Unable to start: Initialization error at start up. 135dec...

[jessiepie]

Tried logging into the Sims this morning after a month and found the gallery looking like attached screenshot and my family unable to load.

I disabled all mods, repaired, when that didn't work, I uninstalled and reinstalled/rebooted and then began receiving these errors.

When launching from Origin I received this at splash screen:  Unable to start: The game has run out of memory 2234...
When launching from Sims 4 shortcut I received this before game loads:  Unable to start:  Initialization error at start up. 135dec...
Forfeiting my saved game/family, these are the steps I've taken after above troubleshooting:

1. Completely uninstalled game and all packs. (Checked sub folders and registry.)

2. Completely uninstalled Origin. (Checking for sub folders and registry.)

3. Launched Origin/Sims 4 as Administrator

4. Attempted compatibility mode. (Origin didn't like that.)

5. Allowed in/Disabled antivirus/ firewall.

6. Deleted %tempfiles%.

7. Made even more room on my SD drives.

8. Restarted the modem.

9. Drank a bottle of wine.

10. Did it all again.

Attached is my DxDiag.

Both my drives are SD. The drive Sims is installed on is D: and has 130 some gigs left of space. 23 gigs left on Windows C. (Don't harass me about this. The game has worked on less.) :D

I have 16 g of Ram and a NVIDIA GerForce GTX 1070. card (Fully updated.)

These re installation attempts were made on a clean install.  No saved games, no mods. Like Sims had never been on my pc. Factory settings, baby.

Would love to hear techno babble thoughts and tricks to try.  I need to BUIIIILLD!

Thanks a bunch!

[jessiepie · Accepted solution]

UPDATE:

By disabling Origin IN-Game option my game has loaded and everything seems back to normal.  I didn't even know that setting existed.  Thank you for your help!

[puzzlezaddict]

@jessiepie  The initialization/135dec... errors are usually related to the game lacking the proper permissions.  Windows 10's Controlled Folder Access is the most likely culprit.  You mentioned allowing the game through your antivirus/firewall, but if you didn't specifically adjust the Controlled Folder Access settings, that's the first thing to try.

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/03/windows-10-defender-controlled-folder-access.html

Since you're probably running the 64-bit version of TS4, be sure to use TS4_x64.exe.

Other reasons for this error include problems with Origin.  The Origin update tool is also throwing errors, although I can't tell from your dxdiag whether that was before or after you uninstalled it.  If you want to be thorough, clear Origin's cache, uninstall it "the hard way," and reinstall it to D, again unless you've done it already.

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

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

It can also help to run Origin and TS4 as an admin (right-click on the .exes or shortcuts and select "Run as administrator"), and to disable Origin in-game: open Origin, hover over your username, select Application Settings, then More  > Origin in-game.  You might also need to disable it on Sims 4 specifically: right-click on the TS4 icon, select Game Properties, and uncheck the box.

If none of this helps, there might be an issue with your GPU driver.  The TS4 errors listed are probably related, although maybe you've updated the driver since then.  Otherwise, there's a slightly newer one available for the 1070.

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

By the way, please make sure there's no Sims 4 user data folder in Documents\Electronic Arts while you're testing.  The folder doesn't always get deleted when you uninstall the program files.  If it's otherwise empty, trash the folder each time you test something.  But if you never did, look inside the Saves folder—who knows, your old saves might be there.  Still, move the folder out of Documents until you get the game running again.

[jessiepie]

Thank you.  As stated in my OP, I have completed all the steps that you have mentioned and more, but I appreciate your response. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@jessiepie  From your OP, I wasn't sure whether you'd allowed the game though Controlled Folder Access, or just a third-party antivirus/firewall (and whether you'd used TS4_x64 specifically); how you'd uninstalled Origin, and what drive it was installed on now; and whether you were still launching Origin and TS4 as an admin while testing other potential fixes.

The GPU driver is my mistake: I saw that yours was dated and installed in January, and that Nvidia posted the newest one in February, so I didn't check the version number.   Still, your dxdiag does list a few likely-GPU-driver-related errors, although it's impossible to tell whether they're from before or after you updated.

A better way to find the most current errors is through the Reliability Monitor.  Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, then check the entries for the time you've been troubleshooting.  The timestamps aren't always completely accurate, so you might have click "View technical details" to get an exact time.  Maybe that will give you a better idea of what's causing the current errors.  You can copy and paste the info for all the relevant entries into a .txt document and attach it here.  If I don't see anything obvious, there are other people around who can take a look.

[jessiepie]

I'm sorry, yes, I completely disabled defender and firewall. My video card is on auto update, but I did check that as well. 

The Reliability Monitor is lovely. Did not know that.

I've attached 1 of 3 errors I received at 11 am this morning from running the monitor you provided. Because of attachment restraints, I've only added one.  Errors and cause are the same, numbers are different. Oddly enough, that is the only errors I have for Sims 4 besides the error I received trying to launch Dungeon Keeper from Origin, but I believe that's a separate issue.(Old game.)  

Between 11:12 and 11:20 am, these are the Stopped Responding Errors.

The program TS4_x64.exe version 1.61.15.1020 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Security and Maintenance control panel.
Process ID: 292c
Start Time: 01d5eb470610d1c2
Termination Time: 4294967295
Application Path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Sims 4\The Sims 4\Game\Bin\TS4_x64.exe
Report Id: 37ea46c9-0c94-4fe8-8861-6f2b7f14d739
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Hang type: Top level window is idle

It asks me to check the security and maintenance control panel. And that may have before I disabled Windows Defender. No errors are listed after as such.  BUT, since then I have and uninstalled and reinstalled both Origin and Sims 4.

Every other game outside of Origin is running great. (Well, FO76 isn't, but that's not anyone but Bethesda's issue.)

I do not believe this is a hardware issue, as I am technically inclined and no other apps/game etc are having problem. 

I am certain this is a simple fix. Just need to find the right one. :D

Thank you!

[jessiepie · Accepted solution]

UPDATE:

By disabling Origin IN-Game option my game has loaded and everything seems back to normal.  I didn't even know that setting existed.  Thank you for your help!

[4L3X4NDR4UNN6UR3]

Hi, can you guys hep me with this error ?

[puzzlezaddict]

@4L3X4NDR4UNN6UR3  Please try the other suggestions in this thread.  Let us know if they don't work, and if you get any other error messages.