Launcher won't work, TS3.exe won't work either, launching through Origin won't work either....

[VirgoEyes]

Hello!

I have played the Sims 3 before, but I had to stop because of school and to make things easier, I uninstalled the game. I had installed Late Night, Generations and Fast Lane. These 2 extension packs and the stuff pack are not installed at the moment. I just wanted to play the Sims 3 original game.

I installed it like always, no problem was pointed out..until now

I get "Sims3launcher not working. Windows is looking for a solution" (solution never appears). 

I have been looking around on the net and I saw that I had to click on TS3.exe. When I do, I get a black screen for 5 seconds and then nothing. I go back to my desktop. 

I also saw that in the CACHE folder, I have to delete the missingdeps.idx. But I do not have it. 

I restarted my computer. Same thing

I uninstalled and reinstalled the game...same thing.

Anyone knows what's wrong? 

Thank you for your help!

[crinrict]

Try this

Resetting the game to factory settings without reinstalling

Many problems can be pinpointed on custom content or corruption in your user data. There's an easy way to reset your game to factory settings without going through the ordeal of reinstalling the whole thing (Path can be different depending on your OS):

• Make a backup of theSims3 folder in Documents\ElectronicArts to an external drive.
• Rename your theSims3 folder in Documents\ElectronicArts to Sims3_Backup
• Start the game or the launcher (All your save games will be gone, your options will be reset to factory settings and all your store content will be gone. Not to worry, it's all still there in that backup folder).
• A new Sims3 folder will have been recreated in your documents\electronicArts folder. Some folders might be missing for they are only created when you need them.
• Quit the game and the launcher
• Move the options.ini file from your backup folder to your newly created folder in documents\electronicArts\thesims3 to recover your graphic/sounds/gameplay options
• Go to programs(x86)\electronicarts\thesims3 and make sure you DO NOT have a mods folder there. If you do, move that to your desktop. Also make sure that there is no resource.cfg on that level (there will be on in your game\bin folder, don't delete that one).
• Repeat above step for every expansion you have.
• Start your game. You will need to start a new game for the other one is still missing right now.
• See if your error is gone. If so, you can put starting the folders back, starting with your saves. Check your game after every folder.
• This file UserPresets.package is all your custom styles you created in game, so you need to copy that one back as well.
• The files PassportData.package and ChallengeData.package contain your SimPort and Achievements progress. Make sure to put back.
• The folder Collections contains your collections. Make sure to put that back.
• If you had a mods folder in your programs folder, don't put it back. Custom content does not go there any more.
• If you find a mods folder in your documents folder, make sure you only put the stuff back that you know to be compatible
• ALL custom content can potentially cause problems. If you found out which folder is causing problems, put your stuff back in groups or one by one until you find the guilty party.

[VirgoEyes]

Thank you for your reply. I guess that since I uninstalled and re-installed the game, it is normal that I can't find the options.ini or the UserPresets.package, PassportData.package and ChallengeData.package. 

But in my backup folder, I found my costum content such as the stuff I bought from the sims store or the exchange "store". I put that folder in the new Sims 3 folder, but I can't see them anywhere on my launcher. Also, since I played a while ago, when I first uninstalled the game, I kept my Mod file on my desktop. Where should I put it? I just don't want to do anything wrong, I hope you understand. And also, I DO want to play with my costum content, it makes the game more versatile and fun.

Ok let me know!

Thank you so much for your answer

[crinrict]

Does it work now ?

They might have the extension missing if you're not showing them.

Some of these files are created when you first start the game.

Mods need updating if you haven't played in a while. So check what you have in there and check the web if there's updated stuff. Most objects made pre-pets patch also need updating.

In which folder exactly did you put the files and which ? The sims3packs ?

[VirgoEyes]

Hello again!

Well if I remeber correctly, the Mod file was just supposed to be in C:\Program Files (x86)/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3. I Have been checking this on the net and it's correct. But I have not put them in yet since I don't want to make things worse.

Besides that, the game works perfectly. INDEED, I need to update tones of stuff, actually, the game changed a little since there are new things. 

In the back-up file, that I browsed thoroughly, I found some costum content from for example the sims store, and they haven't showed up yet but I guess I do have to update those as well. I will look in the net to see if I find something.

For me the mpst important thing in reality was to make my game work since I bought a week ago the lastest expansion pack! And it does. I will try to install my expansions this week and see what happens.

Thank you for your time!

Kind regards 

[crinrict]

Actually, they don't go in programs anymore. They go in documents now. Search the net for it for we are not really allowed to talk about mods here.