when I'm in Windows later tonight. Thanks for posting them, and someone will get back to you soon.
CDP445
3 years ago
Awesome, thanks a mil for taking time out of your day to help.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@CDP445 The crash dumps don't point to anything specific, unfortunately. The person I asked thinks the best troubleshooting step to try next is to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the graphics driver, as described here:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/02/clean-re-install-of-graphics-drivers-with-display-driver-uninstaller-ddu.html

Please download a fresh copy of the newest Nvidia driver:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/204245/en-us/

If you're up for a bit of experimenting, you can instead start with a slightly older driver, maybe one from December or January. You can find them here:

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/

If that driver doesn't work, you can simply update to a newer one, although it would be best to choose the Custom (not Express) install and check the box to perform a clean install.
CDP445
3 years ago
I've tried everything you recommend and tried using a few different older drivers that definitely worked with the game before and it still hasn't fixed anything. ☹️
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@CDP445 Try doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of Sims 4 and the EA App using Revo Uninstaller. Start with Sims 4:

Put aside your Sims 4 folder in Documents\Electronic Arts and rename it to something that doesn't include the words "Sims 4."

Download Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine) from here.

Launch Revo, select Sims 4 from the list, and click Uninstall.

Once the game is uninstalled, select "Moderate" under "scanning modes," and click Scan.

Review the list, in case there's something you want to save; otherwise, click Select All, and then Delete.

Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Uninstall the EA App with Revo as well. I don't have instructions for that at the moment, but the process should be straightforward. Restart again when you're done.

Install the EA App, then create a new folder into which you'll install Sims 4. The folder should be on the root level of the drive of your choice, for example C:\Games is fine, but not C:\Program Files\Games.

After reinstalling, please test at least once in a clean boot.

If that doesn't work, it's worth trying a Windows repair install. This shouldn't delete any user data, but if you get to step 14 and are NOT prompted to "keep personal files and apps," back out and start over.

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/repair-install-windows-11-with-an-in-place-upgrade.418/
CDP445
3 years ago
A clean install of Sims 4 didn't work, I don't have the time to do a repair install of Windows at the moment. Is there anything else I can try in the mean time? Thanks.
Edit: After doing a repair install of Windows I still have the issue.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@CDP445 I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to suggest. I asked someone else to look over the issue again, and he didn't have any ideas either. Without real-time debugging, that's about as far as we can go here.
CDP445
3 years ago
Oh that kind of sucks hahaha I really do appreciate all the help you've given me these past few days though. If I somehow figure it out I'll reply here for others if they have the same problem.

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Crashing on intro screen!

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