Game Lagging and Crashed [ Edited ]

[igotszerochill]

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? 1.70.84.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? all 
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Play the game.
What happens when the bug occurs? My game is lagging. When I click a sim to do an action, the action options lag. I tell the Sims to do something and it'll completely wipe what I tell them to do and I have to do it all over again. Recently, my game started to crash.
What do you expect to see? No lagging, no crashing.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? No.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Not sure. 

[igotszerochill]

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? 1.70.84.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? all 
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Play the game.
What happens when the bug occurs? My game is lagging. When I click a sim to do an action, the action options lag. I tell the Sims to do something and it'll completely wipe what I tell them to do and I have to do it all over again. Recently, my game started to crash.
What do you expect to see? No lagging, no crashing.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? No.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Not sure. 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@igotszerochill  It's good that the flickering stopped in windowed fullscreen mode.  You can leave it at that if you like, at least for now.  It's not clear at this point whether the two issues are related.

But if you want to troubleshoot the flickering issue further, whether you plan on playing in fullscreen mode or not, a good place to start is with updating the graphics driver.  HP doesn't offer one on its download page for your computer, but you can get the newest one available from Intel:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30196/Intel-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-15-40-

Run the driver installer as an admin: right-click on the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart after installing and before trying to play.

Some HP computers come with software that blocks graphics drivers, and other non-HP drivers, from being installed.  I don't know if that's the case for your system, but if you get an error when trying to install the above driver, just stop and let me know.

For the lag, please continue to play in a clean folder, with none of your current saves or other content.  (If you've put anything into the clean folder you created before, please start with another clean folder, and put the game in windowed fullscreen.)  Before you play though, please clear Origin's cache and repair the game, just to be thorough.

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

Start a new save in Willow Creek or Oasis Springs, since both worlds run well under normal circumstances.  If the game still lags, try playing in a clean boot:

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

Don't open any other apps aside from Origin.  Additionally, please go through the Task Manager's background processes list and shut down anything that isn't absolutely critical—some applications can still run in a clean boot.

The point of all this is that most of the errors in your dxdiag are not directly related to Sims 4.  These could be happening while you play, slowing down the game; or they could be totally irrelevant.  The point is, we need to find out either way.

[puzzlezaddict]

@igotszerochill  Please try playing a new save in a clean user folder, just for comparison's sake.  Move your entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop, and when you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  (Your saves and other content will be intact in the folder you've moved but temporarily not read by the game.)  Don't add anything to the new folder; just see how a new save runs.

If it lags too, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

[igotszerochill]

I did what you suggested and it made the game flicker on the top half of the screen. The graphics started acting funny. I don't feel 100% comfortable posting the dxdiag on a public website. Is there a way to send this to you privately? I tried to message you but it won't let me attach files.

[puzzlezaddict]

@igotszerochill  You can upload the dxdiag to a third-party site (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and PM me the link if you want.

For the flickering, try playing in windowed fullscreen or windowed mode.  The new folder means a new options.ini file, with all default in-game settings, including launching in fullscreen.

[igotszerochill]

It stopped flickering in windowed full screen but there was still some lagging. I messaged you.

[roberta591]

@igotszerochill  You really need to post your computer's dxdiag for us to help you. You post flickering and you may have a video device issue and that information will be in the dxdiag. The dxdiag information only has your computer's hardware. Most likely you may have a video driver issue but there may be other hardware issues that can cause video problems.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@igotszerochill  It's good that the flickering stopped in windowed fullscreen mode.  You can leave it at that if you like, at least for now.  It's not clear at this point whether the two issues are related.

But if you want to troubleshoot the flickering issue further, whether you plan on playing in fullscreen mode or not, a good place to start is with updating the graphics driver.  HP doesn't offer one on its download page for your computer, but you can get the newest one available from Intel:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30196/Intel-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-15-40-

Run the driver installer as an admin: right-click on the download and select "Run as administrator."  Restart after installing and before trying to play.

Some HP computers come with software that blocks graphics drivers, and other non-HP drivers, from being installed.  I don't know if that's the case for your system, but if you get an error when trying to install the above driver, just stop and let me know.

For the lag, please continue to play in a clean folder, with none of your current saves or other content.  (If you've put anything into the clean folder you created before, please start with another clean folder, and put the game in windowed fullscreen.)  Before you play though, please clear Origin's cache and repair the game, just to be thorough.

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

Start a new save in Willow Creek or Oasis Springs, since both worlds run well under normal circumstances.  If the game still lags, try playing in a clean boot:

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

Don't open any other apps aside from Origin.  Additionally, please go through the Task Manager's background processes list and shut down anything that isn't absolutely critical—some applications can still run in a clean boot.

The point of all this is that most of the errors in your dxdiag are not directly related to Sims 4.  These could be happening while you play, slowing down the game; or they could be totally irrelevant.  The point is, we need to find out either way.

[igotszerochill]

I got an error when trying to install the above driver, however, I did a fresh game, set all graphics to medium, cleared the cache, and have it in windowed full screen and its running nicely!