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...

[gre3nleaf]

Hi there. I’m pretty new to this website as I’ve never had any problems with the game before, but I’ve come across one now. There are discussions already on this topic that seemed to have difficulty with solutions but I can only find ones from 2019 so I’m not sure if there is a solution now or not! 
I have a new laptop and was downloading the sims & origin on it. The Sims 4 works fine and plays perfectly, but the Sims 3 won’t even launch. I click ‘play’ on origin, origin minimizes for a few seconds, then pops back up again (tried to attach a video but it won’t let me). I’m not techy at all so I’m not sure how easy of a fix this will be, but I’ve looked in the folder and the sims 3 isn’t even in the Electronic Arts folder like TS4 is, so I’m guessing it hasn’t been recognized as a game yet, if that makes it any clearer. (Again, not techy at all!)

Here are some links to the other thread I found that may explain it more clearly: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Origin-won-t-launch-Sims-3/td-p/8230554

Thank you in advance!

[puzzlezaddict]

@gre3nleaf  Please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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

Please also let me know whether you've ever had two EA/Origin accounts merged.

Edit:  You're one of three people reporting today that Sims 3 won't open, so it's also entirely possible this is a Windows issue.  Please list any Windows updates you've had in the last three days.  You can see them in the Reliability Monitor: hit Windows key-R, enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each week.  Today is all the way on the right.

You can ignore the errors for now; your dxdiag will list those on its own.  Instead, please copy the name of each Windows-related update and paste it here.  I'd like to compare your list with those from the others.

Please also let me know what antivirus, if any, you use.

[itstoriduh]

Hi there! I am having the same problem I keep seeing here. My game won't start. I just bought a new laptop and I have tried launching the game with no success. The Origins launcher just closes and reopens a second later. I have tried opening the application directly from the desktop and the Bin with no success. These are the methods I have tried so far with no success:

• Run as Administrator on all applications of The Sims and Origins
• Uninstalling and Re-installing the Sims 3 and Origins
• Clearing the cache of Origins
• Updating all drivers
• Clean booting the computer
• Adding the graphics driver to the Sims 3 files
• Repairing the game
• Troubleshooting and running the game on Windows XP
• I have contacted EA support who ran out of ideas as well, so all they could do was escalate it and I am waiting to hear back

I feel like there's more, I just can't even remember at this point. 

I've attached my DxDiag. Please help. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@itstoriduh  First, undo any compatibility setting you currently have.  Sims 3 runs just fine in Windows 10.

Please uninstall (if already installed) and reinstall .NET Framework 3.5.  Hit Windows key-R, enter "appwiz.cpl" without quotes, and in the window that appears, click "Turn Windows features on or off."  .NET 3.5 will be right at the top.  If the box next to it is filled in, it's already installed; click it to uninstall, wait for it to finish, and restart your computer.  Then repeat the above, except click the box to install the framework, then restart.  If .NET 3.5 is not currently installed, just install it and restart.

[pixiedust222]

I recently reinstalled the sims 3 on my new windows 10 laptop that has no disc drive. i reinstalled it through origin and i haven't been able to open the launcher at all. It wont open and I've tried opening it through the exe file, reinstalling origin, and reinstalling the sims 3 multiple times and nothing has worked. sims 4 works through origin perfectly fine so im not sure what the problem could be on my old laptop i had no problems with the sims 3 but that also could be because of the fact that I had a disc drive on that one.

this is very frustrating, so if anyone could leave anything that could help me it would be very appreciated ! (i'm also not a super techy person so I don't know much about stuff like this)

edit: dxdiag is below 

[itstoriduh]

@puzzlezaddict Hi, thank you for your reply. I tried that and unfortunately it did not work. I saw one of your suggestions from a couple years ago on a similar post about completely clearing out all Origin files using Revo Uninstaller and reinstalling it, I just tried that as well. No luck with that either.

[puzzlezaddict]

@itstoriduh  Have you ever had two EA/Origin accounts merged?  When that's the issue, the error usually shows up differently, but it's worth asking anyway.

You're one of three people reporting today that Sims 3 won't open, so it's also entirely possible this is a Windows issue.  Please list any Windows updates you've had in the last three days.  You can see them in the Reliability Monitor: hit Windows key-R, enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each week.  Today is all the way on the right.

You can ignore the errors for now; your dxdiag lists those already.  Instead, please copy the name of each Windows-related update and paste it here.  I'd like to compare your list with those from the others.

Please also let me know what antivirus, if any, you use.

[puzzlezaddict]

@pixiedust222  You're the third person to report today that Sims 3 won't open, so it's also entirely possible this is a Windows issue.  Please list any Windows updates you've had in the last three days.  You can see them in the Reliability Monitor: hit Windows key-R, enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each week.  Today is all the way on the right.

You can ignore the errors for now; your dxdiag lists those already.  Instead, please copy the name of each Windows-related update and paste it here.  I'd like to compare your list with those from the others.

Please also let me know what antivirus, if any, you use.

[itstoriduh]

@puzzlezaddict I actually have had two accounts merged years ago. This was never a problem on my old laptop when installing my games.

I just installed my drivers and opened this new laptop today so the list of Windows updates was long. I downloaded the Reliability Monitor file and attached it as that was much easier, I hope that was okay.

I use Norton. I have the Sims and Origin set as Allowed on the Firewall so that shouldn't be an issue.