Unable to open Sims 4 in Windowed Mode
I posted this as a reply to someone else, but I figured maybe I should post it again in case I'm having a different issue to them.
I typically play Sims 4 in windowed mode, but have been unable to open the game in windowed mode for about two months now (an on and off occasionally before that, but especially after the November 17 update). I will go to open it, it will show the Sims 4 logo and then just go to a blank white screen after sort of minimizing itself. After a lot of attempts to fix it, I've realized it has to be related to windowed mode. I can open the game every time in full screen mode, but very rarely in windowed mode (possibly also related to night light on the computer, but I don't think it's necessarily limited to that).
I've found somewhat of a work around so I can still play the game. I open the game in full screen mode and then go into game options and change it to windowed and play; I then make sure I go back to full screen mode before exiting the Sims so that I can reopen the game. It's functional so that I can play, but also fairly frustrating to have to go into game setting every time I want to play. I'm really not sure what the fix or issue is to that.
@Kazuzi3 Laptops come with manufacturer-provided software, most of which is specific to one or two companies, so what gets installed on a Dell might have no overlap with what's installed on an Acer. Whether you consider these programs "bloatware" or not usually depends on whether you can identify any redeeming value in them, which is not always possible. So you can get an idea of what's installed on your Dell, here's its download page:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/g-series-15-3590-laptop/drivers
Most laptop manufacturers also tweak the Nvidia/AMD/Intel-created graphics drivers to work better on their laptops. While this is a good thing in general, one of the changes might have unintended consequences, like for example not being able to play a game in windowed mode.
I'd still suspect the other Dell software though, either alone or in conflict with something else you have running, especially because your laptop is popular enough that I'd have expected to see more reports of this problem by now. So try disabling any Dell software, e.g. the Alienware Command Center, in the Task Manager before you play. Worst case, if something essential stops working, just reboot your laptop, and the process will restart as well. And don't run any other overlays (Steam, Discord, etc.) either.
A more thorough intervention would be a clean boot, but you'd still need to go through the Task Manager's background processes list and close anything that didn't need to be running. Some software ignores the clean boot, for whatever reason.