Game boots up, displays white screen, only has sound and invisible UI

@VaanDiablo  Your dxdiag lists a number of errors that are likely related to your graphics card driver.  The path of least resistance would be to simply update the driver; there's one for your card that was released a couple of days ago:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/153944/en-us

Try to launch the game a couple of times, and if it still doesn't work, please run a new dxdiag (so I can see how the install went and the new errors) and attach it again.

Updated and tried again, my dude. Nothing changed except that x64 closed itself for the first time ever without needing me to open task manager and ending the task. I was only one driver back, though, and that released 3 days ago, so that wouldn't have been the problem anyway.

I'm not fond of reinstalling all over again for the fourth time, but if I must do it then I will.

Extra info;

Expansions:

Get Famous, Seasons

Stuff:

Perfect Patio, Movie Hangout

The other type:

Realm of Magic, Outdoor Retreat

Free:

Holiday Celebration Pack, Legacy

@VaanDiablo  Strange, the Windows error reports don't have any new entries since the last time.  As a brief test, please unplug your second monitor—the different resolutions and refresh rates shouldn't be an issue, but it's worth trying anyway.

If that doesn't help, the next step is to do a clean uninstall of the GPU driver.  Here's how:

First, download Display Driver Uninstaller from here:

https://www.wagnardsoft.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2421

You can use the same driver you downloaded before.

Next, take your computer completely offline—disable wifi and/or pull the ethernet cord—and double-click the DDU.exe.  Take note of where the file will land, and click Extract.  If it's easier, you can copy the path and then paste it into the address bar in a File Explorer window.  Open the folder and then Display Driver Uninstaller.exe, and you'll get a message that you're not in Safe Mode.  Click OK, then go to Options and enable Safe Mode dialog.  Here's a screenshot of what your options should look like:

Close options, and the DDU, and then open the DDU.exe again.  For launch options, choose "Safe Mode (Recommended)," and then click Reboot to Safe Mode (you'll need your password, so find it before rebooting).  Once you login, you'll see this:

Choose GPU in the dropdown menu (step one), then Nvidia (step 2) if it's not already showing.  Then click Clean and Restart (step 3).

Once your computer has rebooted, now back in normal mode, run the driver install .exe in custom mode. Select "perform a clean installation" and install ONLY the GPU driver and the PHYSX software.

Yeah, the DxDiag won't have a new crash. As I said, the game just white-screens; it doesn't draw anything. It runs perfectly fine otherwise, and I'd have the exact same experience if I was blind. The game seems feature-complete and bug-free sans the lack of graphical elements.

I mentioned in my first post how my Windows 10 isn't activated anymore. One other reason I can't be arsed to get my key back out is because I don't know my Windows password anymore and, in my infinite wisdom, decided I'd write do a load of fake info because I couldn't be arsed dealing with an extra email a week. So I don't know how to change it, either. The reason this poses a problem is because I am disallowed from booting up Safe Mode due to Safe Mode not allowing me to login with my pin, which I remember. So this DDU cannot be used, I'm afraid.

That said, I do believe the effect this would have had would be negligible, as the game has been running fine and displaying properly at other points in history. One such point in history being literally last week on the exact same GPU Driver.

You got any other ideas? Push come to shove I'll have to reformat my boot drive, reinstall windows, and then see if that works out for me (which should also accomplish the driver rebuilding as per your suggestion).

@VaanDiablo  I did read what you said about your Windows key, but I wasn't aware you'd lost your password.  (I bought a key a couple of days after installing Windows, and I had a working password in the meantime.)  At any rate, I'll ask someone who knows more than I do whether safe mode is absolutely necessary, or whether you can manually accomplish the same thing in a different way.

Your dxdiag clearly lists a number of errors that are often (not always, but often) linked to a corrupt GPU driver.  And your game is not displaying properly.  So the GPU driver is still the most likely suspect.  In the meantime though, you can try some other basic troubleshooting steps.

