lithium_parade Please try playing in a clean user folder. Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop. When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content. (Your saves and other content will be intact in the folder you've moved but temporarily unread by the game.) Don't add anything to the new folder yet; just start a new save and see how it runs.
If you get another freeze/crash, please provide a dxdiag. Hit Windows key-R, enter dxdiag in the run box, wait for the scan to finish, click "Save all information," and save the file to your desktop. From there, you can attach it to a reply using the camera (Insert Media) icon included with the other formatting buttons.
8glx27gnnosm When the menu is messed up in some way, it's usually mod-related, so please test with your Mods folder removed. Repair the game if that doesn't help. And if the menu is still messed up, please try the above.