Sims 4 Crashing [ Edited ]

[SavannahBanana21]

I've been experiencing some issues playing Sims 4 - I can't get more than 5-10 minutes into gameplay without the entire thing freezing up. It freezes the entire laptop to the point where I can't even get the task manager to open, I have to shut it down in order to get it to close. I was able to play it for quite a while on this laptop without issue, this just started happening within the last few months. I have tried to "repair" the game in the Origin app; I have deleted all mods; uninstalled and redownloaded the game; and I do have the legacy version installed. I'm using an Asus ROG GL551 (I think is what it's called), it's pretty old so I'm wondering if it may just be time to retire it and buy a new laptop? I just ran the DxDiag and have attached it here. Thank you all so much in advance for any help you can provide!

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@SavannahBanana21  I can't tell you how your laptop is holding up in general, but it should in theory be able to run Sims 4 on a mix of high and ultra settings.  And you definitely don't need the Legacy Edition, nor does it sound like it's helping.  Start by switching back to the standard version in Origin: open your game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, select Game Properties > Advanced Launch Options, and choose 64-bit from the dropdown menu.

Before you play, run any  pending Windows updates—your dxdiag lists a number of update failures.  Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of your screen, select Settings > Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.  If there are a number pending, it make take a few tries to run them all.

Do you have any external devices plugged in while you play?  If so, please disconnect them and test the game (again, standard version).  While troubleshooting, use a clean Sims 4 game folder, as in, remove the TS4 folder in Documents\Electronic Arts and let the game spawn a new one.  If you have saves you want to keep, then keep the folder on your desktop or somewhere else out of the way; if you've already backed up your saves or don't care to, just trash the folder.  Let me know how it goes.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@SavannahBanana21  I can't tell you how your laptop is holding up in general, but it should in theory be able to run Sims 4 on a mix of high and ultra settings.  And you definitely don't need the Legacy Edition, nor does it sound like it's helping.  Start by switching back to the standard version in Origin: open your game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, select Game Properties > Advanced Launch Options, and choose 64-bit from the dropdown menu.

Before you play, run any  pending Windows updates—your dxdiag lists a number of update failures.  Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of your screen, select Settings > Update & Security, and click the button to check for updates.  If there are a number pending, it make take a few tries to run them all.

Do you have any external devices plugged in while you play?  If so, please disconnect them and test the game (again, standard version).  While troubleshooting, use a clean Sims 4 game folder, as in, remove the TS4 folder in Documents\Electronic Arts and let the game spawn a new one.  If you have saves you want to keep, then keep the folder on your desktop or somewhere else out of the way; if you've already backed up your saves or don't care to, just trash the folder.  Let me know how it goes.

[SavannahBanana21]

You. Are. Awesome. Thanks so much for your help! I never would have thought to look into any of those things, so I really appreciate it lol. I ran through all the steps you gave me, but the kicker was the last part about unplugging any other devices. I wasn't sure if a charger counted, so I unplugged it anyway, and that seems to have been the problem. I'm thinking the computer was overheating being constantly plugged into the charger while playing, because after I unplugged it I went for an hour+ without any game freezes/issues. Unfortunately the computer can't hold a charge for longer than an hour so sort of a win/lose situation but, either way I'm grateful to have found the problem xD

Thank you again so much.

[puzzlezaddict]

@SavannahBanana21  Oh no, please don't play on battery—it will significantly lower performance on any laptop.  If you can play on battery but not while the computer's plugged in, that's an issue that needs to be addressed.  And it's easy enough to take a look at internal temperatures if you want.  But at least test with the laptop charging but nothing else plugged in.

[SavannahBanana21]

Oh, I had no idea that was a no-go! Before the laptop lost its ability to hold a charge I played without the charger plugged in, now however as stated it’s pretty much constantly in need of a charge so I just played with it plugged in. Today after addressing the issues you mentioned previously I tried playing it with the charger plugged in (crashed after about 10-15 minutes), then tried without and was able to play for about an hour until the low battery warning came on, I imagine I could have gone longer. Nothing else was plugged in which was what gave me the idea it was the charging that was causing the problem. My initial thought was to purchase a new battery and charger, to hopefully address the issue of it not holding power (plus the charger has to be held in the port at the right position for it to work). But in the future I should be playing *with* it plugged in, if I’m reading you correctly?

[puzzlezaddict]

@SavannahBanana21  It's not like your computer will break if you play without the charger plugged in.  You'll just get lower performance, and of course you'll need to quit after not that much time.  But please test again with the  laptop plugged in.  It would be strange for the process of charging to be the cause of the crashes, but that's still useful information to have.

As to whether getting a new battery and/or charger would help, I'd defer to someone else on that question.

[SavannahBanana21]

That makes sense! I have no idea why charging is affecting it tbh, it does get very hot underneath while it’s plugged in so I can only imagine the heat is the heat is the issue. It’s a super old computer so I’ll definitely have one of my more computer savvy friends take a second look at it lol!

Thank you for your help & explanations!!