Sims 4 sound repeating/lagging

[vodalapusneanu]

Hello! Ever since I updated my Sims 4 game with the latest patch, my audio has been repeating/lagging. The audio that is repeating/lagging are the sims' voices, sometimes the fast forward button, and the audio from the playable things in the game. The audio is fine when I access the menu or the settings, and I tried fixing the game once and it didn't do anything. I've tested the game w/o CC/mods and the issues is still there. This glitch is new to my game and I'm not what caused it, I attached the DxDiag of my computer in case it might help.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@vodalapusneanu  These errors are probably not related to the sound issues, which unfortunately means there might not be a lot you can do.  Your processor is right on the edge for Sims 4, and the drivers for your various devices are mostly older.  (This is normal with your computer's age.)  It may help to free up a bit more space on your C drive, which should be easy considering D is almost empty.

You can also look for new sound drivers using the Device Manager.  I don't know if Windows key-X offers the option to open the DM, but if not, it should be under Control Panel > System and Security > System.  Open the Audio category, click on each entry in turn, and click the Update icon at the top of the screen.  Repeat for the Sound category.  It's possible that Windows won't find any new drivers, but if it does, restart when it's done installing.

Please also try repairing the game.  Clear Origin's cache first:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

Open your Origin game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, and select Repair.  When the repair is done, restart your computer again.

You don't need to do any of this in a clean boot, but it's best not to run any other programs while troubleshooting.

[puzzlezaddict]

@vodalapusneanu  Someone else reported the same issue a couple days ago, and interestingly also only has 4 GB RAM installed.  I'm not sure whether that's relevant or just a coincidence, but try playing in a clean boot:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-boot-windows-10

When you reboot, don't open anything except for Origin and Sims 4.

If that alone doesn't help, try another clean boot (actually restart your computer in between), and this time, put Origin in offline mode after signing in and before opening Sims 4.  Please also go through the Task Manager's background tasks list looking for any audio software; if you see a third-party app, force-close it.  If this happens to bork your sound entirely, another restart will fix it, so it's not a big deal.

[vodalapusneanu]

@puzzlezaddict I did clean boot, restarted my computer, and opened only origin and the sims and it made the audio in the start up screen and the game loop. There are also no third party apps running. Is there anything else I could do?

[puzzlezaddict]

@vodalapusneanu  Just checking, but did you have the same audio issue as before, or a different one?  Can you test with a different type of audio output device, e.g. built-in speakers vs. headphones connected via jack?

Please also look for any related errors in the Reliability Monitor.  Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes.  You'll see a list of errors and updates, with a column for each day.  (Today is all the way on the right.)

For any errors that mention Origin or Sims 4, or any that happen while the game is loading or running, click "View technical details," then copy the information and paste it into a post here.  Sometimes the Reliability Monitor doesn't update right away, so if you don't see any related errors, be sure to check back an hour or two.  The timestamp on the initial chart can also be off by up to an hour, so that's not an entirely reliable metric, but the one within the technical details should be accurate.

[vodalapusneanu]

@puzzlezaddict Different issue. Before the boot clean, the sound repeated 2/3 times. After the boot clean, the sound looped repeatedly for several seconds. I’ve tested with and without headphones the problem remains. I’ll try what you said to do, thank you!

[vodalapusneanu]

I did as you said and only found two errors from Origin:
1.
Source
OriginClientService

Summary
Stopped working

Date
‎09.‎08.‎2021 20:41

Status
Not reported

Description
Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin\OriginClientService.exe

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: OriginClientService.exe
Application Version: 10.5.101.48500
Application Timestamp: 60d254b7
Fault Module Name: ntdll.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7601.24540
Fault Module Timestamp: 5ddf3f1e
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 0004ebc3
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Files that help describe the problem
AppCompat.txt
WERInternalMetadata.xml
WERDataCollectionFailure.txt

2.
Source
OriginClientService

Summary
Stopped working

Date
‎21.‎07.‎2021 20:07

Status
Not reported

Description
Faulting Application Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin\OriginClientService.exe

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: OriginClientService.exe
Application Version: 10.5.99.47918
Application Timestamp: 6099126d
Fault Module Name: ntdll.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7601.24540
Fault Module Timestamp: 5ddf3f1e
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 0004ebc3
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1048

[vodalapusneanu]

@vodalapusneanu the second one is from 21.07.2021, sorry. this problem appeared after the update on 27.07.2021

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@vodalapusneanu  These errors are probably not related to the sound issues, which unfortunately means there might not be a lot you can do.  Your processor is right on the edge for Sims 4, and the drivers for your various devices are mostly older.  (This is normal with your computer's age.)  It may help to free up a bit more space on your C drive, which should be easy considering D is almost empty.

You can also look for new sound drivers using the Device Manager.  I don't know if Windows key-X offers the option to open the DM, but if not, it should be under Control Panel > System and Security > System.  Open the Audio category, click on each entry in turn, and click the Update icon at the top of the screen.  Repeat for the Sound category.  It's possible that Windows won't find any new drivers, but if it does, restart when it's done installing.

Please also try repairing the game.  Clear Origin's cache first:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

Open your Origin game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, and select Repair.  When the repair is done, restart your computer again.

You don't need to do any of this in a clean boot, but it's best not to run any other programs while troubleshooting.

[vodalapusneanu]

@puzzlezaddict I’ll try that, thank you so much for your help!

[crying_frog]

@vodalapusneanu I have had this problem also since Cottage Living update, if you have been able to solve it I would be very grateful if you help me...