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krisparisian's avatar
krisparisian
2 years ago

Seemingly unsolvable and reoccurring de4ee14f:29f00e76:00000000:4b0d852b error

I've been struggling with this error for a few days now that prevents me from launching my game. It states:

 

"Unable to start:

Cannot start because game data is missing or damaged. If you have Mods installed please remove them and try again. If not, please repair and restart the game via Origin. [de4ee14f:29f00e76:00000000:4b0d852b]"

 

I have tried almost every solution I could find on the forums to fix this issue. I deleted my localthumbnailcache, factory reset my Sims 4 folder by renaming it "The Sims 4 old" and moved my mods, saves, and tray over to the new folder, deleted leftover caches from the old Origin app, repaired and reinstalled my game, and of course, tried the "50/50" method.

 

Now this is where it gets funny. I was able to determine that the problem was in fact the mods that I had downloaded, so I narrowed down which mods were causing the issue, removed them, and my game started working just fine. However, within the same day when trying to boot up the game again, the problem returned and I had to remove more mods. My game started working again for a while, and like clockwork, the error message eventually returned and prompted me to remove even more mods. The game hasn't updated at all so how are these mods becoming outdated/corrupted? I'll admit, I have a lot of mods, mostly because I use the Sims 4 to help me with my art. I find the game to be a really good tool to learn how to draw perspectives and dynamic scenes and I use CC to make my characters and environments look exactly how I want them to.

 

The only way for me to fix this problem permanently is if I don't use any .package mods at all.

pc

7 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @krisparisian  Is OneDrive running on this computer?  It might be syncing files or otherwise messing with your user folder.  The temporary fix is to pause syncing, which you can do by right-clicking the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen.

    If OneDrive isn't the issue, or you can't tell either way, try playing in a new admin Windows account.  Make it local, as in, don't link it with your Microsoft account.  Test the game once with no mods, just to be thorough, then add fresh copies of a few mods you normally use, ones confirmed compatible with the current patch (1.99).  Let me know whether you eventually get the same error in the new account or not.  No means a problem with the old account; yes means a more global issue with your system, or a problem with the mods you're using.

  • krisparisian's avatar
    krisparisian
    2 years ago
    @puzzlezaddict I tried your suggestion and it didn't exactly work, but it did lead me to find the problem. It seems like some of my mod files are becoming corrupted as I play the game. Funnily enough, usually multiple mods from the same creator will corrupt at a time. This is great since I organize most of my mods by creator anyway, and makes finding corrupted files much easier. The solution for now seems to just delete the corrupted files and replace them. I'm not sure what is causing the corruption. Maybe it's one or more of my saves. Thank you for your help!
  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @krisparisian  Mods shouldn't be corrupted in the run of play.  The game reads the files but doesn't modify them, and neither does any other normal process.  It's still worth disabling OneDrive, if it's running, in case it's trying to sync your mods and other Sims 4-related files as you play.  That could cause all sorts of problems.

    If that's not the issue, you may want to run a virus scan.  I'm not saying your computer definitely has a virus, only that this kind of odd behavior makes checking worthwhile.  Download Malwarebytes (the free trial is fine) from here:

    https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download

    Open it, click Scan > Custom Scan > Configure Scan, check all the boxes both for all scan types and for all your drives, and let it do its job.  This could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the amount of data and whether the scan finds anything., so you may want to set it to run while you're doing something else.  Please attach its report so I can take a look.

  • krisparisian's avatar
    krisparisian
    2 years ago

    @puzzlezaddictThey don't get corrupted in the middle of play. I meant that they seem to have a chance of getting corrupted after a play session, so the next time I boot up the game I might get an error about corrupted files. Idk if that detail makes a difference. I did disable OneDrive a while ago.

    I considered doing a malware scan before but I wasn't sure if was necessary and I wasn't familiar with free malware scanner apps that were legit. I'll try the scan and let you know how it goes.

    Edit: I should add that I haven't gained any more corrupted files since then which is strange. I might just keep booting up and closing my game to see if running it truly is connected to the corruption

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @krisparisian  Did you remove or quarantine what Malwarebytes found?  If so, please let me know whether that helps going forward, or your files get corrupted again.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @krisparisian  Sorry, I saw your edit after I posted my answer and then edited my own.  Point is, let me know whether you run into more issues going forward.

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