Forum Discussion

beefpetunia's avatar
2 years ago

Sims 4 Crashing PC, no mods

For the last probably 4ish months (maybe longer idk it feels like this has been going on forever), I have had issues with Sims crashing my computer when loading the game. The game will start to load and then before it gets to the main menu, the screen goes black and then the computer starts up again. I have tried almost everything. Initially, I assumed it was a broken mod, but even after removing all mods, clearing the cache in EA, repairing the game, and running it without cache or any save files, this still occurs. Maybe once every 5 times I try this, it will actually load, but then the next time I go to play it either crashes before I even reach the main menu or as soon as a save loads. And sometimes I can add mods back in and the game will work fine, then the next day I've added no new mods and it will crash and be unplayable again. I have even completely reinstalled Windows. I truly have no idea what's wrong. All of my other games on my PC run fine (The Last of Us Part 1, City Skylines, etc). I've looked into event viewer when the computer starts back up but it doesn't have any information on the crash.

Some specs (please let me know if you need additional info)

AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT 

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six-Core Processor 3.40 GHz

32 GB RAM

Windows 10

Thanks for the help!

13 Replies

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @beefpetunia  Sorry for the late reply.  I went over the log multiple times and couldn't find anything that looked even remotely problematic.  The power on all rails is above the requirements, the temperatures of all components (that report it) are low, and there's no other weirdness.

    The one thing I didn't see was a report from the graphics card about the voltage coming in from the power supply.  This could simply be a lack of related sensors on the GPU, or that hwinfo isn't reading the sensors properly.  But it did make me wonder: is it possible that the 8-pin supplementary connector has become detached or was never present in the first place?  Please check if you're not absolutely sure.  Not only should there be a cable from the PSU to the GPU, all eight pins should be inserted rather than 6.  (Many PCIe power cables come in a 6+2 format for wider compatibility.)  And it's easy for this connector to come loose because the cable is often bent downwards very close to the connector.

    If that's not the problem, I do have one other suggestion that may or may not help.  Install RivaTuner Statistics Server (it's a free download) and limit the framerates in Sims 4 to 30.  You should be able to play with much higher fps, but this is more of a test than a solution.  The RTSS menu will look something like this:

    You'd choose TS4_x64.exe (below TS3W on the left), set the framerate limit (red box) to 30, and choose whether to start RTSS with Windows (yellow box).  You don't need to do this, but RTSS does need to be running in order to work.  Restart your computer after installing RTSS and before trying to play.

    If a limit of 30 works, you can try 60 next, then work your way back up to 144 (the refresh rate of your monitor) and see how it goes.  RTSS shouldn't affect any program for which you don't specify an fps limit.

  • beefpetunia's avatar
    beefpetunia
    2 years ago

    Hi thanks again for all of your suggestions and help, I really appreciate it. 

    So, I checked the 8-pin supplementary connector, it seemed perfectly fine to me but I gave it an extra push to be sure it was in correctly. I loaded the sims and it actually worked! However, when I went to log on later that night, it crashed the computer again. 

    I also tried the RivaTuner Statistics Server with 30 frames as you suggested and the game loaded fine until it hit the main menu screen, which is when it crashed again. From all of this it seems like the PSU might be the problem? Let me know what you think. And again thank you for your continued help.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @beefpetunia  If you have the ability to test with a different PSU, even if it means borrowing one from another computer or a friend, I would suggest doing so.  A 500W unit should be fine, but if possible, go with 600W or above just to be on the safe side.  You don't need to install it properly; just leave it on the desk and hook up all the connectors with the computer's side panel removed.  And, as noted earlier, make sure the PSU's fan is pointed towards fresh air, not against a solid surface.