Sims 4 will not launch on EA app

[Mack232323]

All of a sudden Sims 4 will not launch from the EA app. Every time I click play or double click the desktop shortcut it will take a few moments of "thinking" and then the EA app will just reappear. I have tried pretty much every fix that I have seen on here and I cannot seem to fix it. I have uninstalled and reinstalled both EA and the game itself. I tried creating a new folder for the game. I have deleted the cache on the EA app and in the sims 4 folder. I adjusted by performance settings. I am really at a loss, except for fully resetting my computer to factory settings and going from there. Please help.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Mack232323  I don't see anything in your dxdiag that explains this issue.  Do you use a third-party antivirus, and if so, does it help to (temporarly, of course) disable it?  If you don't, does disabling Windows Defender's Controlled Folder Access help?  Here's how:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html

If that doesn't make a difference, please try playing in a new admin Windows account.  Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account.  You'll be able to (try to) launch Sims 4 without reinstalling anything, but your saves and other user content won't be available.  That's fine; this is just for testing.

I also want to mention that another player who had this same issue said that disabling Steam's family sharing fixed it.  You didn't mention Steam at all, but it's worth throwing this out there in case it's relevant since it would be a simple fix.

[puzzlezaddict]

@Mack232323  If you haven't already, please try playing in a clean user folder.  Move the entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents > Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and 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 let me know whether you can get far enough to start a new save and play in live mode for a bit.

If that doesn't help, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

[Mack232323]

I tried the clean folder, unfortunately that did not work. It did the same thing. Here is the dxdiag:

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Mack232323  I don't see anything in your dxdiag that explains this issue.  Do you use a third-party antivirus, and if so, does it help to (temporarly, of course) disable it?  If you don't, does disabling Windows Defender's Controlled Folder Access help?  Here's how:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html

If that doesn't make a difference, please try playing in a new admin Windows account.  Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account.  You'll be able to (try to) launch Sims 4 without reinstalling anything, but your saves and other user content won't be available.  That's fine; this is just for testing.

I also want to mention that another player who had this same issue said that disabling Steam's family sharing fixed it.  You didn't mention Steam at all, but it's worth throwing this out there in case it's relevant since it would be a simple fix.

[Mack232323]

I tried the option where I made a new local admin account and attempted to launch the game and it worked! What does that mean? is there a change I can make to my normal account to make it work?

thanks!

[puzzlezaddict]

@Mack232323  This means that the problem is within your main user account, but there could still be a few different sources.  First, go back to your main account, and if OneDrive is running on your computer at all, whether you use it or not, please pause syncing.  You can see the option by right-clicking the cloud icon in the lower-right corner of the screen.  Then try to play.

If that doesn't help, move the Electronic Arts folder out of Documents and onto your desktop, still with syncing paused.  (This is in addition to having moved the Sims 4 folder—the permissions could be borked on the EA folder.)  If the folder copies instead of moving, or you get an error when trying to move it, stop here and let me know.  Otherwise, test the game again.

If that doesn't help either, let me know whether a new Electronic Arts folder was created with a Sims 4 folder inside.  I suspect the answer will be no, but it's worth checking.

[Mack232323]

OneDrive has never been on. I moved the Electronic Arts folder on to my desktop and it moved no issues. Game still did not start.

A new electronic arts folder was made but no Sims 4 folder inside.

I did get an error message from EA though when I tried to start it again. Saying that it was an error launching the game please try again later. I guess that makes sense though because the app doesn't know where the game is?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Mack232323  Moving the Electronic Arts folder shouldn't be a problem.  The game will create a new one, with a new Sims 4 folder inside, if it's able to launch at all.

Try running the takeown command on your Documents folder.  First, run a Windows search for "Command Prompt," open it, and enter this command:

reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal"

This is simply to confirm that Documents is in the correct location in this account.  If you see anything other than C:\Users\your username\Documents, stop here and let me know.

If Documents is in the correct location, this is the command:

takeown /F "C:\Users\username\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 this post for further troubleshooting:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Mass-Effect-Legendary-Edition/quot-A-problem-occured-while-saving-the-game...

You'll of course apply these steps to the Documents folder your account is using.

[alienhusband]

Hello!

I've been having this same issue except I'm getting an error when I try to move the folder to the desktop.

[xdiscodelightx]

I am having the same issue. I try to launch the game and it will take a few moments of "thinking" and then the EA app will just reappear. No updates or anything have happened. I could play one night and then the next, nothing. I've made sure my driver was up to date. I tried repairing. Uninstalling and reinstalling. Clearing cashe. Nothing works. 

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