@mskellyanne0 The problem could easily be how Sims 4 is using the runtime, not the runtime itself. But reinstalling a runtime is easier than reinstalling a game, which is the probable next step here.
Before you do that though, please double-check your antivirus, whether it's Windows Defender or third-party software, for any Sims 4- or EA App-related actions. I've seen a couple of recent reports of Defender causing in-game crashes, which is odd but certainly plausible. Please also try playing with the EA App in offline mode and your computer completely offline just in case there's something about the game's connection to EA servers that's an issue.
If that doesn't help, please do a clean uninstall and reinstall of Sims 4:
Uninstall and reinstall the EA App while you're at it:
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.
Thank you for the follow up!
So yesterday I did nearly everything you suggested short of uninstalling and reinstalling the game, as I already did that earlier this month.
I have seemed to find a sort of bandaid for the situation, however, in case anyone might be going through the same thing.
I play the game in offline mode and also disconnect my computer from the internet completely.
I was home sick and played off and on for around 8 hours and only experienced one crash. The crash happened when I thought my Ethernet was unplugged but I was mistaken.
Not sure how sustainable this will be or if I just am having good luck but so far I’m able to play a crash free game - just sucks I can’t access the gallery in game!
@mskellyanne0 Does the game crash if you disable Online Social Features, under Options > Game Options > Other? What about if you put the EA App in offline mode but don't take your computer offline? If you're willing, please test both of these separately and then together and let me know what you find.
Using either of these options will prevent the Gallery from working, but if one of them works, you could use the browser version instead since your computer would still be online. It's not as convenient as having access in-game but could be a good-enough workaround for now. You could also do your Gallery searching in dedicated play sessions and then go back offline when you're done.
So, unfortunately the “fix” I found was short lived. My game managed to crash while I was offline and disconnected from the internet.
I actually ended up completely reinstalling Windows. It had been a few years since doing a fresh install and I had many registry errors, corrupted files, etc unrelated to The Sims. So I just bit the bullet and did it over the weekend.
I did a fresh install of The Sims and played with online services turned ON and it crashed. Ran a dxdiag and the same dll is listed again under the appcrash error.
I started a new game, turned OFF online services and unplugged the Ethernet and I was able to play without a crash.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the new .package file that’s being generated now (house description client, I think it’s called) is causing issues somehow. When I delete that file, along with localthumbnailcache, I can play crash free for much longer.
I’ve opened the file in sims4studio and it’s empty so I’m not sure what the point of it is but blaming it is where I’m at !
@mskellyanne0 This is an odd set of circumstances. With a fresh Windows install, your drivers and your runtimes should all be intact and free of corruption, as you know. Sims 4 should be too. As long as you're not playing with any mods or custom content, there really isn't any reason the game should crash on this system. If the game itself were at fault, even if the issue were the new user file rather than the program files, we'd see a lot more reports of crashing, especially given how few people have OSs well-maintained enough to perform on the level of a clean Windows install.
It is of course possible that this is a sneaky hardware issue, for example a bad memory module. Memory issues can mimic almost any other problem and are sometimes difficult to diagnose. You could try playing with only 16 GB installed, then the other 16 GB; even if you have a 2x16 GB kit, the performance hit from running the RAM in single-channel mode shouldn't be too significant for Sims 4, and 16 GB is more than enough for the game. It's worth testing in different RAM slots too.
I would also suggest playing without any features of For Rent and without any sims or lots downloaded from the Gallery, just to be on the safe side. The current issues with all of these are mostly manageable or else cause immediate, obvious problems, but it's always better to avoid complicating the troubleshooting process with extra variables.
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