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RosaRosa33's avatar
2 years ago

The Sims 4 crashing on start

I can’t open the game. In screen there’s “The Sims 4” then it returns to desktop. I’ve tried to delete and install it (both EA and the game), clear cache, repair game. Dxdiag . Remove the folder to desktop. They don’t work. 

9 Replies

  • @RosaRosa33   Please attach the dxdiag to a reply in this thread.  It's not a troubleshooting step but rather a diagnostic report that people can read to look for reasons the game might not work.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @RosaRosa33  One obvious issue is that your computer's C drive is very low on free space.  So please try to move whatever data you can do D.  C and D are actually two partitions of the same drive, so you won't lose any performance by moving apps or other data.

    For the Sims 4 issue itself, please try launching the game in windowed mode.  Go into Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4, open Options.ini, search for fullscreen , and set it to 0 (zero).

    Please continue to play with none of your existing content.  You said you moved the entire Sims 4 folder to the desktop, but if you put it back, please move it again, and don't move any of your data to the new Sims 4 folder the game creates, at least not yet.

  • RosaRosa33's avatar
    RosaRosa33
    2 years ago

    I did the fullscreen thing you told and its still not working ☹️

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @RosaRosa33  Your dxdiag lists a Huawei "Virtual Display Device," which I believe is a service for virtual desktops.  It could definitely interfere with Sims 4; I've seen other similar services do so in the past.  You should be able to disable it in the Task Manager.  If you're not sure how it's named, look for anything with the Huawei name or logo and "display" or similar in its name.

  • RosaRosa33's avatar
    RosaRosa33
    2 years ago

    I finally found the virtual display device in thev device manager and disable it but it didn't work. Should I enable it now?

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @RosaRosa33  Please leave it disabled until Sims 4 is working correctly.  It's not common to have multiple issues at the same time, but it does happen, and the best practice is to keep removing possible issues until the game runs again, then add them back one at a time to make sure nothing breaks.

    Please try updating your laptop's graphics driver.  You can get the newest copy available from Intel here:

    https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/208922/intel-core-i51135g7-processor-8m-cache-up-to-4-20-ghz-with-ipu/downloads.html

    You'll want the one dated January 10, not the older downloads.  Run the installer as an admin: right-click the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart your computer after installing and before trying to play.

    If you see an error when trying to install this driver, let me know.  Some laptop manufacturers deliberately block the installation of drivers not provided by the manufacturer, but I'm not familiar enough with Huawei practices to know whether this is a possibility.  I do know that Huawei doesn't offer standalone drivers for your laptop, just an app that runs updates automatically, and I'm not suggesting you install that.

    If you can't install the new driver, or you can install it but Sims 4 still doesn't work, please create a new admin Windows account and try playing in that.  Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account.  You'll be able to (try to) launch Sims 4 without reinstalling anything, but your saves and other user content won't be available.  That's fine for now; just let me know whether the game loads.

  • RosaRosa33's avatar
    RosaRosa33
    2 years ago

    I have tried this one too but still not working. Thanks for your help btw.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    @RosaRosa33  You tried both installing the new graphics driver and creating a new Windows account?  If so, and neither one worked, please uninstall and reinstall both Sims 4 and the EA App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine).  Start with Sims 4:

    • For the Sims 4 folder that was originally in Documents\Electronic Arts, as in, the one that contains your saves, 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.
    • Cancel the system restore point; you don't need it.
    • 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.

    For the EA App:

    • Launch Revo, select the App, and click Uninstall.
    • Cancel the system restore point.
    • The EA App may open a window.  Click Uninstall, then in the Revo window, click Moderate under Scanning modes, and click Scan.
    • Revo will present a list of registry entries.  Click Select All, then Delete: you don't need or want to preserve these entries.
    • For the leftover files and folders, click Select All, review the list and deselect anything you'd like to keep (this is unlikely, but it's worth checking), click Delete, and you're done.
    • Close Revo, and restart your computer.

    Install the EA App, then create a new folder into which you'll install Sims 4.  The folder should be on the root level of the drive of your choice, for example C:\Games is fine, but not C:\Program Files\Games.