Unplayable, cannot get past menu screen

To add to that, I can only close it using task manager or minimizing, then I can use my mouse again to close the program, the mouse works fine everywhere else.

Hi Yvon. I'm sorry to say that you are supposed to have a processor that runs 2.0 GHz or higher. You also need a graphics card that supports Pixel Shader 3.0. I don't think that is a feature of integrated graphics, which is what the Surface 3 uses.  I hope that helps. I might suggest that if you try to play on it again, you make sure you don't have anything else running on it at the same time. 

Here is a breakdown of the minimum requirements for The Sims 4: 

Operating System: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 (64-bit recommended) 
Processor (CPU): Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (or equivalent) with a minimum 2.0 GHz dual-core speed if using integrated graphics 
Memory (RAM): 2 GB 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600, ATI Radeon X1300, Intel GMA X4500, or a similar card supporting Pixel Shader 3.0
Hard Drive Space: At least 10 GB of free space
DirectX: Version 11 compatible ( you can still use DX 9 though
Internet: Required for product activation 

Hi Whubble,

Thank you so much for your quick reply!

Wow that makes sense that.. apologies for wasting your time! I play it without having anything else running so it definately is my laptop. 

Okay so I googled some more, my Intel Core i5-1035G7 has:
- Base clock: 1.2 GHz
- Turbo boost: Up to 3.7 GHz
So according to that it should work?

Also my Intel Iris Plus Graphics supports:
- Pixel Shader 5.0
- DirectX 12
- OpenGL 4.6

Which is higher than the pixel 3 you mentioned. To note, it worked 2 days ago and then stopped working yesterday, what would have changed in the meantime? It worked year ago as well so I am just suprised it completely stopped at the moment.

Thank you,
Yvon

I am continueing to try to get it to work as my specs should be compatible.

I've now also:
- Tested compatibility with windows 7/8/10 (11 didnt show for me)
-  Created a new desktop shortcut with flag -w -noborder -noOrigin. This made me get the elevation error (“The requested operation requires elevation”)
- Ran as Administratior for the Exe file and the shortcut
- Used  Task Schedule with highest priviliges to launch the game
- Created PowerShell script to force elevation
Nothing worked.

Rolled it all back, it launches now but stuck at my initial 2 issues of blue loading screen and not being able to click anywhere in the menu screen.  Also changed the language of the game to see if that helped, and (ofcourse) it did not. Tried to launch in -dx11 too. Antivirus exceptions have been set and OneDrive paused. Side note my 'hours played' is going up in the EA App with all my testing but I cannot play at all.

Any ideas what I can try more?

Thank you.
Yvon

puzzlezaddict​ whubble​ I have attached the DxDiag report if that helps besides my below updates.

yv1990​  The dxdiag helps a lot, and I'd have asked for it sooner if I'd seen your thread before now.  Please try changing the settings listed in this post from bibliomak:

Sims 4 Crashing/Freezing/Lag, Surface Pro 3/7 | EA Forums - 11836525

whubble​  The minimum requirement is NOT a processor that runs at 2.0 GHz or higher.  What you've listed was the previous requirement (and you can tell it's outdated by the fact that it doesn't mention Windows 11), but what it's saying is the processor needs to be as good as or better than the 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo that's almost 20 years old.  Almost anything from the last five years is faster than that, and anyway, the current minimum requirement is an i3-2220.

Thank you so much puzzlezaddict​ , I will try this now. Fingers crossed :) 

Thank you so much for directing me to that page puzzlezaddict​ IT WORKED!! Thank you, I can play now, just went through Cas to test and added ahousehold. Thank you!