Freezing Sims 4 Issue

[hotpink4956]

http://www.mediafire.com/file/e17rkdwhbaszlbr/please.CSV/file

Hey, here is the link to the csv file. It blue screened with CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT this time.

Thank you

[puzzlezaddict]

@hotpink4956  I'm so sorry I for the late reply.  I put aside your post to read your hwinfo log and... I just forgot about that particular list until tonight.  I don't have a good excuse.

Anyway.  Your processor and graphics card run hot while you play, topping out at 80º C and, in the case of the GPU, staying there for a while.  This isn't necessarily damaging to the hardware: the components are doing their job and throttling to protect themselves.  But you should definitely clean your fans, both on the CPU cooler and GPU and the case fans.

However, I'm not sure the high, but not dangerously high, temperatures would account for the BlueScreen errors you're seeing.  It really would help to see a crash dump.  If you can't find one in C:\Windows\Minidump, look in C:\Windows for a Memory.dmp file, which is larger but would have the relevant information as well.  I don't think it would be there if the minidump didn't get written, but it's possible.

Among the many reasons you might not find a crash dump is having a program running that automatically cleans up temp files.  If you do have one, please disable it for now.

If that's not the issue though, please go back to the recovery options you accessed earlier (Windows key-R, sysdm.cpl, Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings), and choose "complete memory dump" rather than the automatic one.

If none of this gets you anywhere, I'll ask for a second opinion; this is kind of at the edge of my understanding, at least what to do when the system won't create the info it's being told to write.  And I will make sure to check back a lot sooner this time.  Sorry again.

[hotpink4956]

Hi for the late reply this time. double checked that the internals were clean and they were. tried to running the game without the case cover on just to check if more air circulation would help, still got blue screen (clock_watchdog_timeout). Changed to complete memory dump and still empty. I should also mention that these blue screens stay at 0% and never go through, i always have to hard reset the computer. I also wanted to mention that i downloaded a different game off of steam (Planet Zoo) and it also is causing the same problem.

Thank you again!

[puzzlezaddict]

@hotpink4956  Just to clarify, a complete memory dump would leave a .dmp file in the C:\Windows folder, not in the Minidump folder inside it.  But it sounds like the BlueScreen data really isn't being written, rather than it being cleaned up or corrupted after the fact.

Please detach and reattach all the cables in your computer at both ends.  This goes for the connectors between the PSU and motherboard, graphics card, and SSD; and the SATA cable between the SSD and board.  Take a look at the connectors themselves, and blow out any dust you see; let me know if anything appears to be bent.  Please also remove the RAM sticks, blow out any dust from the slots and on the RAM itself, and reseat them.

If you've ever overclocked any component, let me know, and please undo that setting.  Please also boot into BIOS and restore everything to defaults.

The fact that another game would produce a BSOD is completely unsurprising.  Whether hardware or software, these are system errors, and while they can be triggered by a game or other demanding application, that app isn't the root cause of the problem.  Please keep listing the name of any BlueScreen you see, or get the error code if you prefer.  (For example, clock_watchdog_timeout is 0x101 or 0x00000101.)  Either will do.

[hotpink4956]

Hi, my fiancé pulled everything out of the case and reconnected everything. Said it was the cleanest inside of a computer he’s seen... his sits on a stand on the floor while mine is up on the desk. I went in to play, it didn’t blue screen this time but it did freeze the computer like it’s been doing. What is the file name of the dump called when it goes into the windows folder?

[puzzlezaddict]

@hotpink4956  The file should be something like MEMORY.dmp, but you'll know it by its .dmp extension.  (Make sure you have your system set to display file extensions, which is a setting in File Explorer.)  A freeze may or may not produce a .dmp file, depending on what kind it is.  You can also try generating a crash dump, which is a bit different than the other files you've been looking for but functions in the same way.  Here's how:

• Hit the Windows key, type "command prompt" in the box, right-click on Command Prompt in the search results, and select Run as Administrator
• In the window, paste "reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps\devenv.exe" /v DumpType /d 2 /t REG_DWORD" without the outside quotes into the box, and enter
• Launch Sims 4 and wait for it or your system to crash (whether you can play at all or not)
• After it crashes, wait for any crash dialogs to finish
• Then hit Windows key-R and paste "%LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps" without quotes into the box, and enter
• Upload the last .dmp file to the third-party filehosting site of your choice, and link it here
• When you want to undo the auto crash log dumps, open Command Prompt as before, paste "reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps" /f" without the outside quotes, and enter.