First up is disconnecting the second screen.  If that doesn't help, disconnect all peripherals, aside from your mouse and keyboard, of course.

Here's how to run a couple of checks on Windows 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

After all this, please check the Reliability Monitor for any Sims 4 or Origin entries from today or yesterday.  There might not be any, but if there are, I'd like to see them.  Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, then look through the listings from the last two days.  For any Origin or TS4 entries, click "View technical details," then copy the information into a text file, and attach it to a post.

Oh, no. Sorry. I didn't mean to assume you knew about my forgotten password, apologies if I came off that way.

I forgot to say, but the second screen being offed didn't work. I unplugged both of them in sequence to see if either would work. I also turned off the PC to restart it with a single monitor and tested it but to no avail. Worth a shot, though.

New instructions;

DISM came back clean, nothing to report.

SFC, however, found corrupt files and successfully repaired them:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

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.

Note on the file attached:

Each block of break is separated by forward slashes, the different breaks that happened at the exact same time are separated by hyphens. Each TS4.exe crash is paired by at least one system error.

@VaanDiablo  No worries, you're fine.  I was just saying I didn't know you couldn't find your password, whatever the status of your Windows key.

The errors are more of the same LiveKernelEvent in the dxdiag, no surprise.  I'm still going to ask for a second opinion, and I'll get back to you about that later.  (It might take a little while, so don't worry if you don't hear from me right away.)

One thing I want to point out is that you shouldn't have to run the Legacy Edition of TS4; your computer is perfectly capable of running the standard edition, which I'm sure you know.  You can switch to the standard 64-bit edition in Origin: right-click on the Sims 4 icon in your game library, select Game Properties, then Advanced Launch Options, and choose 64-bit from the dropdown menu.  If you don't see the option, right-click on the TS4 icon and select Repair, then look again.

Yeah, I swap between the two versions and test them one after the other just in case. Thanks for your help again, even if you don't end up finding a second opinion for me. 🙂

@VaanDiablo 

@puzzlezaddict  asked me to look at your DxDiag.

What other games do you run on this machine and do they run fine?

Do you have the possibility to test with another GPU? (From a friend or relative?)

Are you computer savvy enough to test your GPU in the other PCIe slot of your Motherboard?

Did you tried with both monitors? (Shut down > Disconnect > Start)

Did you interchanged the Monitor cables?

Your Bios is the oldest available for this Motherboard. I would suggest an update in a case like this.

• What other games do you run on this machine and do they run fine?

CoD: MW, R6: Siege, Outer Worlds, DotA 2, CS:GO, Rimworld, Planet Zoo.

All are stable and run 200(±~35)+ FPS. My GPU is OC'd slightly and I've since deactivated my OC settings because of instability during the summer heat and forgot to turn them back on. My CPU is OC'd for an extra 100MHz Boost Clock.

• Do you have the possibility to test with another GPU? (From a friend or relative?)

I do, but that strikes me as slightly more effort than it's worth considering my friends are all in excess of 20 miles away, and my missus is an Alienware Laptop user. So not really an option I'd take easily.

• Are you computer savvy enough to test your GPU in the other PCIe slot of your Motherboard?

I am, but I'll do you one better. This is the exact same problem I faced just over a week ago now, and four days ago I upgraded my mobo from a GA-AX370 K7 to an Aorus X570 Elite. So instead of just changing PCIe, I've changed the entire board.

• Did you tried with both monitors? (Shut down > Disconnect > Start)

I only tried Shut Down > DC > Start with my main monitor, as it's a normal aspect ratio and resolution. I did try both of them unplugged normally, however.

• Did you interchanged the Monitor cables?

I can't, my 144hz is VGA, my widescreen is HDMI 2.0. I don't have a converter either, I'm afraid.

• Your Bios is the oldest available for this Motherboard. I would suggest an update in a case like this.

The board bios being old makes sense, considering. I'll give that a crack. Same thing as PCIe, though. Updating the entire board makes it less likely to be that, right?