Forum Discussion
@smikette An antivirus can interfere with the game's program files, forcing Origin to repair them. Or, sometimes Origin gets stuck in a repair or update loop. Normally, a clean uninstall and reinstall works fine, but sometimes Origin can be extra stubborn.
Please try setting an exception for TS4_x64.exe, in addition to Origin.exe. If that doesn't help, it really does matter what your antivirus is. I'm not asking repeatedly to be nosy, I'm asking because players have documented the extra settings in various programs that can block the game or some of its components. Some of the info is linked at the bottom of this post:
Other than those, you'll need to figure it out yourself.
If the issue isn't your antivirus but rather Origin being annoying, you can try disabling automatic game updates, under Application Settings > Application > Client update. If that doesn't help, leave it off anyway and put Origin in offline mode before trying to play. Origin can't update or repair while it's offline.
took a while, but i finally managed to get offline. now, some other weird things i've noticed: while all of that nonsense is going on, everything else on my 'puter runs slower, and the other windows i have open will randomly minimize and maximize until i eventually get out of origin.
my anti-virus is Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. it works well and i've never had any problems with it. it has never interfered with origin before.
so @puzzlezaddict, as long i keep origin offline, i should be able to play the sims? is there any way i can break the loop?
i may just redo all pf the steps you previously advised in case i missed anything. i am little bit flakey and i am 63. maybe i'm not a sharp as i used to be, which could've been iffy anyway(see previously stated flakey) LOL.
thanks so much for your time and help. it is very much appreciated.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette Origin might be using too much of your processor's resources: it does that sometimes these days, which will slow down your whole computer whether you're playing or not. Uninstalling and reinstalling Origin can help temporarily, but usually a more invasive intervention is necessary.
The next time Origin has an issue, or you notice your computer slowing down, please look up Origin's CPU use in the Task Manager, and let me know what percentage of the processor it's using. If this is in fact the issue, I'll list a few ways you can try to troubleshoot it. But if Origin is not the issue, those steps will likely be a waste of time, so please do check first.
- 5 years ago
'puter is running quickly as it usually does & currently origin is only using between .1 & .3%. but i'm still playing offline. scared to go online in case this happens again.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette If you do want to try again, please let me know how much of your processor Origin takes up. Or if you want online access and don't want to bother with Origin anymore, you can use the EA Desktop App instead:
https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion/FAQ-EA-Desktop-Beta/td-p/9090992
It's still in beta and doesn't have the repair option, among other things. But it does work with Sims 4.
- 5 years ago
thanks @puzzlezaddict
- 5 years ago
well, @puzzlezaddict, it happened again. opened origin and there was a new version available, so i clicked restart now. it's running through each of the games as before, although this time i clicked Cancel Repair. doesn't appear to have made any difference. origin is currently using about 98% of the CPU.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette Quit Origin, force it to close through the Task Manager if you have to, and restart your computer. Without opening Origin, hit Windows key-R and enter "msconfig" without quotes. Click the Startup tab, scroll down to the Origin Client Service and Origin Web Helper Service, and uncheck both boxes. Open the Task Manager to make sure they're not running anyway; they'd be in background tasks.
Now open Origin and see whether it still uses all your CPU. If it does, the next step would be another clean uninstall of Origin, as before. This time, when you're reinstalling and it gives you a list of functions to allow (keep Origin and games up to date, open with Windows or whatever's on that list these days), uncheck everything, but especially the "share hardware info" option.
- 5 years ago
it worked! woohoo! CPU usage is very low. so, what was wrong? also, now my mods aren't working. took them out and will reinstall and see what happens.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette If the fix was to disable the client service and web helper service, then the issue is... something on Origin's end that we haven't figured out yet. From what I've heard other people report, Origin is constantly reading and writing to this one small file, but I don't know whether that's the only issue. Regardless, you don't need either service active for Origin itself to download or repair.
If your mods aren't working after the reinstall, please let me know how exactly they're not working: whether you get a message that mods have been disabled, or they just don't show up.
