Re: Sims 4 not working on Windows 11

@JosieMonroe  You probably don't need a third-party antivirus.  Windows Defender is actually reasonably good; as long as you're not downloading from sketchy sites, that's likely enough protection.  Besides, the free versions of many antiviruses are worse than Defender, and they love to flag bogus threats to try to convince you to buy the paid versions instead.

Still, please check the Task Manager's background processes list to see whether you might in fact have an antivirus running.  Many if not most laptops do come with one, and sometimes it activates itself.

Your dxdiag does have a number of Windows update errors, so it's a good idea to clean those up before going further.  Please run a couple of basic checks of your Windows system files:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, 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 “Command prompt (Administrator)”
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
• Post the message you receive here

Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.  If any install, restart again afterwards.

The driver for your graphics chip is a bit old, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but it predates Windows 11 by enough that it might not be compatible.  So it's a good idea to update that as well, but best if HP offers one for your laptop.  To check, please go here:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

Enter your computer's serial number, select Windows 11 if asked, and you'll land on the driver download page for your laptop.  Please link that page for me; I can't be sure I'm looking at the right one from the product name in your dxdiag.  The download page doesn't have any info about your own system, just the overall model.

@puzzlezaddict i checked the task manager and antimalware service executable is there and it wont let me end it. i also dont see powershell or command prompt when i press windows + x. 

@JosieMonroe  There's a Windows Defender antimalware service too; if it has the same logo as other Windows processes, that's what you're looking at.

What do you see when you click Windows key-X?  Are you signed into an admin account?  If not, your options would be more limited.  But if that's not the issue, here are other ways to open PowerShell:

https://www.howtogeek.com/662611/9-ways-to-open-powershell-in-windows-10/

@puzzlezaddict i only use one account here and it is the admin but heres a screenshot of what my windows + x looks like.

@JosieMonroe  Sorry, I didn't realize that Windows 11 had replaced PowerShell with the terminal.  (I mean, I knew the terminal was there, just not that it had taken over.)  Anyway, choose the Terminal (Admin) option and see whether DISM and sfc run.  If you get an error with either one, try to open PowerShell through one of the other methods in the link I posted earlier.

If PowerShell won't open, Command prompt should still be in there somewhere.  Search for it and choose the "Run as admin" option.

@puzzlezaddict @JosieMonroe 

It is still Powershell despite the name change. It even says so when you start it. Microsoft recommends that you install this update. Migrating from Windows PowerShell 5.1 to PowerShell 7 - PowerShell | Microsoft Docs

@puzzlezaddict @jpkarlsen i did the list of things you told me to do, restarted my computer and all. i tried to look for a new driver by entering my serial number but hp says they couldnt find one for me. im attaching the message i got from powershell ,which is called terminal for me, and a message i got when i tried to open the game again.

@JosieMonroe  Please try using Origin again, and if you get another error, do a clean uninstall and reinstall of Origin itself:

• Quit Origin, 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.
• Clear Origin's cache.
• Download Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine) from here.
• Launch Revo, select Origin from the list, and click Uninstall.
• When it finishes uninstalling, select "Moderate" under "scanning modes," and click 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 Sims 4 and other Origin games are installed by default.)  Delete the rest.
• Close Revo, and restart your computer.

Next, download the full Origin installer and run it.  Here's the direct download link:

http://download.dm.origin.com/origin/live/OriginSetup.exe

Be sure to run both the installer and Origin itself as an admin: right-click on each and select "Run as Administrator."

If Sims 4 still won't open, please try installing the newest available graphics driver from Intel, dated October 14.  It's possible your computer will block it—HP software often does block drivers not provided by HP—but the worst that can happen is you get an error message.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/195436/intel-core-i510210u-processor-6m-cache-up-to-4-20-ghz/downloads.html

If the driver does install, restart your computer before trying to play.  If you get any more error messages from Sims 4 or Origin, please post a screenshot.

hi i did everything but when it came to downloading the installer, it tells me that it can't be downloaded securely. origin thin setup downloads just fine though which i find interesting. @puzzlezaddict 

@JosieMonroe  It's strange that the full Origin installer would trigger a warning, but then it is an .exe, and an overaggressive antivirus might flag it for whatever reason.

Anyway, you can install Origin using the ThinSetup if you want.  I always recommend the full installer because it eliminates a few potential issues, but most of the time the ThinSetup would work fine as well.

@puzzlezaddict i've tried everything at this point lmao. nothing seems to be working and it seems that every time you or someone else gives me instructions something else comes up. i'm attaching the error message i got from the sims which has not changed throughout this whole process. thanks so much for all your help 🙂

@JosieMonroe 

Restart the PC. Do not choose shutdown and turning it on again. Then start the game from Origin.

@jpkarlsen @puzzlezaddict hey, that's how i always do it lol. the sims 4 doesn't open from my desktop, i can only ever open the game from origin. could this issue be due to bad cc? and if so how can i identify which cc it is using tray importer?

@JosieMonroe 

After restarting the PC do you still get the same error.

@JosieMonroe  If you move the Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, all your mods and custom content will be removed too; you can put it and your other content back later.

@jpkarlsen @puzzlezaddict hi yes, my laptop has been restarted so many times in this process and i still get an error message lol. but!! i moved the ts4 folder to my desktop and the game opened!! what does this mean and how do i fix it?

@JosieMonroe  Sorry I didn't specifically mention the clean folder before.  I'd suggested it to someone else earlier in the thread, but I guess not to you.

Anyway, this means that something in the folder you've moved is the issue, and you'll need to find out what.  Mods are the most likely cause, so test those first, or else just download new versions confirmed compatible with the current patch level.  Your saves are probably fine, but test those too, just in case.  As long as you don't save your progress with your mods and cc missing, the content will show up in the saves again once you've added it to the new Sims 4 folder.

If you have a lot of mods or cc, the 50/50 method can make testing much more efficient:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Finding_Problem_Custom_Content#The_50.25_Method

@puzzlezaddict @jpkarlsen @darkaudit hi!! sorry i couldn't post my updates here, getting ready for finals. but i removed the folder and figured out that the problem was in one of the files under all the folders in the ts4 folder. my game works now and i couldn't be more thankful!! thank you all so much for your help!! 🙂))