Re: Sims 4 won't launch, tried everything

Restarted my computer for the tenth time and now the game opens! No idea which of the million things I tried ended up working 😕 origin signed me out randomly and didn't let me sign in with my password, I restarted after changing it so don't know if that had anything to do with it. 

So the game worked on Thursday. Tried opening the game today and got the same problem?? Deleted Bullguard as well and no difference. 

@rosamoi  Did you repair after uninstalling Bullguard?  If that didn't help, did you try deleting TS4_x64.exe and repairing afterwards?

When I click on my profile in Origin app it says I'm playing the sims 4 which is weird, it doesn't show in task manager or anything

@rosamoi  Restart your computer and try again.

The game already running error is a separate issue but shares some underlying causes.  You can try the steps in this article:

https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/crin-error/game-already-running/

They won't do any harm and may help with the game not launching.

still not working ☹️

I tried safe boot start up and it launched on that

@rosamoi  Okay, so the issue is apparently some driver or service that's active in a clean boot but not in safe mode.  Try another clean boot, and when you've rebooted, go through the Task Manager's background tasks list shutting down anything that's not absolutely necessary.  If you make a mistake and kill a critical process, it should restart itself, but on the off chance it doesn't, rebooting your computer will restore it.

The origin client service uac is not  allowed, could that be the problem? And how do I change it if so? All the processes are pretty much service host stuff that I can't end in the task manager :/ 
 

@rosamoi  The UAC virtualization shouldn't be an issue here.  But speaking of that, did you ever change your UAC settings?  If so, please let me know what you did.

Please also disable UAC entirely, just long enough to test.  Here's a guide:

https://www.lifewire.com/disable-uac-in-windows-10-5113191

Don't open anything other than Origin and Sims 4 with UAC disabled, and whether or not it works, revert the setting to wherever it was originally (and let me know what that was) when you're done.

And let me know whether Windows Defender is enabled.  This is how you'd disable it, although I'm not suggesting you try; it's just the easiest way to check the settings:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-off-defender-antivirus-protection-in-windows-security-99e6004f-c54c-8509-773c-a4d776b77960

Finally, if you still can't play, please upload an Origin file called Client_Log.txt.  Hit Windows key-R and enter %LocalAppData% in the run box.  In the File Explorer window that appears, open Origin > Logs, and you'll find Client_Log.txt.  You should be able to attach it to a post, but if not, upload it to a free filesharing site and link it here.

I didn't change any UAC settings. The UAC settings are on default (notify me only when applications try to make changes to my computer. I've tried disabling UAC and windows defender entirely, neither helping. 

Two days ago the game randomly launched again after I ended bunch of tasks in task manager. I did the same today, ending everything that didn't give me a warning, but the game is not launching! So maybe the ending tasks and game launching weren't related after all? So weird.

Thanks so much for all the help by the way, I appreciate it. 

Here's a link to the origin log: 

https://caledonianac-my.sharepoint.com/:t:/g/personal/rahtia200_caledonian_ac_uk/EeOUIwAje7ZNh8iJntaRNU0BrMaXFhDHpEyDgNOCziv6kw?e=GDNHtO

@rosamoi  Did you happen to restart your computer right before the game worked?  Did you restart between when it worked and when it didn't, and if so, how long before you tried to play?  It's worth restarting now—using sleep mode or even shutting down and starting up but rather power icon > Restart—and then ending any process in the Task Manager you can.

The Origin log contains some errors that look suspicious, but I don't know what exactly they mean.  Given what they say though, if the above doesn't help, it's worth uninstalling Sims 4 and installing it in a different location, not within Program Files (x86).  You can simply make a new folder (call it Games or something, just not Sims 4) and point Origin to that location.  To uninstall and reinstall Sims 4:

• If you still have a Sims 4 user folder (i.e. with saves you want to preserve) somewhere, rename it to something that doesn't include "Sims 4."
• 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.
• Open a File Explorer window, click This PC in the left panel, open C, and create the new folder you want.
• Open Origin, choose Application Settings > Installs & Saves, and point Origin to the new folder.
• Download Sims 4 and see whether it works.

hey, i'm having the same error. i'm clicking on 'play' from origin, and nothing happens. the game doesn't even show up in the task manager as running, but when i try to launch the game(or repair it) from origin, it says that it's unplayable because it's still running. i can't understand it and i've tried setting anti-virus security walls down, repairing the game, restarting my computer (like 20 times, lol). could you fix it? because it really bugs me and i cannot play my own game ☹️

@thisistheny  Please move the Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, if it launches, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just see whether you can get far enough to load a new save.

If you still can't open the game, what antivirus do you use?  Please let me know, and also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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