@LittleGraveRaven This kind of crash is usually due to some kind of problem with Sims 4, not a system-wide issue. One possible problem is having your game installed on an external drive. While that would normally be fine, it does add a few complicating factors: you could have a bad cable or a bad port on your PC, or the drive itself could be defective. Or, frankly, the data transfer speeds might not be keeping up with the game's demands.
The first thing to try is to connect your external SSD to a different port on your computer. Please make sure you're using a USB 3.0 port, not a USB 2: the connecters for each are compatible with ports for the other, but USB 3 has much faster data transfer speeds. If you're already using a USB 3 port, switch to a different one. Your computer's manual should show you where to find the proper ports, but the easiest way to tell is that the internal plastic bit in a USB 3 port is blue.
If that doesn't help, please do a clean uninstall of Sims 4 and reinstall it on your internal drive. If Origin is on your external, clean uninstall that as well; if it's internal, you can skip that part. You can use your main Windows account. Start by uninstalling Sims 4:
- Put aside your Sims 4 folder in Documents\Electronic Arts (from the main Windows account) and rename it to something that doesn't include the words "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.
Next, uninstall Origin:
- First, clear Origin's cache.
- 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.
- Launch Revo again and uninstall Origin, and when it's uninstalled, select "Moderate" again and 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 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." When it's reinstalled, download Sims 4; you can just download the base game, to save time, if you want.
Restart after installing and before playing, and allow the game to create a(nother) new user folder rather than reusing your existing one.