Re: Can't get passed loading screen before main menu
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Which post am I looking at again?
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26 Replies
@harasnicole For the Gallery issues, you're looking at the first post on page one of that thread. For the other, there's no fix, so just keep an eye on the thread overall for an update saying the feature is back now, or possibly that it's never coming back. (I don't know what will happen with that.) You can post in either thread, or both, or neither, but if you have further issues with the Gallery, please do use that thread I linked.
Oh, no, the Gallery issue was fixed when I had the one small opportunity to open and close the game and then restarted it.
I'm back to the loading issue and not being able to advance to the main menu because I know there's something on my computer that's affecting it, I just can't figure out what it is.
@harasnicole Did you reenable the firewall? I believe you said disabling it is what fixed the problem, or appeared to, the last time. I wouldn't suggest using your computer for extended periods without a firewall, but it would be helpful to know whether this is the trigger.
If that's not the cause, are you currently playing in the new Windows account or the old one, and if the old one, does Sims 4 work in the new one?
I did disable it, and it appeared to work at first, but then my game went back to not loading the main menu again. I know it's something on my laptop that's Windows related because when I check the Reliability Monitor for errors, when I look at why The Sims 4 stopped responding, it says it stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. I'll attach screenshots of the kinds of errors that showed up that I have no idea what to do with.
ETA: I'm playing on my main Windows account. I tried to see if I could play the game on the new one, but the EA app won't even open to let me try.
@harasnicole Please uninstall any Razer software you have, for example Synapse, Cortex, or Game Manager Service, which is crashing as well. If this helps, you can try reinstalling the programs one at a time—it's often enough to uninstall and reinstall them. But please do test with none of them present.
If that doesn't help, uninstall the EA App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine), reinstall it in the new account, and see whether Sims 4 works there. It's odd that the App wouldn't work in the new account and suggests a broader system issue, but for now, just let me know whether this helps.
Okay, I did everything you suggested (minus uninstalling all the Razer software because I had already done that), and the game still won't load to the main menu. I'm at a loss at this point because I have no idea what else on my laptop can be interfering with the game.
@harasnicole Please try playing in a clean boot:
The one service to leave enabled is the EABackgroundService, which the EA App needs in order to run. Disable the rest as described.
When you reboot your computer, go through the Task Manager's background processes list shutting down any service that doesn't absolutely need to be running, for example anything from MSI Afterburner to RGB software might still be enabled. If you accidentally kill a critical process and it doesn't restart on its own, just reboot your computer again.
Don't open anything other than Sims 4 and the EA App while testing, not even a browser window.
If this helps, you can selectively reenable services looking for the problem. The 50/50 method is helpful here: reenable half the services, and if the game still works, half of the rest. If it crashes again, disable half of those you just enabled, and so on. Let me know what you find.
Okay. I did everything in your post that you suggested, and it's not working.
@harasnicole Please run a Windows repair install:
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/repair-install-windows-11-with-an-in-place-upgrade.418/
This shouldn''t delete your data, but if you get to step 14 and are NOT prompted to keep personal files and apps, back out and start over.
If this doesn't help, please post a new dxdiag. And please also confirm that the problem is exactly the same as before, or if you're seeing a new and different symptom, please describe it.
Okay. For some reason, my computer didn't have a 'Reinstall Now' button for the Windows 11 thing, so I ended up just doing a complete reset because I didn't know what else to do, which means I had to redownload the EA app as well as The Sims 4 and all the DLC. Opened the game once, and it loaded as it should. I just closed the game and reopened it to make sure, and everything loaded as it should. Hopefully, this means my issue has been resolved. Thanks for sticking this out with me.
All right, I guess resetting my PC wasn't the fix that it was. It worked for a while, and then my laptop went right back to not loading the main menu. The Reliability Monitor isn't showing anything about The Sims 4 not responding to Windows, so now I'm even more confused.
@harasnicole Have you added any mods or custom content, and if so, have you tested without that content? Is OneDrive running, whether you use it or not, and if so, does it help to pause syncing? You can do so by right-clicking the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Please also let me know whether you're running a third-party antivirus. You can check under Windows Settings > Update & Security > Security.
I removed my Mods folder to my desktop to see if anything changed, and it still wouldn't load to the main menu. I just reset my laptop again and am currently in the process of redownloading The Sims 4 and all the packs, so I'll be sure to test pausing OneDrive syncing as soon as I can. Also, no third-party antivirus, just the one that came with my laptop, which is Windows Security.
@harasnicole Since you've reset your laptop again, I'd suggest either getting rid of OneDrive entirely or at least preventing it from syncing the contents of Documents. Whether OneDrive is responsible for this issue, it can certainly cause other issues that are easily avoided by preventing automatic syncing. Please see this guide for how to implement the setup of your choice:
Okay. I stopped OneDrive from syncing to Documents entirely. As soon as my game is finished downloading, I'll try it again and report back.
Yeah, my game's still loading to the main menu.
@harasnicole Just on the off chance there's something wrong with this user account, please create a new admin Windows account and try playing there. As before, make it local, and see whether you can get far enough to start a new save.
If that doesn't help, please post a new dxdiag.
hi, i'm stuck in same thing as @harasnicole with the loading screen BUT i just installed 2 new dlc's as well, but one thing i did notice after following this thread for a bit is that my EA launcher doesn't load any of the pictures on my sims packs or the game itself. attached a image.
I installed high school years and horse ranch expansion, maybe the issue is related to any of those packs? Just an idea yk.@puzzlezaddict Okay, so, I've made the second Admin Windows account, but for some reason, Windows won't let me sign into it because it either says that I'm not connected to the internet even though I am, or every time I confirm my email address to get a code to enter, it just puts me right back to the lockscreen ready to sign in to my main account. I've deleted and recreated a second Admin Windows account I don't know how many times, but my laptop won't let me get in.
The new dxdiag is attached.
@harasnicole For the new account, if you made it local, you shouldn't be required to have an internet connection to sign in. What it sounds like is that you didn't make a local account, it's instead connected to your existing Microsoft account, although I obviously can't confirm from here. A local account doesn't have a PIN, just a password, and the password works offline, unlike the PIN.
The simplest fix for this would be to delete the second account (this should be possible from your main one) and create yet another new account, this time confirming it's local. When you make a local admin account, you start by saying that you don't know the user's Microsoft email or something like that, and then you need to answer a set of security questions. Or at least that's how it went for me the last time I tested, which was a few months ago.
If this isn't working for you, please double-check that your main account has admin rights. If that's not the issue, feel free to post screenshots of what you're doing.
@lilFenneco Try clearing the EA App's cache and restarting your computer.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/
If that doesn't help, please let me know what troubleshooting steps you've tried from among the ones listed in this thread. I would at least try the clean user folder, which is the usual first step when the game doesn't load.
Ohhh, okay. I understand now, thanks.
@puzzlezaddict Okay, yeah. I"ve been deleting and creating new local admin Windows accounts just to see, and nothing's working.
@harasnicole Can you please confirm that you're seeing the same error in the new Windows account, or describe what you're seeing if it's different? Please also post a new dxdiag since the last one is a bit stale, relatively speaking.
@puzzlezaddict In the new account, it's the same error message, that the game has stopped interacting with Windows and has closed.
@harasnicole Try installing the newest graphics driver Intel offers for your laptop, the one dated June 15:
Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator." Restart your computer after installing and before trying to play.
Your current driver is somewhat old, but not so old that it is definitely a problem, and Asus doesn't offer a newer one. So normally I'd say stick with the Asus-provided driver. However, given how much you've already tried, I think updating is the best course of action.
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