Sims 3 won't open

[EspressoBean21]

I turned them on but there are no sims 3 files in the crash dump, did you want my most recent one anyways? and I have a dedicated GPU so chances are I don't really need the integrated graphics chip. Regardless though I did set in ,y settings for sims to specifically use my GPU anyways. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@EspressoBean21  The reason I suggested disabling the iGPU is that it's one more possible contributing factor, and as you've said, you don't really need it active.  (Some people run software that can use it, but it's generally better to use the dedicated card anyway.)  Like I said, it should be a simple change in the BIOS; please check your motherboard's documentation.  If you can't find the setting, let me know, and I'll try to find a video walkthrough for your specific board.

I think it's worth testing in the new Windows account, if you still have it, just to cover as many possible causes as possible.

[EspressoBean21]

Sorry for taking to long to reply, I got very discouraged about fixing the game. I recently tried two new fixes I saw on other forums. I exempted it from Data Execution Prevention in windows and also ran it in compatibility settings (windows 7/8/Vista etc).  I haven't gotten it working, but I did manage to open the launcher then get an actual error now.  I also reinstalled DirectX9, Net framework 3.5, and the 2005 redistributables again just in case. but this error is now easily recreate-able and I'm not sure what to do next. 

I also set it to not run in fullscreen mode or enable in-game overlay just to be safe.

I did attempt the powershell and CPU work arounds as well. I also did as you recommended with the IGPU to no avail. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@EspressoBean21  This error is related to running the game in compatibility mode (PCA2 stands for Program Compatibility Assistant 2).  So please undo any compatibility mode you currently have set and look for any new errors.  Sims 3 can run just fine in Windows 10 and 11.

If this doesn't help and you don't get any new errors, please try again to play in a new admin account, just to be thorough, and look for any errors there.

Even seeing no errors at all is useful information, so let me know either way.

[EspressoBean21]

I turned off the compatibility settings and now EA can't open it at al. It keeps saying "there's an error on our part, please try again later".

I repaired the game through the app and restarted my PC and nothing changed. So now I can't even open the launcher? No errors on reliability monitor though. 

[EspressoBean21]

@EspressoBean21 And yes it was only the sims 3, other games launch fine. I tried clearing the EA cache, nothing changed.

[EspressoBean21]

So I turned off run as administrator and now EA can open it. I get to the launcher and when I open it with the PowerShell solution for CPUs it says the game is already running and closes. If I used the task manager version the launcher closes, EA app reopens, then it goes back to the launcher. Overall nothing happens, and no errors in reliability monitor.

[puzzlezaddict]

@EspressoBean21  Please keep in mind that the Reliability Monitor only updates once an hour or so, meaning if you first opened it to look for errors, then tried to launch Sims 3, you wouldn't necessarily see any error from that last attempt right away.  And just to be clear, this all happens in a new Windows account as well?  I'm just trying to be thorough here.

[EspressoBean21]

So no new errors in the reliability report like I said, BUT HOLY CRAP, on the test account I opened the game with the powershell running and IT WORKED. What could that mean for my main account? I would really like not to have to be in this blank account just to play the game if possible. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@EspressoBean21  That could mean the permissions are borked on the main account's Documents folder, in which case you could try this:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/new-install-windows-11-can-t-start-damaged-or-missing-...

I wrote that answer for Sims 4, but the same principle applies.

Please also make sure that the main account's Documents directory is C:\Users\your username\Documents, that it's not still somehow pointing to OneDrive.  You can check by opening Command Prompt (you can search for it) and running this command:

reg query "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" /v "Personal"

Please copy and paste the command rather than trying to write it out.  This will output the location of Documents, and like I said, it should NOT have OneDrive anywhere in the file path.