[CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 Problem With Your Game's Setup
Overview There is a problem with your game's setup. Please reinstall your game. This error has multiple known causes and, at the time of this writing, at least one unknown cause. So if you're not covered by the known triggers, some troubleshooting is in order. jump to: Windows 7 jump to: Windows 10 or 11 N jump to: Other Windows 7 If your computer runs Windows 7, you probably need to run Sims 4 in DirectX 9 mode. The game now defaults to DirectX 11 mode on most systems, but you can force DX9 mode in the EA App or Steam. For an EA App install, open the App, click Sims 4 > Manage > View properties, add -dx9 to the Advanced launch options box, and click Save. For a Steam install, open Steam, right-click Sims 4, select Properties > General, and add -dx9 to the Launch Options box. Windows 10 or 11 N The versions of Windows with N in their names are stripped-down installs, missing some resources that Sims 4 needs in order to run. To find out if this applies to you, click Windows key-R and enter dxdiag in the run box in the lower-left corner of the screen. The dxdiag window will list your version of Windows: If you see N in the name, please install the Media Feature Pack provided by Microsoft. Information and instructions are here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/media-feature-pack-for-windows-n-8622b390-4ce6-43c9-9b42-549e5328e407 Other So far, there have been a few reports of this issue without a definitive cause and where the above categories don't apply. If you're affected, please first confirm that you're running Windows 10 or 11 and not an N version, as described above. The first suggestion I have is to uninstall and reinstall the VC++ runtimes Sims 4 uses. Open Windows Settings > Apps, scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, and uninstall all versions from 2015 and newer. Don't touch the others. You can get new versions here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170 You only need the 2022 x86 and x64 versions, not the older ones and not the ARM version. The 2022 runtimes replace everything from 2015 on, although the older runtimes are standalone. Restart after installing the runtimes and before trying to play. If you're using ReShade or GShade, please remove the associated files and repair the game (EA App > Sims 4 > Manage > Repair OR Steam > Sims 4 > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files). If that doesn't help, close the EA App and kill the EABackgroundService in the Task Manager's background processes list. Delete the Bin folder in [install location]\The Sims 4\Game, then repair as described above. This will redownload the default, unaltered files in Bin, without anything extra. It's possible that the installation of Sims 4 is in fact corrupt or missing some critical files. So you can also try doing a clean uninstall and reinstall, as described here: [PC] How to Clean-uninstall Sims 4 I will add any other known fixes or workarounds here as I find or hear about them. In the interim, if you're affected and nothing in this guide helps, please reply to this thread and provide a dxdiag. Click 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 paper clip (Attachment) icon included with the other formatting buttons. ↑
Game broken after buying adventure awaits
After buying and installing adventure awaits my game stopped responding. It's freezing, closing off itself or makes all computer not responsive . This is going on for second day now. It's seems ok if I'm building in not played lot but doesn't let me actually play. Today my sims just freezing with reset code not working on them. I'm leaving picture on what I'm looking in my game. All npc moving ok but my stuck this way and not responding to anything. I don't use mods or cc.[CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 Unable to Start, Already Running
Overview jump to: Workarounds This is a common error that is usually caused when Sims 4 cannot access the user folder in Documents > Electronic Arts. It can also be triggered by outdated or otherwise broken mods or custom content. This guide is only for this specific error in Windows. If you're seeing the error on a Mac, please use this dedicated Mac thread. If you have a different problem, please create your own thread in the appropriate tech (PC, Mac, Console) forum, or the Gameplay or Mods & CC forum, depending on the nature of your issue. Workarounds These workarounds are listed in order from simplest to most complicated, to avoid anyone doing more work than is necessary. If you've already tried one, or it doesn't apply to you, move on to the next step. jump to: Pause Onedrive syncing jump to: Remove mods jump to: Clean user folder jump to: Reset date and time jump to: Temporarily disable antivirus jump to: New Windows account jump to: Move/restore location of Documents jump to: Reset permissions for Documents jump to: Virus scan Pause OneDrive syncing OneDrive can lock up the Sims 4 user folder, or any folder it's automatically syncing, for various reasons. The easiest way to diagnose this is to temporarily pause syncing. Right-click the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen to see the option: If this helps, the underlying issue is OneDrive, and you may want or need to adjust your settings accordingly. You can choose which folders to sync, stop OneDrive from syncing your Sims 4 folder or all of Documents automatically, or get rid of OneDrive entirely. Please see this guide, specifically the "I don't want OneDrive to sync my files" and "I want to get rid of OneDrive" sections, for further help: [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 saves/user content disappearing (PC) | EA Forums - 11838402 ↑ Remove mods It's as simple as that: Move the Mods folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto the desktop, and delete localthumbcache.package. If this works, something in the Mods folder is the problem. Look for updates to your mods, especially after a patch; or use the 50/50 method to sort through the files in the Mods folder. https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Finding_Problem_Custom_Content#The_50.25_Method Keep in mind you may have more than one broken mod or cc item, so be sure to test every file at least once. ↑ Clean user folder Testing with a clean user folder, otherwise known as a factory reset, means temporarily removing all user data. This ensures that nothing from your existing folder is preventing Sims 4 from loading. Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop. If it copies instead of moving, or you get an error when trying to move it, please see the OneDrive section above. Otherwise, when you launch the game, if it launches, a clean folder will spawn with no content. Your saves and other content will be intact in the folder you moved but temporarily not read by the game. Don't add anything to the new folder yet; just see whether you can get far enough to start a new save. If this works, you can start moving your content from the old Sims 4 folder to the new one, testing each time to make sure the game still loads. In each case, please move the files only, not the folder they're in, for example move the individual Tray files, not the entire Tray folder. Where the game has created a new file or folder, it's best to use that rather than your old copy. For further reading about the contents of the user folder and what you might want to preserve, please see this: https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2014/09/user-files-explained/ While moving over your data, if and when you see the "already running" error again, you'll know that one of the files you just moved is the problem, and you can split and retest that batch until you find out which one. For mods and custom content, the 50/50 method can make the process much more efficient. A single file or folder that prevents the game from launching is not recoverable; you'll need to delete it, or in the case of mods or cc, find an updated, compatible version. ↑ Reset your computer's date and time An occasional cause of this error is your computer having the wrong time and date. So try changing it to something else, then telling the system to use internet time again. ↑ Disable antivirus (TEMPORARILY) An overzealous third-party antivirus or even Windows Defender can block Sims 4's access to its user folder. To test this theory, temporarily disable any third-party antivirus, just long enough to try to open Sims 4. As long as you're not doing anything else at the same time, your computer should be safe. If this helps, set exceptions for TS4_DX9_x64.exe (if using DirectX 9) and/or TS4_x64.exe (if using DX11) as well as EADesktop.exe. You can find a more detailed guide for your specific antivirus in the online documentation provided by the publisher of the software. For Windows Defender, the only potential problem is with Controlled Folder Access. Please see this post for instructions on changing its settings or disabling the feature entirely: https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html ↑ New admin Windows account It's possible that the problem is caused by a setting or broken permissions in your main Windows account, and the fastest way to test this theory is to create a new account. It must have admin rights (not a standard user account), and it must be local, as in, not connected to your Microsoft account. To create a new account, open Windows Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, click "Add someone else to this PC" (under Other users, not Your family), click "I don't have this person's sign-in information," then "Add a user without a Microsoft account." Choose the username and password, answer some security questions, and you'll see the new account. Click it and select "Change account type" to make it an Administrator account if it's not already. It should say "Administrator - Local account" when you're done: Click ctrl-alt-delete, select Switch user, and sign into the new account. Then open the EA App (and Steam or the Epic launcher if applicable) and try to launch Sims 4. You shouldn't need to reinstall anything. Your saves and other user data won't be available, but that's fine for the purpose of this test. If Sims 4 works in the new account, it means the problem is contained to your old account. You can simply continue playing in the new account if you want. For any saves or other user data you'd like to transfer to the new account, sign into the old account again and copy the relevant files to C:\Users\Public. This folder is accessible from all user accounts; you can grab the files from there once you're in the new account. If you'd like to try to fix your old account, please see the next two sections. ↑ Move or restore location of Documents If Windows has placed the location of Documents somewhere Sims 4 can't access properly, you may need to move the folder. To find the current location, search in Windows for Command Prompt, open it, and enter this command: reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal" This will return the full file path to Documents. Unless you've chosen a custom location, it should be one of these, depending on whether OneDrive is involved: C:\Users\[username]\Documents C:\Users\[username]\OneDrive\Documents If you see a different location, one you didn't intend to use, changing it may help. If Documents is in OneDrive and you don't want it there, the best course of action is to tell OneDrive to stop syncing your files, as described here: [CURRENT ISSUE] Sims 4 saves/user content disappearing (PC) | EA Forums - 11838402 If this doesn't successfully change the location, or your Documents directory is in a different unintended location, you can change it by editing your computer's registry. Be very careful when editing the registry—an error can cause problems up to and including preventing your