Re: new install windows 11 can't start damaged or missing game files
tried everything including moving and repairing the game and I'm still getting the error.
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@yenot-raccoon Try to move the game again, to yet another new folder in a new location. You can delete the old folder when you're done. For the new location, please create a new folder directly on the drive of your choice, for example C:\EA Games. Before moving the folder, disable Avast entirely. As long as you don't do anything other than open Origin and move and try to launch the game, your computer should be safe.
If this doesn't work either, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.
https://help.ea.com/en/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
Here is the dxdiag file you requested as moving the game file with avast turned off did not clear up the issue
@yenot-raccoon Alright, please try playing in a new Windows admin account. Make it a local account, as in, don't sign into Microsoft, and don't sync with any other services you normally use. You'll be able to sign into Origin or the EA App and won't need to download Sims 4 again.
If that doesn't help, please do a clean uninstall of Sims 4, and Origin for good measure, and then reinstall in a new admin Windows account. Start with uninstalling Sims 4:
- If you've imported any Sims 4 user data—saves, Tray files, etc.—from your old computer, rename the folder it's in to something that doesn't include the words "Sims 4." (I know you're not using any old data, but maybe you have it on hand.)
- Download Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine) from here.
- Launch Revo, select Sims 4 from the list, and click Uninstall.
- 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.
Next, uninstall Origin:
- Quit Origin if it's still open, then right-click on the Task Bar and open the Task Manager. Scroll through looking for Origin entries. If you find any, click on them and End Task.
- Next, clear Origin's cache.
- Launch Revo again and uninstall Origin, and when it's uninstalled, select "Moderate" again and Scan.
- If Revo finds any remaining registry entries, select all, delete, and click Next.
- Revo will display "Remaining Data and Folders. Select all of them except for the "Origin Games" folder, if it appears. (This is where other Origin games are installed by default.) Delete the rest.
- Close Revo, and restart your computer.
Next, login to the new Windows account again, download a fresh copy of the Origin installer and run it. Be sure to run both the installer and Origin itself as an admin: right-click on each and select "Run as Administrator." When it's reinstalled, download Sims 4; you can just download the base game, to save time, if you want. And here again, create a fresh folder into which you're installing Sims 4, and install the game while Avast is disabled, just to be thorough.
Restart after installing and before trying to play.
ok, running it under a new local user account worked, but am I going to be able to get it under my main account or am I going to have to run as the other account from now on and build my profile there?
@yenot-raccoon You can try playing in your main account again. It's possible the reinstall fixed the issue for both accounts. In fact, it's possible the new user account wasn't necessary at all and that the clean uninstall and reinstall alone fixed it, but I didn't want you to have to go through that twice in case installing in a new account was in fact necessary.
Point is, try in the main account and let me know whether it works. If it doesn't, there are other steps you can try as well, but this kind of issue can be stubborn, as you've already started to see.
I tried the main account and it's still giving the error message
@yenot-raccoon Do you have OneDrive running in your main Windows account? I thought I'd asked this before, but apparently not. If you do, please pause syncing and cancel the current sync, then try playing again.
I don't have OneDrive running.
@yenot-raccoon Please check whether Controlled Folder Access is running, and if so, disable it long enough to test.
https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html
If that helps, you can try setting exceptions for TS4_x64.exe and Origin.exe.
If changing the settings doesn't help, or CFA isn't running at all, you can try using the takeown command on your Documents folder. You're going to use this command:
takeown /F "C:\Users\username\Documents"
Write your actual username for this Windows account (your main one) instead of username. Since the syntax needs to be exactly right, please copy this command to a Notepad file, substitute in your username, and then copy that string when you're ready to use it. Hit Windows key-X and choose either "PowerShell (Administrator)" or "Windows Terminal (Administrator)," whichever option is offered, and paste the command into the window.
Just to be thorough, please move the Electronic Arts folder out of Documents, if it's still there, before trying to play.
the takeown command worked and I can run sims 4 from my main account now. Thank you for your patience and perseverance in helping me resolve this issue. I really appreciate your help. The next test will be if I can move my save game files in and still have it run! In the meantime I'm downloading the rest of my content as I only installed the base game while trying to get it running. Thank you again for all your time and help
Yenot Raccoon
@yenot-raccoon I'm so glad to hear this worked. Let me know if you need any more help, and otherwise, enjoy your game.
how do you do this command
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