SIMS 3 - GAME WON'T LAUNCH - WINDOWS 10 [ Edited ]

[Kiarah001]

So basically, my laptop was wiped, so I redownloaded Sims 3 however every time I try to play it, it wont load at all; the launcher wont even show. I even tried to compress it in properties which did nothing. I uninstalled and reinstalled it 3 whole times which did absolutely nothing, I am frustrated and I am about to to give up this is my last resort, I don't even have a sims 3 document file just properties. The PC I have is Windows 10 version 21H1.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@Kiarah001  Please undo any changes you've made (i.e. compressing files).  Try reinstalling DirectX 9.  You don't need to uninstall anything; just download the installer from Microsoft and run it.

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

Restart your computer afterwards and before trying to play.

If that doesn't help, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

Edit:  For anyone struggling to install DX9 or unsure if the runtime has in fact installed, please see this post for more detailed instructions:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/SIMS-3-GAME-WON-T-LAUNCH-WINDOWS-10/m-p/10711778#M2478...

[TheGodlyGenius]

I downloaded Sims 3 from EA Desktop through Gamepass for PC. The "launching game" window opens and the progress bar moves, but then it closes and nothing else happens. I'm just back to looking at EA Desktop.

I've attached my dxdiag and this is the problem detail when the failure happens:

Source
Sims3Launcher

Summary
Stopped working

Date
‎8/‎23/‎2021 5:20 PM

Status
Report sent

Description
Stopped working
Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 3\Game\Bin\Sims3Launcher.exe

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: CLR20r3
Problem Signature 01: sims3launcher.exe
Problem Signature 02: 1.0.0.0
Problem Signature 03: 568d485b
Problem Signature 04: Sims3Launcher
Problem Signature 05: 1.0.0.0
Problem Signature 06: 568d485b
Problem Signature 07: 93b
Problem Signature 08: 129
Problem Signature 09: System.DllNotFoundException
OS Version: 10.0.19042.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 39594d4c8fd47cc46695967067512c16 (128992955579)

Any help is very appreciated!

[puzzlezaddict]

@TheGodlyGenius  Please uninstall and reinstall .NET Framework 3.5.  Hit Windows key-R, enter "appwiz.cpl" without quotes, and click "Turn Windows features on or off."  You'll see .NET 3.5 at the top of the list.  Click the box next to it to uninstall and restart your computer.  Then repeat the process to reinstall, and restart again.

If the box next to .NET 3.5 is empty, that means it isn't installed, and you can simply install it and restart.

[TheGodlyGenius]

done, and done, and the problem is persisting.

[puzzlezaddict]

@TheGodlyGenius  Please 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, hit Windows key-i, select Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.  If any install, restart again afterwards.

[TheGodlyGenius]

Here is my message after all those steps:

Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.

Checking for updates now

[TheGodlyGenius]

and the game still won't load, even after firmware and BIOS updates.

[puzzlezaddict]

@TheGodlyGenius  I'd like to see a crash dump for Sims 3, if one is generated.  Click Windows key-R and copy and paste this:

%LocalAppData%\CrashDumps

When you enter, you'll see a list of .dmp files.  If one of them is from Sims 3 or the EA Desktop App, please upload it to a third-party filehosting site (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and link it here.

If there is no Sims 3 .dmp file, you can enable them:

• Hit the Windows key, type "command prompt" in the box, right-click on Command Prompt in the search results, and select Run as Administrator
• In the window, paste "reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps\devenv.exe" /v DumpType /d 2 /t REG_DWORD" without the outside quotes into the box, and enter
• Try to launch Sims 3 and let it crash
• After it crashes, wait for any crash dialogs to finish
• Then hit Windows key-R and paste "%LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps" without quotes into the box, and enter
• Upload the last .dmp file to a free filesharing site and link it here
• When you want to undo the auto crash log dumps, open Command Prompt as before, paste "reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps" /f" without the outside quotes, and enter.

[TheGodlyGenius]

Unfortunately, this failure doesn't seem to generate a crash dump. I think since the launcher never even loads, it doesn't go far enough to create one.

I'd also like to add that I REALLY appreciate all the help you're offering here. This is a fantastic resource.

[puzzlezaddict]

@TheGodlyGenius  If you have a third-party antivirus, please temporarily disable it and test.  It's possible that it's blocking the ability of Sims 3 to write to the user folder, as the launcher does when it opens.

If that doesn't help, please creaate a new admin Windows account on your computer; the username should contain only letters and/or numbers, no special characters, accents, etc.  Make it a local account, as in, don't sign into Microsoft, and don't sync with any of your usual services.  Just sign into the desktop app and try to play.