Sims 4 will not load past first loading screen

[bosco1334]

Hello,
No software runs on startup on the test account- no Spotify, no anti-virus, no mac cleaner, etc. Nothing appears on the menu bar. It did prompt me saying "(my antivirus software) wants to make changes" I declined and shut the program (so nothing was open in my menu bar) to see if it made a difference, it did not.
I tried this also on my main user account- shutting all programs within the menu bar with no success either. I cannot think of any program that may be interfering either, as I have not downloaded any new third-party program recently to my mac.

[Bluebellflora]

@bosco1334

Thanks. You reference a cleaner app, have you used one and do you have one installed? They're really, really bad and completely unnecessary for macOS.

Can you disable Origin in-game and see if that helps, there are two settings - https://bluebellflora.com/2017/12/23/disable-origin-in-game/

Bit concerning that it won't load in a new user account either. That would indicate an issue with the actual game install or something installed on your Mac causing it. It may be worth starting up in safe mode and seeing if the game loads - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh21245/mac

[bosco1334]

Hello again! I briefly used a cleanup (cleanmymac) software for unrelated issues in the past however it has been un-installed from my mac.

I tried the 'disable origin in-game' with no success. However, I tried your second suggestion in safe mode-

I tried to open the game through origin in safe mode, however when I opened origin the normal dashboard (glitched I'm guessing) and inflated to a large size so that it was only showing the bottom corner of the normal dashboard (If there is anywhere for me to attach an image, let me know and I can show you if this does not make sense). I could not try to minimize the dashboard window therefore I could not launch the game through origin.

So since trying to launch the game through origin in safe mode does not work, I tried to launch the game from my applications folder. When doing so, two separate error messages appeared one after the other-

"The sims 4 startup error
Unable to migrate the user data directory to legacy edition. The sims 4 legacy edition will continue with new data. Visit help.ea.com for more information"
and
"Unable to start
Unable to start due to missing game data. Please download The sims 4 legacy edition from origin.
[5de4b8a3:29f00e76:00000000:00000000]"

I never launch my game from my applications folder, rather through Origin, so out of curiosity I tried to see if I would get the same error message launching the game from my applications folder NOT during safe mode. When doing so, these error messages did not appear. The game launched as usual and experienced the same problem of being stuck on the loading screen.

[bosco1334]

I have attempted to attach a photo of that origin glitch. Hopefully, that works.

[Bluebellflora]

@bosco1334

Thanks I forgot about the Legacy Edition error message in safe mode - sorry! That's to be expected, and the Origin window issue too.

Weird that this is now happening. Might be an idea to completely uninstall the game and Origin then redownload Origin and the game and see if you can play. Don't load up any of your current saves, CC etc. so move the Electronic Arts folder to the desktop.

Uninstall the game through Origin, then run the reset tool again to get rid of all the Library files, then trash the Origin app and the Sims 4 app if you have Dock or desktop shortcuts, then download Origin and install the game.

[bosco1334]

Hi,
still no luck, I uninstalled everything and removed files from my library folder, reset origin and re-installed again sadly with no luck! After re-installing I moved the EA folder to my desktop to spawn a new one when launching the game- this did not work either.

[Bluebellflora]

@bosco1334

At this point I'm wondering whether this is caused by an app running in the background on your Mac or background processes. We could test in the new user account you set up or better still, create another new user account so we know it's new and clean.

Once you've got the account set up open Activity Monitor and make sure the CPU tab is selected. In the main window right click on the headers and make sure the following are ticked so they who in the main menu:

%CPU
User
Kind
Real Memory
Purgeable Memory
Sandbox

Untick any others. Then go to File > Print and in the bottom left corner in the drop down select Save As PDF. Once the file has saved please can you PM it to me so I can take a look

[bosco1334]

@BluebellfloraGood Afternoon Bluebellflora!

Apologies for the delayed message- I has neglected to reply due to my university exams... Good to be back!

This might sound quite silly, but I am struggling to figure out how to send you a pdf through your messages, do I submit that through 'insert image'? I tried that and it had said invalid as the document is not a JPEG, etc.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

[Bluebellflora]

@bosco1334

No worries, good luck! Can you upload the file to a file sharing site and PM me the link?

[bosco1334]

@Bluebellflora I managed to find a solution! I have sent you a PM.... Thank you!