error loading the sims4 "problem with game setup"

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:Steam-PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.90.375.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? sims 4 cats and dogs
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? click the sims 4 to load the game
What happens when the bug occurs? when the sims 4 runs, instead of starting the game, a small window with an error message is displayed stating "There is a problem with your games setup. Please reinstall your game". After deleting and reinstalling the game, the error message is still given
What do you expect to see? a small window with an error message stating "There is a problem with your game's setup. Please reinstall your game" instead of loading the game
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Neutral/Not Sure

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before getting the error, I deleted files for a mod/program called "G shade" (a shader for the sims 4). I think it may be possible that in doing so I have deleted a file needed for the game to run, however I do not see a file relevant to the sims/origin in the recycle bin so I am unsure if this is the cause. I have tried all solutions I have found online : reinstall origin, reinstall sims, reinstall Microsoft c+ + 64x and 84x, and ensuring that the windows media feature pack is installed however none of these have worked

puzzlezaddict
3 years ago
@dog_super07 Please try doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of both Sims 4 and Origin. Start with Sims 4:

Put aside the Sims 4 folder in that was previously Documents\Electronic Arts (that has your saves in it) 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.

Next, uninstall Origin:

Quit Origin if it's still open, then right-click on the Task Bar and open the Task Manager. Scroll through looking for Origin entries. If you find any, click on them and End Task.

Next, clear Origin's cache.

Launch Revo again and uninstall Origin, and when it's uninstalled, select "Moderate" again and Scan.

If Revo finds any remaining registry entries, select all, delete, and click Next.

Revo will display "Remaining Data and Folders. Select all of them except for the "Origin Games" folder, if it appears. (This is where other Origin games are installed by default.) Delete the rest.

Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Next, download the full Origin installer and run it. Here's the direct download link:

http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe

Be sure to run both the installer and Origin itself as an admin: right-click on each and select "Run as Administrator." When it's reinstalled, reboot again, then create a new folder somewhere on your computer—it can be almost wherever you want, but not in Program Files (x86) or Documents—and choose that as the install location in Origin. The setting is under Application Settings > Installs & Saves. Install Sims 4 into that folder; you can just download the base game for now if you want to save time before testing.

29 Replies

puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@dog_super07 Have you tried moving the Sims 4 user folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts yet? If not, please do so now.

If that doesn't help, I'd like to see a list of the files you deleted from G-shade. A screenshot of the recycling bin would work, if the files are still present.
dog_super07
3 years ago
is the user folder the one titled "The Sims 4"?. I have now moved that out of electronic arts and just put it into documents but that didn't work.
Here are photos of the files in my recycle bin from when I deleted G-shade
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@dog_super07 I don't see anything in there that looks Sims 4-related. So I'm wondering if G-shade corrupted one of the runtimes the game uses. You mentioned the media feature packs, but just to be thorough, please reinstall everything. Start with DirectX 9, which doesn't need to be uninstalled; just run the installer over the top, as described here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10711778#M247861

Next are the VC++ runtimes. Hit Windows key-i, select Apps, scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, and uninstall everything you see. You can get fresh copies of everything here:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170

Or if you prefer, you can download the All-in-one runtimes from this site:

https://www.sereby.org/site/All%20in%20One%20Runtimes&lang=en

Click Downloads (at the top of the screen), then All in One Runtimes, and then the Download button. You don't need to donate.

Restart your computer, then run a couple of basic checks on your Windows system files:

Hit Windows key-X

Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered

Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes, 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 “Windows Terminal (Administrator)”

Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes, and enter

Post the message you receive here

Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the box to check for updates. If any install, restart again afterwards.

Let me know if you still have the same issue.
dog_super07
3 years ago
i have now followed your steps as written. i reinstalled the vc++ runtimes, restarted, then did the restore health in the power shell, no error message was thrown. i then did the scannow and this is the message I received
"Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. for example c:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag."
i restarted then checked for any updates but it said the pc was up to date so i then try to load up the sims but i still got the error message
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@dog_super07 Please try doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of both Sims 4 and Origin. Start with Sims 4:

Put aside the Sims 4 folder in that was previously Documents\Electronic Arts (that has your saves in it) 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.

Next, uninstall Origin:

Quit Origin if it's still open, then right-click on the Task Bar and open the Task Manager. Scroll through looking for Origin entries. If you find any, click on them and End Task.

Next, clear Origin's cache.

Launch Revo again and uninstall Origin, and when it's uninstalled, select "Moderate" again and Scan.

If Revo finds any remaining registry entries, select all, delete, and click Next.

Revo will display "Remaining Data and Folders. Select all of them except for the "Origin Games" folder, if it appears. (This is where other Origin games are installed by default.) Delete the rest.

Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Next, download the full Origin installer and run it. Here's the direct download link:

http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe

Be sure to run both the installer and Origin itself as an admin: right-click on each and select "Run as Administrator." When it's reinstalled, reboot again, then create a new folder somewhere on your computer—it can be almost wherever you want, but not in Program Files (x86) or Documents—and choose that as the install location in Origin. The setting is under Application Settings > Installs & Saves. Install Sims 4 into that folder; you can just download the base game for now if you want to save time before testing.
dog_super07
3 years ago
After doing this my sims now finally works again! you are a lifesaver, thank you so much 🙂
voo101voo202
3 years ago
Hello,
If I do a clean uninstall of the Sims 4, will this affect my add-ons? Because when I initially tried to uninstall the Sims four after seeing the error message through EA, it told me that my add-ons would be deleted. I’m not sure what that means entirely, but if it means I won’t have access to the add-ons, I bought anymore, I’m not sure how to fix the problem of reinstalling the Sims.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@voo101voo202 The message means your add-ons will be uninstalled along with the base game. They'll still be owned by your account and will be available to reinstall whenever you're ready.
noahnaveda
3 years ago
@puzzlezaddict Hey. How do I know what should I delete and what now. I do not want to delete something important and end up messing up my computer lol.
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
3 years ago
@noahnaveda What exact issue are you having, and what, if anything, have you done so far to try to fix it? The "problem with game setup" error probably requires a clean uninstall and reinstall, as described earlier in the thread, but that's not usually necessary for most other types of errors. However, if you do need to uninstall, let Revo handle the process, and just let it remove everything with Sims 4 in the name, aside from the user folder that you should have renamed anyway as the first step of the process.