Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

by Kayleighch94
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Original Post

Sims 4 unsupported video card

★★ Novice

I resetted my laptop and downloaded the sims 4 but when the game opens on the main menu a tab pops up to say video card unsupported, im able to play the game but cannot play on any graphic setting higher then low

Before i resetted my laptop i could play perfectly fine on graphic setting high so why is this happening?

 

If anyone could help me out that be much appreciated!

Message 1 of 11 (2,235 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

@Kayleighch94  Please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

 

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

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 2 of 11 (2,232 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

★★ Novice

i think this it

Message 3 of 11 (2,226 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

@Kayleighch94  Your dxdiag lists a few crashes of a component of the graphics driver, as well as some other errors that could be related to the driver (or a different driver; it's not possible to tell from the info listed).  The graphics driver is a couple years old, and it might help to update, but you may need a special driver from HP, not one from Intel.  I'd like to take a look at the options either way.  So please go here:

 

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/laptops

 

Enter your laptop's serial number, choose your operating system if prompted, and you'll land on the driver download page for your laptop.  Please link it here.  That page doesn't have any information about your own computer, just the overall model.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 4 of 11 (2,218 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

Message 5 of 11 (2,212 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

@Kayleighch94  Just to clarify, your graphics chip is listed as unsupported within the game's database, so that part of the issue is normal.  However, you should only see the message once and should probably be able to change the graphics settings.  Additionally, the fact that the graphics driver is crashing does need to be addressed, whether or not it's the direct cause of your inability to change the in-game settings.

 

You already have the newest driver from HP installed.  So the easiest step, if your computer lets you, would be to install the newest one from Intel:

 

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/30196/Intel-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-15-40-

 

Run the installer as an admin: right-click on the download and select "Run as administrator."  However, you may get an error about the driver not being compatible, which would mean you're stuck with the HP driver.  In that case, you'd need to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of that driver.

 

First though, run a couple of basic checks on your Windows system files:

 

  • Hit Windows key-X
  • Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
  • Inside the window that appears, copy and paste “DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth” without quotes into the window, and enter
  • The system will start validating soon. If it throws an error, please list it here
  • After it reaches 100%, hit Windows key-X again
  • Again, choose “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Command prompt (Administrator)”
  • Inside the window, copy and paste “sfc /scannow” without quotes into the window, and enter
  • Post the message you receive here

For the clean uninstall, download Display Driver Uninstaller from here:

 

https://www.wagnardsoft.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3430

 

On the download page you linked, download the last graphics driver listed, the one dated March 6, 2019.

 

Next, take your computer completely offline—disable wifi and/or pull the ethernet cord—and double-click the DDU.exe.  Take note of where the file will land, and click Extract.  If it's easier, you can copy the path and then paste it into the address bar in a File Explorer window.  Open the folder and then launch Display Driver Uninstaller.exe, and you'll get a message that you're not in Safe Mode.  Click OK, then go to Options and enable Safe Mode dialog.  Here's a screenshot of what your options should look like; make sure the box in red is checked:

DDU 1.1.png

 

Close options, and the DDU, and then open the DDU.exe again.  For launch options, choose "Safe Mode (Recommended)," and then click Reboot to Safe Mode (you'll need your password, so find it before rebooting).  Once you login, you'll see this:

 

DDU 2.png

In the blue box, choose GPU, then Intel if it's not already showing.  Then click Clean and Restart (red box).

 

Once your computer has rebooted, now back in normal mode, run the driver install .exe as an admin.  Restart again before trying to play.

 

Please also delete options.ini, in Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4, before launching the game again.  You'll see the "unsupported card" message again, once, but after that the game will hopefully behave as it always did.  Let me know if it doesn't.

 

By the way, it would be simple enough to get rid of the "unsupported" error if it comes to that.  It wouldn't change anything about your hardware, just how the game reads it.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 6 of 11 (2,200 Views)
Highlighted

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

★★ Novice

I ran the graphic driver from march 6 after finishing the clean uninstall and restarted my computer but when i try to open sims it gives me an error that says “initialization error at startup”

im not sure if i followed the instructions correctly

Im new to this so i apologise!

Message 7 of 11 (2,118 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

@Kayleighch94  If the driver installed without throwing an error, you likely did everything right.  The initialization error has a few different causes, but I haven't heard of it being graphics driver-related.

 

Try moving your entire Sims 4 folder out of Documents\Electronic Arts and onto your desktop.  When you launch the game, a clean folder will spawn with no content.  (Your saves and other content will be intact in the folder you moved but temporarily not read by the game.)  Don't add anything to this new folder yet; just see whether you can play a new save.

 

If you get another initialization error, please post a screenshot of the error message: the exact string of characters often gives a clue as to the cause.  Please also let me know what antivirus program you use.  And for good measure, run another dxdiag and attach it to a post.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 8 of 11 (2,101 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

★★ Novice

i moved the sims 4 folder to the desktop but im still receiving the same error, i havent yet renewed my anti virus program since i reset my laptop but i was using McAfee. i linked a screenshot or the error and the dxdiag.

Message 9 of 11 (2,091 Views)

Re: Sims 4 unsupported video card

@Kayleighch94  Since you're not currently using McAfee, try uninstalling it.  There are directions on the McAfee support site:

 

https://service.mcafee.com/webcenter/portal/oracle/webcenter/page/scopedMD/s55728c97_466d_4ddb_952d_...

 

Restart your computer before trying to play.

 

If that doesn't help, try creating a new admin user account on your computer and playing there.  You can sign into your existing Origin account, and you won't need to redownload anything, but don't sync any data or services in the new account.  For example, don't sign into OneDrive or any other data syncing program.

 

If that doesn't help either, please look for any minidump files from your computer; your new dxdiag lists more of the driver errors I mentioned before, the ones that don't specify which driver is affected.  Open a File Explorer window and enter this in the address bar:

 

C:\Windows\Minidump

 

For any files created after you reinstalled the graphics driver, right-click and select Copy, then right-click on your desktop and select Paste.  Please zip the files together if you find more than one, upload to a third-party filesharing site (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and link it here.

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I don't work for EA. I'm just trying to help fellow players with their games.
Message 10 of 11 (2,085 Views)