Re: [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 Unable to Start, Game Data Missing or Damaged

@Destroyer1941  Can you repair the game now?  If not, I would recommend uninstalling it and the EA App with Revo Uninstaller.  For Sims 4:

• Put aside your Sims 4 folder in Documents\Electronic Arts 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.
• Cancel the system restore point; you don't need it.
• 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.

For the EA App:

• Launch Revo, select the App, and click Uninstall.
• Cancel the system restore point.
• The EA App may open a window.  Click Uninstall, then in the Revo window, click Moderate under Scanning modes, and click Scan.
• Revo will present a list of registry entries.  Click Select All, then Delete: you don't need or want to preserve these entries.
• For the leftover files and folders, click Select All, review the list and deselect anything you'd like to keep (this is unlikely, but it's worth checking), click Delete, and you're done.
• Close Revo, and restart your computer.

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.

If the repair worked, but you still can't play, please create a new admin Windows account.  Make it local, as in, don't link it with your Microsoft account.  You'll be able to (try to) launch Sims 4 without reinstalling anything.  Let me know how it goes.

@Destroyer1941  Please let me know what antivirus you use.  Please also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

The anti virus I use is the basic Windows one.

@Destroyer1941  If you repair the game right now, does it work, or does it get stuck?  I don't think a repair will help, but if the repair isn't working, that points to an overall problem with the game's program files.

For good measure, please also run a virus scan.  I'm not saying your computer definitely has a virus, only that at this point, it's worth checking.  Download Malwarebytes (the free trial is fine) from here:

https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download

Open it, click Scan > Custom Scan > Configure Scan, check all the boxes both for all scan types and for your C drive, and let it do its job.  This could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the amount of data and whether the scan finds anything, so you may want to set it to run while you're doing something else.  Please attach its report so I can take a look.

0 VIRUS

@Destroyer1941  I would still like to see the report from Malwarebytes.

If you'd like, you can run a repair install of Windows:

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/repair-install-windows-11-with-an-in-place-upgrade.418/

But to be honest, if the repair install doesn't help and I don't find anything in the Malwarebytes report, I'm out of ideas.  You can go over the steps in the first post (I merged your posts with a new master thread) to see if there's anything I didn't mention, or any detail to one of the troubleshooting steps that you skipped the first time around.  Other than that, I don't know what else to tell you.

This is file

Obviously the file is in Italian.

@Destroyer1941  You're right, there's nothing listed (and the Italian is fine; I can find the important parts in any language).  But I'm surprised at how quickly the scan finished.  Did you choose the Custom Scan option, and did you check the box for your C drive?  That's off to the side, not listed with options like "scan for rootkits," so it's easy to miss.  For context, the first time I ran Malwarebytes and scanned my C drive, it took 20 minutes, and now with about 2 TB of data on C and D, it takes over an hour.

You were right, I didn't select that option.

Now I have put you the new file.

@Destroyer1941  That looks right, and Malwarebytes still didn't find anything.  That's good of course, but it means that I'm almost out of ideas here.  I still think a repair install is the next step.  And after you run one, I'd create another new Windows account and try playing there, and if that doesn't work, reinstall Sims 4, again into a new folder you create for this specific purpose.

The point here is to go back and try the simpler interventions after running the repair install in case it only fixes the problem going forward, but your current install is still affected.

Hi! 

Been reading through this thread for the past 30 minutes. I'm currently in the processes of moving The Sims 4 file to my desktop. I've recently got a new pc and downloaded and installed and are now getting this game data missing. No mods installed or anything. I'm downloading it on my HDD though, i'm going to attempt my SSD in the morning. Is there anything else you could recommend if moving to my SSD doesn't work? Thanks! :D 

@olivxazoe  I would definitely try the new Windows account, making it local.  OneDrive sometimes locks up the Documents folder and therefore blocks apps' access to it, and sometimes the result is this error.  It's also a quick test, much faster than reinstalling.

I tried this, still doesn't work. I honestly dont know what to do anymore, i just want to play sims D: 

@olivxazoe  I don't have any other suggestions for fixing this issue, sorry.

I also tried to create a new account but I don't know what to do anymore.

It was the fact I was not logged into OneDrive. 😞 It works now. I appreciate your help!