Error Code 0xc000007b Preventing Game Startup

ahh that would make sense. Okay I found the Tools tab and ran that but there were no errors, so that's another task done that didn't work. I've ran a DXDIAG and have attached it to this if you would like to have a look? 

Thanks so much!

@adermc93  Okay, I know you've already tried a few things, so if I repeat something, sorry about that.  But it's good to do everything again, together, because some steps might only work after a previous step has been completed.

Start with a couple of basic scans of your Windows system files:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, and enter
• The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
• After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
• Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator)”
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
• Post the message you receive here

If you get the message that sfc found corrupt files and was unable to repair some of them, stop here and let me know.  Otherwise, restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.  If there a number pending, it might take a few tries, with restarts in between, to get them all to run.

Once that's done, you'll need to uninstall and reinstall the 2015 VC++ runtimes, which Sims 4 and Origin both use, and install new versions directly from Microsoft.  Hit Windows key-i, select Apps, scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributables, or the 2017 or 2015-2019 versions (they're versions of the same thing), and select Uninstall.  Do not uninstall the versions from any other year though; they're on your computer for a reason, and they don't conflict with the newest versions.

You can download new copies of the 2015-2019 runtimes here.  Be sure to install both the x86 and x64 versions.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

Restart your computer, and try to launch Sims 4.  If it still doesn't work, quit Origin, restart your computer, clear Origin's cache, and repair: open your game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, and select Repair.  Then try to play again.  Here's how to clear Origin's cache:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

If you still can't play, let me know, and please post a screenshot of any error you get.  There are a couple additional runtimes that may need reinstalling as well.

Thanks for that! I have started the scans but just need to do the runtimes... but I have a question. Is it going to be worth doing all this to my laptop, or would I just be better doing a whole factory reset on my laptop and starting from scratch? I don’t really care about the mods and saves because I can just start again, I’m just a bit cautious doing all of this stuff to my laptop and on the end it still won’t work. It might not even work with a factory reset but surely it would? 

@adermc93  A factory reset might be less work overall, especially if you're not worried about losing a lot of data.  And you're right, there's no guarantee that any of these steps will help.  This particular error can be extremely stubborn.

If you'd like to preserve your saves, you can upload them to a free filesharing site like Google Drive or Dropbox, then download them once your game is working again.  You could do the same with mods, but it might be better to download new copies anyway, so you can check that they're all updated to work with the latest patch.

Yeah that’s a very good point. Okay, I’ll try and do a factory reset on my laptop and see how I go with that. Once I install Origin again, the sims 4 and the packs I have already bought should still be there shouldn’t they? I have my code for the Sims 4 incase I need to enter it again, so hopefully all the packs should still be there 

I've just done a full reset on my laptop because I kept receiving the 0xc000007b error message. I've done the reset, and now I am trying to download Origin however its NOW coming up with your original error messages which are MSVCP140.dll and VCRUNTIME140.dll (tried twice and has happened both times). How do I fix this? I did a full update too but now that its reset it updated anyway so the laptop shouldn't need updating. Thanks 🙂 

@adermc93  The errors you're seeing are related to Origin not properly installing the necessary VC++ runtimes, again.  You can download them directly from Microsoft:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

You'll need both the x86 and x64 runtimes, but not the _arm version.  Restart your computer before trying to install Origin.

Hey! Im following this forum because I had the EXACT issue installing Origin that you have. After a factory reset on my PC, those two dll messages showed up when I tried installing origin. Installed both of them, then recieved the xc000007b error you are getting. went through 8 different "fixes" for it until Origin would finally install. logged in, fully installed Sims 4, and then got stuck at the point you ORIGINALLY were at, with the xc000007b error appearing when attempting to LAUNCH sims. Am now stuck at that point, having already tried every single other suggestion this forum has said, every step, in multiple different orders. the reset is was CAUSED my issue. so once you go through the steps of fixing the "dll" messages, i wont be surprised if you end up stuck at the exact point i am, which is not being able to launch the game