PC Blue Screens every time I open TS4

[juliackennedy]

So I bought a new PC a few days ago and downloaded TS4. I was able to play for maybe an hour and a half with no issue then the game crashed and my computer blue screened. This happens every time I open the game. I'm able to make a sim in cas but right when I try to move them in somewhere or build a lot it crashes again.

I've already repaired the game and uninstalled and reinstalled. I checked to make sure windows is updated and my drivers are updated and they are. After trying all of this it still doesn't work. I spent like an hour with ea help (absolutely no use). I'm just not super sure what to do or what the problem could be and I know practically nothing about PC's.

I'm using windows 10 and my PC is good enough to run the game. I hope someone can help I have absolutely no clue what to do!

[puzzlezaddict]

@juliackennedy  Please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

Please also provide the minidump files from the BlueScreens.  Open a File Explorer window, and enter C:\Windows\Minidump in the address bar.  For each of the last three or four files, or all of them if there are fewer, please right-click and select Copy, then right-click on your desktop and select Paste.  Zip the files together, upload them to a free filesharing site, and link them here.

[juliackennedy]

@puzzlezaddictThanks for the reply!

I put the files in a google drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qvW-cQKGTSzg-rZF3W-hoZ1EX-Ry-bEe?usp=sharing

and the dxdiag is attached. Hope this helps!!

[puzzlezaddict]

@juliackennedy  I'll take a closer look at the minidump files later today, but their contents may not matter, since the BlueScreens listed in your dxdiag have a definite cause: DirectX detecting a serious error.  Coupled with the graphics driver errors that look like they precede each BSOD, the place to start is with some minor housekeeping plus a clean uninstall and reinstall of the graphics driver.  First, run a couple of basic checks on your Windows system files:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, and enter
• The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
• After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
• Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator)”
• Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
• Post the message you receive here
• Restart your computer before proceeding

If sfc reports it found corrupt files and was unable to fix some of them, please stop here and let me know.  Otherwise, download Display Driver Uninstaller from here:

https://www.wagnardsoft.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3403

Download a fresh copy of the newest Nvidia driver here:

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/168778/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:

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:

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 in custom mode.  Select "perform a clean installation" and install ONLY the GPU driver and the PHYSX software.

Reboot again, go back online, try to play, and let me know whether you get any more BlueScreens.

[juliackennedy]

@puzzlezaddict  Thanks this is so helpful! The first steps went well just posting the message here and I'm going to work on uninstalling the display driver. I'll let you know how that goes.

[juliackennedy]

@puzzlezaddict So I uninstalled and then resinstalled the new copy of the driver, and followed all of your directions. When I launched the game after doing everything it blue screened again. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@juliackennedy  Sorry for the late reply; I ran out of time last night.  Your minidumps don't show anything that wasn't already clear from the BSOD codes: DirectX is crashing, which takes the rest of the system down with it.  Try reinstalling DX9, which Sims 4 uses.  You don't need to uninstall anything; just download the installer from Microsoft and run it, then restart your computer before playing.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/download/details.aspx?id=8109

If that doesn't help, let me know, and I'll get a second opinion.

[juliackennedy]

@puzzlezaddict  Hey thanks for the response! The link you gave is actually leading to a 404 error. Is there somewhere else I can download it?

[puzzlezaddict]

@juliackennedy  Yeah, for some reason, Microsoft just took down the link maybe a week ago.  There are plenty of sketchy websites that will offer a DX9 download; don't use those.  This one is trusted enough to be allowed as an outside link on this site:

https://www.sereby.org/site/All%20in%20One%20Runtimes&lang=en

Click Downloads at the top of the screen, and you'll be able to select DX9 as a standalone download.  (You don't need to donate to the site; just click the Download button when you see it.)  The file comes in .7z format, so you'll need a tool like 7-Zip (also free) to extract it if you don't already have one.