@DoctorSyzygy I'm sorry to hear that this is (at least partly) a hardware issue, but at least you have an answer. Good luck with the rest of the process.
Thanks for the advice, but it didn't fix the problem. Might have gotten closer, though.
I turned off the Xbox Game Bar. Since I don't use it at all, I used CCleaner to uninstall Xbox Game Bar (twice) and another related Game Bar program, then used CCleaner Registry Clean. When I started the Sims, it gave me a message about how I could download a Game Bar app, but started without it. Crashed anyway before I gave any commands.
New DxDiag attached- still has Game Bar errors. I'm thinking about trying the following, but I'm not sure it would solve the problem and I hate to go messing around the registry. https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/gamebar-presence-writer.html
Thanks for any suggestions.
@DoctorSyzygy Your new dxdiag doesn't list any new errors from Game Bar: the errors you're seeing were the same ones as in the first dxdiag. It's sometimes difficult to be sure without timestamps, but in this case, you can be reasonably sure by comparing the two lists and noticing that the new dxdiag has three new errors plus the first seven from the previous dxdiag, in the same order.
As a side note, it's not typically necessary to uninstall Game Bar—disabling it should be sufficient—and Microsoft may reinstall it the next time it updates. So please make sure it's gone from Settings, and if it's back, just disable it again. It's definitely not worth messing around in the registry just to get rid of Game Bar.
Speaking of the new errors in the new dxdiag, you have three BlueScreens, as you can see. Did these happen while you were playing Sims 4? If so, I'd like to see the crash dumps. Open a File Explorer window and enter C:\Windows\Minidump in the address bar. For the last two or three dump files, right-click and select Copy, then right-click on the desktop and select Paste. From there, you can zip the files together, upload the .zip to a third-party filehosting site, and link it here.
If there are any recent Sims 4-related crash dumps, I'd like to see one or two of those as well. Click Windows key-R and copy and paste this:
%LocalAppData%\CrashDumps
If you see any Sims 4 dump files from the last couple of days, please upload one or two as well.
Thanks for the info on the dxdiag and game bar.
I found two minidump files: https://www.mediafire.com/file/qdn35dj2ukc1izs/Sims_minidump_files.zip/file
There wasn't a %LocalAppData%\CrashDumps folder.
In the meanwhile, I also tried the following, none of which worked:
- I tried to run as administrator.
- MS Store- updated Spotify, HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer, and Phone Link
- Windows Update again just for the hell of it
- Installed Visual C++ update
- DirectX install. Got error "This program might not have installed correctly. DirectX 9.0 Web setup. If this program didn't install correctly, you can try installing the program using compatibility settings". I chose "Installed correctly".
- Checked that .Net Framework 4.5 was updated
- Tried booting and logging in as Administrator.
- Repaired Win 11
Thanks again for any suggestions.
Update:
Out of desperation, I decided to reinstall Win 11. After that debacle, The Sims still lets me create a new character, but crashes a few minutes into the scenario.
I also saw mention of someone having trouble with Razor software, so I uninstalled that as well. No luck.
I'll post if I try anything else, but I'm out of ideas.
Community Manager
