@mrsderpina Repair the game itself. And if you use a third-party antivirus, set exceptions for TS4_x64, TS4_DX9_x64, and TS4_Launcher_x64; or the Bin folder they're in. Set an exception for EADesktop.exe as well.
I've repaired the game twice and it still doesn't work. I have also uninstalled and reinstalled the EA app.
I've installed Visual C++, the Multi Media Pack, and uninstalled and reinstalled DirectX as suggested in older threads, but it still doesn't work.
I don't use any third party anti-virus software, just Windows Defender.
@mrsderpina Did you ever try a clean user folder? If not, please try that now: Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, if it launches, a clean folder will spawn with no content. (Your saves and other content will be intact in the folder you moved but temporarily not read by the game.) Don't add anything to the new folder yet; just let me know whether you can get far enough to start a new save and play in live mode for a bit.
If that doesn't help, try playing in a new admin Windows account. Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account. You'll be able to (try to) launch the game without reinstalling anything.
If that doesn't help either, please do a (more thorough) clean uninstall and reinstall of Sims 4, as described here:
@puzzlezaddictYes, I tried a clean folder. The game still won't start, and it doesn't even create a new folder, which means the error occurs before the game even loads.
I will try your suggestion with the new Windows account. How do I create a new account (I've never used it with Windows 10 as I'm the only person using the computer)?
I don't think a clean uninstall will help, as many other users have tried this several times in the past with the same error, but I will try the other advice.
Edited: I figured out how to create a local account. Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem. I also get the same error message when I try to start Sims 4 with the other account.
@mrsderpina Please do the clean uninstall and reinstall of Sims 4 itself, not only the EA App, as described in the post I linked. Doing so while in the new Windows account would be best.
If that doesn't help, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/
@puzzlezaddict/edited:
I don't know why, but I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game a second time using the instructions you linked and it worked the second time. Thank you so much for your help! I really hope it stays that way. Maybe the newest patch messed up the game files or something?
@mrsderpina The clean uninstall is more thorough than a regular uninstall in a couple different ways, so I'm not surprised it worked. As for what exactly made it work when the previous uninstall/reinstall didn't, that's hard to say and pretty much impossible to diagnose after the fact. But that's better than knowing what the problem is and not being able to fix it.
