Crashing on plumbob screen

[chompwez]

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.69.59.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All except journey to batuu.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? I attached a report.
What happens when the bug occurs? The game crashes.
What do you expect to see? Game crashes after title screen when the plumbob spins.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. This problem suddenly appeared when I got snowy escape and then the skin tone update. So about a month or so.

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My game shuts down on the title screen. Does anyone else have this problem?

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@chompwez  You can add your content to the new Sims 4 folder a little at a time, checking to see whether the game still works.  If it crashes again, you'll know that one of the files you just added is a problem, and you can split the last batch and test until you find out which one.  The only folders you need to worry about are saves, Tray, Mods (if you have mods or custom content), and possibly Screenshots, although you can put that folder elsewhere and still access the screenshots outside the game.  The other files will regenerate as necessary.

There was a new patch released half an hour ago, so if you've installed it, some of your mods and cc may need to be updated.  If you'd rather wait and play on the previous patch level, sign into Origin and put it in offline mode before launching the game so it doesn't force you to update first.

[puzzlezaddict]

@chompwez  The Sims 4 errors in your dxdiag all reference a component of the 2015-2019 VC++ runtimes, which the game uses.  So it's best to uninstall your current copies and install new ones.  Click Windows key-i, select Apps, and scroll down to the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables.  Click on the 2015-2019 versions, both x86 and x64, and Uninstall.  (Don't touch the versions from any other year.)  Then download and install new versions directly from Microsoft:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

You need both the x86 and x64 versions, but you can skip the ARM version, which is for a different class of device.  Restart your computer before trying to play.

[chompwez]

So I tried that and the game is still crashing. Thanks.

[puzzlezaddict]

@chompwez  Please move your entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  Don't add anything to it yet; just see whether you can get far enough to start a new save and play in live mode for a bit.  Let me know either way.

If the game still crashes, please clear Origin's cache:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

and repair: open your Origin game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, and select Repair.  Then try to play, again with a clean user folder.

[chompwez]

@puzzlezaddict Oh the game ran smoothly there. What do I do now?

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@chompwez  You can add your content to the new Sims 4 folder a little at a time, checking to see whether the game still works.  If it crashes again, you'll know that one of the files you just added is a problem, and you can split the last batch and test until you find out which one.  The only folders you need to worry about are saves, Tray, Mods (if you have mods or custom content), and possibly Screenshots, although you can put that folder elsewhere and still access the screenshots outside the game.  The other files will regenerate as necessary.

There was a new patch released half an hour ago, so if you've installed it, some of your mods and cc may need to be updated.  If you'd rather wait and play on the previous patch level, sign into Origin and put it in offline mode before launching the game so it doesn't force you to update first.

[chompwez]

@puzzlezaddict Thank you so much. The game is running after the update and my mods folder installed.

[NaturalSim76]

@puzzlezaddict   Does this method work on a Mac? My game is crashing at the plumbob screen, too. I removed my mods, updated, repaired the game, gone offline, nothing is working.  

[puzzlezaddict]

@NaturalSim76  Rebuilding the user folder can help in macOS as well, but there are other Mac-specific issues that can cause this kind of crashing.  Do you have a Mac with an M1 chip?  If so, please see this post for how to enable vertical sync without needing to load the game:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/-WORKAROUND-game-Mac-freezes-on-Mac-with-M1-chip/m-p/...

If your Mac doesn't have an M1 chip, please post its full specs, including operating system, as described here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-4-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting...

[NaturalSim76]

@puzzlezaddict here are my specs:

ETA: Got it working again! Lost all my saves but don't care at this point--and I guess I could add them back in but it's not big deal. I moved EA to my desktop, then it started right up. Since that worked, I added my Mods folder back in and it worked again. It is throwing one error but I know exactly which mod it is so I'm all good. 

Thanks for your help!