- 5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict the mods just don't show up.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette Please open your Mods folder in a File Explorer window, copy the file path (in the address bar, above the list of files and folders), and paste it here.
Then load Sims 4, click Load Game, and hover over the folder icon for one of your saves. You'll see the file path to that save; please list it here as well. You can write [username] instead of your actual username, but let me know if you see the wrong username there.
- 5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict i don't understand. File Explorer window? file path? basically, please explain everything. lol. sorry.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette The File Explorer is the window that shows your files and folders, the one that pops up when you click the folder icon along the bottom of your screen or double-click on a folder on the desktop. The address bar is below the icons in that window and above the list of files and folders. It shows the file path: the location of the folder you're looking at.
For example, if you open your Mods folder, you might see in the address bar something like this:
Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Mods
That's what I want to know: what file path do your mods have?
- 5 years ago
oh, i see. here ya go.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette That's certainly where your mods are supposed to be. Try dragging the Mods folder to the desktop and letting the game generate a new one. (Make sure mods are enabled in the game settings.) Then download a fresh copy of one mod that's confirmed compatible with the current patch level, add it to the new Mods folder, and see whether it shows up.
- 5 years ago
i had to download and install the mods, but i didn't do it 'til after i moved the mods folder to the desktop. don't know if that makes a difference. mods are still not showing showing up. now what?
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette Load the game to the Main Menu, click Load Game, and hover over the folder icon below the other info for one of your saves. Please list the file path you see. You can write [username] instead of your actual username, but please let me know if you're seeing the wrong username.
Please also list your game version, which you'll see either along the bottom of the screen or in the lower right corner. I'd like the entire number, i.e. 1.xx.xx.xxxx.
- 5 years ago
hope this what you're looking for. and yes, that's my name.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette That's exactly where the saves should be, and the mods in the same Sims 4 folder should work. Is it possible you didn't unzip them though? Mod files need to end with .ts4script or .package, and they can't be more than one subfolder deep.
The game should have also created a new resource.cfg in the new Mods folder. Please make sure it's still there, and if you downloaded another resource.cfg somewhere, delete that.
If the mods are all unzipped, resource.cfg is intact, but nothing shows up, please download a different mod, something like MCCC or one of TwistedMexi's mods that's known to work right now. You can delete it when you're done; the point is to test with a mod that other people are currently using.
- 5 years ago
@puzzlezaddict i have MCCC and Twisted Mexi's expandable catalogue. i just downloaded them today. they are script files and packages. the only other place i have a resource.cfg is in my original mods file, which i moved to the desktop.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette Just to clarify, is there a resource.cfg inside the Mods folder? That alone would explain the issue. And of course so would having mods disabled, which can happen after an update; please make sure that both custom content and mods are enabled within the game settings.
If that doesn't help, try playing in a clean user folder. Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content. Go into settings, enable mods and cc—they'll now be disabled by default—quit, add the MCCC files to the Mods folder, and test.
- 5 years ago
yes, there is a resource.cfg in my Mods folder. and both cc and mods are enabled in my game.
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette Did you try the clean user folder, as I described above?
If that doesn't help, please try playing in a new Windows admin user account. You can create a local account—don't link it to Microsoft or any other services—and sign into your existing Origin account. You won't need to redownload anything, but your saves and other content will be temporarily unavailable. Load the game, enable mods and cc, download the newest version of one mod, and see whether it works.
- 5 years ago
neither of those things worked. it shows that i have mccc installed, but it doesn't show up in game. sigh! now what?
- puzzlezaddict5 years agoHero+
@smikette When you say it shows you have MCCC installed, does that mean it shows when you load the game, or elsewhere? Just checking, but are you sure you're downloading the newest version of MCCC? If you installed an older version, the result could easily be what you've described.
- 5 years ago
it shows them in game options, other. i just click the view custom content button, and there they are. must be the most recent versions since it got them from deaderpool's & twisted mexi's sites.