Sims 3 has stopped working on windows 10 laptop

[DrunkOnShadows]

So I have been playing the Sims 3 fine on this laptop for about a year but for the last couple of weeks every time I try to play the launcher opens and I click play and it goes to a black screen and then just goes back to the desktop. The game doesn't load. It also doesn't let me install stuff from the store. I can download the stuff from store to launcher but then when I try to install them it brings up a black box (which is normally the loading box) and then just disappears.

I have tried running the game as an administrator, I have tried different compatibility mode (went through all the compatibility options on the list in that section of properties). I uninstalled and reinstalled the game and all expansion packs. I tried clicking on the repair option on Origin but nothing seems to be working.

I attached a DxDiag document but I don't know if there is anything on that which would suggest a problem.

As I said I've had this laptop (HP Omen) and it has ran the Sims 3 perfectly and then a couple of weeks ago it just stopped. Does anyone have any suggestions of things I could try to get it working again? 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@DrunkOnShadows  The only thing in your dxdiag that jumps out at me right away, other than the TS3 crashes of course, is that you're running out of storage on your C drive.  15 GB isn't really enough, although I doubt it's the issue here.  Still, it would be helpful to free up a bit more for the overall health of your system, and you'll need it if and when you update your OS build.

One easy test would be to remove your entire TS3 game folder from Documents\Electronic Arts.  You can back it up on D, or move it to your desktop temporarily.  If the game launches, it will create a clean folder with no content, and you'll know that there was an issue with your existing game folder.  That can be a pain to sort out, but it's simple enough.

A common cause for a game to suddenly stop working is an update in your antivirus/firewall.  If removing your game folder doesn't help, try disabling your a/v temporarily, just long enough to test.  If it's the issue, you can set exceptions for TS3.exe and Origin.exe, plus Sims3Launcher.exe for good measure.

Please also make sure that OneDrive isn't trying to automatically upload your Documents folder to cloud storage.  That could also explain the issue.  You can disable OneDrive too, at least long enough to test.

If none of this helps, let me know.  There are a few other potential issues I can think of as well, but these are probably the better ones to try first.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@DrunkOnShadows  The only thing in your dxdiag that jumps out at me right away, other than the TS3 crashes of course, is that you're running out of storage on your C drive.  15 GB isn't really enough, although I doubt it's the issue here.  Still, it would be helpful to free up a bit more for the overall health of your system, and you'll need it if and when you update your OS build.

One easy test would be to remove your entire TS3 game folder from Documents\Electronic Arts.  You can back it up on D, or move it to your desktop temporarily.  If the game launches, it will create a clean folder with no content, and you'll know that there was an issue with your existing game folder.  That can be a pain to sort out, but it's simple enough.

A common cause for a game to suddenly stop working is an update in your antivirus/firewall.  If removing your game folder doesn't help, try disabling your a/v temporarily, just long enough to test.  If it's the issue, you can set exceptions for TS3.exe and Origin.exe, plus Sims3Launcher.exe for good measure.

Please also make sure that OneDrive isn't trying to automatically upload your Documents folder to cloud storage.  That could also explain the issue.  You can disable OneDrive too, at least long enough to test.

If none of this helps, let me know.  There are a few other potential issues I can think of as well, but these are probably the better ones to try first.

[DrunkOnShadows]

Hi @puzzlezaddict thanks for your reply. I have had a try with everything you suggested and the culprit was OneDrive. I noticed it said there was no room on OneDrive (which I had turned off) but I tried playing around with it and clearing out old files on OneDrive and now my Sims 3 is working again. I also cleaned out a bunch of junk from my C drive which I have been meaning to do for a while.

Thank you for your help and now I'm off for some simming