computer from working at all. So please follow these instructions exactly, and don't touch anything other than the Personal value: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/operation-to-change-a-personal-folder-location-fails-in-windows-ffb95139-6dbb-821d-27ec-62c9aaccd720 Important: This process is only for moving Documents to another location on an internal drive. DO NOT move Documents to an external drive. If you would like to store your Sims 4 user folder externally, please use this guide instead. Important: Please also keep in mind that when you change the location of Documents, you also change the location where Sims 4 looks for its user folder. You will therefore need to move your saves and other user files to the new location. ↑ Reset permissions on Documents folder When Sims 4 works in a new Windows account but not your existing one, the problem may be broken permissions in the old account. You can use the takeown command to reset the permissions on the Documents folder if necessary. First, move the Electronic Arts folder out of Documents, or delete it if it's empty. Search in Windows for "Command Prompt," open it, and enter this command: reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal" The location you see is what you'll use for the command. The command itself is this: takeown /F "[file path to Documents folder]" So it will probably be one of these, but double-check anyway: takeown /F "C:\Users\username\Documents" or takeown /F "C:\Users\username\OneDrive\Documents" Write your actual username for this Windows account (your main one) instead of username. Since the syntax needs to be exactly right, please copy this command to a Notepad file, substitute in your username, and then copy that string when you're ready to use it. Hit Windows key-X and choose either "PowerShell (Administrator)" or "Windows Terminal (Administrator)," whichever option is offered, paste the command into the window, and enter. Then restart your computer and try again to play. If that doesn't help, please see the accepted solution of this thread for further troubleshooting: "A problem occured while saving the game. No game session data was preserved." | EA Forums - 9150501 You'll of course apply these steps to the Documents folder your account is using, wherever Command Prompt told you that was. ↑ Virus scan If none of the other troubleshooting steps help, or one of them helps temporarily but Sims 4 stops working again, before you've added back any content or made any other changes that would account for this, your computer may have a virus or other malware. So it's worth running a virus scan. Download Malwarebytes (the free trial is fine) from here: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download Open it, click Scan > Custom Scan > Configure Scan, check all the boxes both for all scan types and for all your drives, and let it do its job. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the amount of data and whether the scan finds anything, so you may want to set it to run while you're doing something else. The Malwarebytes report is simple to understand if it doesn't find anything, but if you'd like me to take a look, feel free to reply to this post and attach the report. ↑ If none of this makes a difference, please post in this thread asking for further help. Let me know whether you can play in the new admin Windows account or not: this is important diagnostic information.Game not loading after Windows update - Again 🤬
I'm sick of this. It's always, "disable your mods", etc. I don't have mods. I just want to play the game, not be a computer programmer. I always waste at least a month of my life trying to fix this and lose everything I created only to have to start again. I'm seriously sick of not being able to count on being able to play the Sims when I click on it.lagging
The game works normally, but when I try to start playing and select the homepage, it freezes and takes me back to the first page, even though I deleted everything seems to be an error , I tried million times to launch th egame i deletet then re unistall it and delete it couple of times ...I got bored ....pls check the problemmy game won't load
hi, im able to login to the game, create families and design homes but I cannot play my sims, once I click play the games takes so long to load to the point where my screensaver comes on, my screensaver only kicks in after 10 minutes which just shows how Long it takes the game to load but it doesn't , is there a possible issue with the game in general ?Game crashing/not loading in
Since the update on April 16 my game was letting me load in until Saturday. Since Saturday I have tried everything to fix it and whenever I hit resume playing it loads until it just kicks me out never let's me play. I don't understand the point in updates if they just ruin the game.
The game shuts down a few seconds after starting
Hello, The Sims4 crashes after a few seconds of playing in Family Mode. it started after the update 1.122.218.1030. I tried different methods to help myself and they didn't help. then I deleted the mods, reinstalled the game and it still didn't help. All my saves still broke, even those I didn't play with mods. Also, when I create a new family in a new save, the error persists. A week ago, after the game crashed, I got an error file, but now it doesn't appear. What else can I do?
No memory Crash Issue
I've tried possibly EVERYTHING to fix this issue. Legit going insane at this point ahhh, usually i wouldn't care but i'm in my sims mood again and I've spent a lot of money on this game as well. It will start up and then get to the loading screen and then will freeze once the sim symbol gets next to the S, I will hear the music for a bit and then it crashes and pops up with "Unable to start: The game has run out of memory. [223471fd:0d5ce4eb:000000c8:00000000]. If anyone could pass down some wisdom and help a fella out with ideas to me I would really appreciate it!