I honestly don't know if you'd get a crash dump from this, considering you haven't been getting the automatic ones.  In your position, I'd run hwinfo and log the session as well, just to see if there's anything that happens right before the freeze/crash/BSOD.  Even though there was nothing obvious in your earlier log, maybe this one will catch something.

[hotpink4956]

Hello,

so i was unable to do the steps after the computer crash because the whole computer freezes up. Thank you for your continued help.

[puzzlezaddict]

@hotpink4956  When you rebooted, could you find a crash log?  If not, it's fine, just let me know.  I'm sorry this process has become so convoluted; I'm just trying to come up with other ways of getting information aside from the ones that aren't working, for whatever reason.

Do you have access to other computer components that you could use to test?  For example, borrowing a power supply from a family member or friend, or switching out RAM sticks.  In the absense of good information, sometimes the best thing to do is test each component separately, starting with the most suspect.  If you can test, I'd start with the memory, since RAM is extremely easy to install and remove.  Even if you can't borrow someone else's RAM, you can test each of your modules separately, in different slots just to be thorough.

You can also test with the onboard graphics rather than the dedicated card.  It's not overly complicated: boot into BIOS, disable the dedicated card (the manual for your motherboard should describe the settings), and plug the monitor into the board.  The game would run badly on the integrated chip, but it should run on low settings without freezing your computer.  I think it's unlikely that your graphics card is the problem, but this is an easy test.

From what I can gather, the most likely culprits are your processor and memory.  But it's difficult to test a processor, especially since it uses an older socket: you can't just drop the CPU into a newer motherboard, or put a newer CPU into yours.  If you do have access to another system that uses the same socket—you can check the board's specifications to see whether it supports your CPU—it would be a good idea to swap and test.  Otherwise, you'd probably need to test the other components in your computer separately, then guess it's the processor, or the board, if nothing else causes a problem.

Still, you can test other components first, and maybe it'll turn out to be a bad RAM module or something easily fixed.  While doing this, please keep looking for crash dumps in any form.  You can search This PC for *.dmp (with the asterisk), which instructs the system to find any .dmp files, wherever they may be.  And please do upload any you find, whether they're recent or perhaps older ones hiding somewhere else.

[hotpink4956]

Hey so tried to find any kind of *dmp file but did not find anything. We switched most of the parts with my fiancé’s computer except the CPU and the Motherboard, still froze whole computer or blue screened. Also tried to use the onboard graphics and it froze the computer also.

Thank you again!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@hotpink4956  Sorry for the late-ish reply.  Which computer froze: the one with your CPU and board and your fiancé's other components, or the one with your fiancé's CPU and board and your other components?  If it's the first, then this probably is your CPU, although it could be the board too.  For the board itself, look for bulging capacitors, which would be an obvious sign of trouble.

Otherwise, you may need to find a computer shop that has a compatible processor and mainboard for testing: they'd drop your CPU into their board, or drop one of their processors into yours.  Since your hardware is six years old, it's harder to find these days, although a local repair store should have something suitable on hand.  And you wouldn't want to buy a replacement part without knowing for sure which component was defective.

I'm sorry I don't have something better to offer, but both processors and motherboards are difficult to repair, if it's even possible, and perhaps not worth the investment.  If the board turns out to be the issue, you might be able to find a replacement for a reasonable price and get a few more good years out of this system.  If it's the CPU, a new 4790K would be almost $300, although they're cheaper used on Ebay.

Regardless, the first step is to find someone who can test each component separately and confirm which one is causing the crashes.