[CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 already running
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This is a common error that is usually caused when Sims 4 cannot access the user folder in Documents > Electronic Arts. It can also be triggered by outdat...
Forum Discussion
"The Sims 4 Premium Edition is already running. Go ahead and start playing. It's a good one." I have been having this issue since March 2023. I am running Windows 11. I tried all the suggestions that were noted on the tread, I have cleared out my cache and even uninstalled all packs, uninstalled the EA app and reinstalled everything again and the issue remains. I tried playing off-line and all I get is a message saying "The app couldn't connect to the servers. We'll keep trying to reconnect you. Meanwhile, you can restart the app or play a game that doesn't require an internet connection." click to play and the EA launchers pops up then nothing. Look on Task Manager and nothing. All three games I have installed on the EA are, The Sims 4, The Sims Medieval and SimsCity 2000, all tried in off-line mode and the same message.
I purchased the two add-on's that were released yesterday, paid and installed them with no issues on my Windows 11 machine. ran updates and tried to launch The Sims 4 and same message. Logged out and jumped on my old machine that runs Windows 10 (now daughter's machine) logged in and ran an update and also installed the new add-ons, clicked Play and The Sims 4 worked with no issues!
This Windows 11 is a gaming machine and have been playing The Sims 4 on this same machine the past 8 months prior to this with no issues, purchased for The Sims 4, I have been playing since original release in 2000! Yes, I have been playing for 23 yeas!
I use Trend as my security software and used it for years with no issues. When message is noted, I look on the Task Manager to see if The Sims 4 is running and it is not listed.
I even tried playing the SimCity 2000 out of curiosity, updated it on my Windows 11 machine (was just sitting there un-played for ages) the exact same message as The Sims 4 pop's up!
Purchased and installed The Sims Medieval on my Windows 11 machine back early April 2023, same already running message popped up also. These all run with no issue on the Windows 10 machine!
I play on steam also with other games and none of them are having loading issues. Is this a Windows 11 issue?
@GreenJasmyn Have you set exceptions in your antivirus for the executables you'd need to run in order to play? That would be EADesktop.exe, plus TS4_x64.exe for Sims 4 and TSM.exe for Sims Medieval; I'm not sure what SimCity 2000's .exe is. (I can look it up if you have trouble finding it.)
Please also let me know whether your Documents folder is stored in the OneDrive folder. You can right-click Documents in the left panel of a File Explorer window and select Properties > General, then look for the Location. If the file path includes Documents, let me know how full OneDrive is. You can find out by right-clicking the OneDrive icon in the lower-right corner of your screen and selecting Settings > Account.
Hey puzzleaddict Hero,
Thanks for your response. I have looked into Trend. for the exceptions to ensure that The Sims games are noted as executables and they are noted. Still no change to the loading option. I actually never use OneDrive! I can see the OneDrive but this doesn't have any of the Sims games noted.
I will keep trying each day as I have been.Thanks again for your help.@GreenJasmyn The important thing to check with OneDrive is whether the Documents directory is stored there, not whether you see any files inside OneDrive. When you can't launch the game, no user folder is created, so checking for a Sims 4 folder wouldn't be definitive, especially if you've changed your settings (or Windows changed them for you) recently. So please double-check the location of Documents anyway.
If you're not seeing the file path through Properties, you can open Command Prompt (run a Windows search for it) and enter this command, which will output the location of Documents:
reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal"
If Documents is stored in OneDrive, let me know. Otherwise, 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. Just open the EA App and try to launch Sims 4.
So looing further as suggested and using the prompt command, I can see Documents
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
Personal REG_SZ C:\Users\bunkf\OneDrive\Documents are located in the OneDrive folder even though I never set it up.Cheers
