Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

by Luke_Hosk
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Original Post

Freeze after leaving unattended

★★ Novice

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Often (50% - 99%)
What is your current game version number? 1.76.81.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Cats & Dogs, City Living, Discover University, Eco Lifestyle, Get Famous, Get to Work, Get Together, Island Living, Seasons, Snowy Escape, Dine Out, Dream Home Decorator, Outdoor Retreat, Parenthood, Spa Day, Vampires, Fitness Stuff, Luxury Party Stuff, Movie Hangout Stuff, Perfect Patio, Romantic Garden
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Whilst in build mode, Lock computer (win+L). leave for a while, unlock computer
What happens when the bug occurs? Game freezes, can still use computer normally, when moving mouse over game window cursor shows with hourglass timer next to it. cannot interact in any way with the game (mouse and keyboard do nothing). Does not show as "not responding" in task manager and CPU usage changes but is never 0%. window also wont minimise even when using show desktop button.
What do you expect to see? after going back to computer game should continue normally
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. After adding Dream Home decorator pack

While playing I will often leave for short periods. usually I would be able to lock my computer and when I come back the game would still be working as expected. however, since adding the dream home decorator pack the other day, it freezes after I do this. I had CC installed at first, however after I had this problem I removed it. The problem still occurred despite this. So far I've only noticed it in build mode but I haven't tested in other modes. Particularly annoying as the last time this occurred I hadn't saved in 3 hours Frown

Message 1 of 9 (333 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

@Luke_Hosk  Do you play in fullscreen, windowed fullscreen, or windowed mode, if you don't already use windowed mode, does it help to do so?  You can also try minimizing the game and/or switching to a different program before locking your computer, as in, the game isn't in the foreground anymore.

 

Please also run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

 

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

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 9 (309 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

★★ Novice

I play in Windowed fullscreen. I still get the problem in windowed. If I minimise before locking then upon re-opening the window all I get is a blank white screen. I've attached a dxDiag.

 

Also I had previously only had it happen when leaving for long periods of time, however it does appear that it happens whenever I lock my computer regardless of how long its left that way.

 

Message 3 of 9 (302 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

@Luke_Hosk  Does this still happen if you disconnect your external monitor and play on the laptop screen?  I understand why this wouldn't be a good workaround, but I'm curious whether it makes a difference.

 

Please also play in a clean boot, as a separate test.

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-boot-windows-10

 

When you reboot, go through the Task Manager's background processes list and shut down anything that doesn't absolutely need to be running.  Some programs, everything from MSI Afterburner to RGB software, are still active in a clean boot, for whatever reason.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 9 (287 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

★★ Novice

Just did a test where I completely disconnected my laptop from all external devices and restarted to a clean boot and it still froze after being locked. Done a little more looking at where it triggers, and as far as I can tell, the only time it doesn't break is when on the main menu without having options or load etc. open.

Message 5 of 9 (270 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

@Luke_Hosk  Try disabling the Origin in-game overlay.  Hover over your username, select Application Settings, then the Origin in-game header, and disable the option at the top.

 

If that doesn't help, try doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of the Nvidia graphics driver.  One kind of Sims 4 error in your dxdiag is usually related to a driver issue, although it's not always about the driver itself, which is why I suggested simpler troubleshooting steps first.  Anyway, Download Display Driver Uninstaller from here:

 

https://www.wagnardsoft.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3513

 

Get a fresh copy of the newest Nvidia driver here:

 

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/176524/en-us

 

Next, take your computer completely offline—disable wifi and/or pull the ethernet cord—and double-click the DDU.exe.  Take note of where the file will land, and click Extract.  If it's easier, you can copy the path and then paste it into the address bar in a File Explorer window.  Open the folder and then launch Display Driver Uninstaller.exe, and you'll get a message that you're not in Safe Mode.  Click OK, then go to Options and enable Safe Mode dialog.  Here's a screenshot of what your options should look like; make sure the box in red is checked:

DDU 1.1.png

 

Close options, and the DDU, and then open the DDU.exe again.  For launch options, choose "Safe Mode (Recommended)," and then click Reboot to Safe Mode (you'll need your password, so find it before rebooting).  Once you login, you'll see this:

 

DDU 2.png

In the blue box, choose GPU, then Nvidia if it's not already showing.  Then click Clean and Restart (red box).

 

Once your computer has rebooted, now back in normal mode, run the driver install .exe as an admin: right-click on the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart after it's installed and before trying to play.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 6 of 9 (262 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

★★ Novice

Reinstalling my graphics drivers worked, thanks Standard smile

Message 7 of 9 (232 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

★★ Novice

Or not, I reinstalled drivers this morning and when I tested straight after it worked, however it just froze again now . :/

 

Message 8 of 9 (222 Views)

Re: Freeze after leaving unattended

@Luke_Hosk  Did you restart your computer again after the game worked?  Did you do anything else at all in between, or did you have any other programs open the second time around?

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 9 of 9 (213 Views)