Forum Discussion

darkelfgrl's avatar
darkelfgrl
New Novice
2 months ago

Haven't been able to load game since Life & Death Update

My game won’t launch. When trying to launch via EA app or via sims 4 shortcut the game opens and flickers from black to white screen a couple of times and then goes to a white screen. 

I've tried repairing the game, uninstalling and installing both the EA app and the game. I’ve removed mods. I’ve even removed the sims 4 folder where you find mods and saves so it had to create a new folder. I've done this multiple times. No luck and still having this issue. 

  • For my own reference:  You've already tried the suggestions here and here, and they didn't help.

    Since your current dxdiag shows some generic Windows update errors, please run a couple of basic checks of 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.

    Please also move the Sims 4 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  If you get an error when trying to move it, or it copies instead of moving, stop here and let me know.  Otherwise, see whether you can play; your saves and other data won't load, but that can be addressed later.

    If this doesn't help, please create a new admin Windows account and try playing there.  Make it local, as in, don't link it to a Microsoft account or any email address.  (You can keep declining until you see the option to continue without an email.)  You'll be able to try to launch Sims 4 without reinstalling anything, but your saves and other user data won't be available here either.

    If the game won't run in the new account, please try the two suggestions linked at the top of this post again; I don't actually know whether they're account-specific, so it's worth checking to see whether the settings have reverted.

    ANISEMELIS90  I'll answer you in your own thread.

    • darkelfgrl's avatar
      darkelfgrl
      New Novice

      The first link/suggestion I did and the settings are still that way. The 2nd link/suggestion I tried to do, but when I go to graphics I get what I screenshot. I'm not seeing the Sims listed in the apps. 

      When I tried the Power Shell thing and the screenshot2 is what I got when I entered it.

  • darkelfgrl  In the first screenshot, click Browse and find TS4_x64 on the list, at which point you should be able to change its settings.  Do the same for TS4_Launcher_x64.

    For the PowerShell issue, you left out the spaces in the command.  Please just copy and paste what I wrote.

    • darkelfgrl's avatar
      darkelfgrl
      New Novice

      I'm still having issues with loading the game. Sometimes I'll get it to load and the CAS looks like the 2nd attachment. I'm not able to pick traits or anything on the left side of CAS. Also, when trying to load a save (when I can load the game) I got this error in 3rd attachment, 

  • sunflower34's avatar
    sunflower34
    Rising Newcomer

    I came here for the exact same reason, White screen, flicker then nothing.  I also have tried repair, Uninstall and reinstall. Checked settings etc 

  • darkelfgrl  Please remove your Mods folder and let me know which problems are still present.

    sunflower34  If you have an HP laptop, please try the suggestions in these posts:

    Game won’t launch | EA Forums - 4992631
    Managed to fix my problem where it crashes during launch after update | EA Forums - 4998584

    You can also try enabling night mode when you're about to play; it can be set for whatever hours you'd like, and changed at any time.

    If those changes don't help, or you don't have an HP laptop, please provide a dxdiag.  Hit Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop.  From there, you can attach it to a reply using the paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons.

  • sunflower34  Did you try the suggestions in the posts I linked, and the suggestion of using night mode?  You have one of the laptops known to be affected by this issue, and most users have said that one of these workarounds has helped them.