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joyorange's avatar
joyorange
2 years ago
Solved

Suddenly unable to run Sims 4 from EA app?

Hi everyone. I don't post very often but I've reached a dead end and the end of my tech skills haha. I've recently downloaded the EA app onto my new (purchased Jan/Feb this year) HP Spectre laptop an...
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  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    2 years ago

    @joyorange  Your new dxdiag doesn't contain any Sims 4  errors, but I recognize this screenshot as common in Intel Arc laptops with older drivers.  So it's worth trying to install the newest driver from Intel.  I don't know whether HP's software will block the installation of the driver, as happens sometimes, but at worst, you'll get an error that prevents you from installing.

    First though, please run a couple of basic checks of your Windows system files:

    • Hit Windows key-X
    • Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
    • Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, and enter
    • The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
    • After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
    • Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator)”
    • Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
    • Post the message you receive here

    Restart your computer, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the box to check for updates.  If anything installs, restart again.

    Here's the newest Intel driver for your Arc GPU:

    https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/228342/intel-arc-a370m-graphics/downloads.html

    You'll want the one dated October 10.  Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator."  If it does in fact install, restart your computer again afterwards.

    If you can't install the driver the normal way, you could force it, but I'm not sure you want to go that route.  Let me know if you do.

    Otherwise, you'll need to wait for HP to provide an updated driver, which might not happen for a while.  In the interim, you can force Sims 4 to run on the integrated graphics chip instead.  Hit Windows key-i, select System > Display > Graphics settings, click Browse, find Sims 4 (TS4_x64.exe) on the list, and choose the power-saving option, which should list Intel Xe Graphics rather than the Arc card.  Performance won't be as good as if Sims 4 was using the Arc card, but you should still be able to play on high graphics settings.

puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
Hero+
2 years ago

@joyorange  Out of curiosity, does this happen in windowed mode too?  You can force the setting by going into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4, opening options.ini, searching for fullscreen , and setting it to 0 (zero).

Even if this does help, it's still worth looking for an update to the Intel graphics driver.  Go here:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

Enter your laptop's serial number, choose your OS (just Windows 11 is fine) if prompted, and you'll land on the driver download page for your computer.  Click All Drivers, then Driver-Graphics, and look for an Intel driver with a newer version than 31.0.101.3962, which is your currently-installed driver.  If you see a newer one, download, install, and restart your computer.  If you don't find a newer driver, download the latest one and do a clean uninstall and reinstall, as described here:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/02/clean-re-install-of-graphics-drivers-with-display-driver-uninstaller-ddu.html

  • joyorange's avatar
    joyorange
    2 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict!

    Thank you so much for your response! I apologise it's taken me so long to respond - life has been very busy and I haven't even had the chance to think about Sims (so sad haha). 

    Unfortunately, it does occur in windowed mode. I've gone through and checked all the updates for graphics drivers multiple times and apparently, I'm all up to date. I couldn't follow the blog you so kindly provided the link to as it didn't seem to apply to my systems. I have, however, completed a clean uninstall and reinstall using a different method and unfortunately, I'm still facing the same issue.

    I have to admit I'm a little stumped! Has anyone else come across this issue in the last few weeks?

    Is there any official EA staff contact method, such as a live chat?

    Thanks again @puzzleaddict, I really appreciate your help!!

    • puzzlezaddict's avatar
      puzzlezaddict
      Hero+
      2 years ago

      @joyorange  The guide I linked does apply to all Windows systems; the only variation is where you download a fresh copy of the driver.  That's why I linked the HP website for you: your laptop would probably only take a driver from there, not a more generic one.

      At any rate, please post a new dxdiag.  And if you get an error message when trying to launch Sims 4, please post a screenshot.

      You can of course contact EA customer support for help instead, but I can almost guarantee you that it won't be helpful.  EA support reps aren't really equipped to handle this kind of issue.  Still, it's your choice.

      https://help.ea.com/en/help-home/

      • joyorange's avatar
        joyorange
        2 years ago

        @puzzlezaddict Hi there, thank you again for your response! Apologies about the confusion regarding your link. When I originally opened it, I must have accidentally clicked onto a different page on the website without realising (hopeless, I know haha). I apologise for the confusion. If my latest DxDiag doesn't prove useful, I'll go through the process using DDU, but I wanted to submit my current DxDiag post the uninstall/reinstall process I completed in case something has changed (although, from what I can see, I don't think anything has). I've attached the DxDiag I just ran and a screenshot of the Sims 4 error message to this post. As I said in my original post, it either produces this error message or a black, glitching screen. I'm not sure why it alternates between the two, but there we go haha. Thank you again for all your help.

        I appreciate the tip about EA Support, thank you. I was wondering whether I should contact them rather than continuously bothering you haha but, if you're still happy to put up with me and my apparently very average tech skills :P, I'm very grateful. Thanks again!

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