Sims 4 won't run on Windows 8.1

[sophiesticat]

I already looked up the issue on here, but couldn't find any answers. I've installed the Sims 4 in July 2015 on my laptop (Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro - Black Edition) and it ran fine until this spring. From time to time it just won't run. Origin won't open either. It's super frustrating and "Troubleshoot" does not indicate any issue either. It sometimes works after I restart the laptop or unplug the earphones.

Thank you in advance!

Edit: Win 8.1

 

[KirbysHammer]

Are you by chance using a disk?

 

[sophiesticat]

Are you by chance using a disk?

If by disk you mean CD, nope. Base game and expansions were bought through Origin.

 

[jaguarskx]

Have you tried resintalling the game?

 

[GreyCatz]

I already looked up the issue on here, but couldn't find any answers. I've installed the Sims 4 in July 2015 on my laptop (Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro - Black Edition) and it ran fine until this spring. From time to time it just won't run. Origin won't open either. It's super frustrating and "Troubleshoot" does not indicate any issue either. It sometimes works after I restart the laptop or unplug the earphones.

Thank you in advance!

1. Have you downloaded any DLCs or Expansion Packs lately?
2. How old is the Acer?
3. Do you experience similar problems with other games? (Both EA and non-EA)
4. When was the last time Windows 8 installed a major update?

 

[sophiesticat]

Have you tried resintalling the game?

No, not yet. I was hoping that it would be a last resort...

 

[sophiesticat]

1. Have you downloaded any DLCs or Expansion Packs lately?
Nope, last one I bought was in June, but the game started acting up in spring, maybe late March, early April.
The expansion pack was bought through Origin.

2. How old is the Acer?
It was brand new when I bought it in July 2015, so 2 years old. I only use it for Sims, browsing internet and to store/edit pictures, so it's barely used.

3. Do you experience similar problems with other games? (Both EA and non-EA)
WoW seems to work fine, yet I haven't played it in ages. I tried it today to see if it works and it did.
It's the only other game I have installed.

4. When was the last time Windows 8 installed a major update?
I'm very sorry, I don't know what you mean by major update. I saw that the updates are market as "important" or "recommended" on my list and some out of both categories were installed on August 10th, some on July 13th and then there's one on June 28th. There are older ones as well.
Oh, and Windows is set to update any time it feels the need to.

Edit: Oh and it's Win 8.1, sorry!

 

[GreyCatz]

I think it's an issue with the Sims 4 game (and/or some of the expansion packs). A 2-year-old Acer Nitro shouldn't have any hardware failures; I did briefly suspect a malfunctioning network card, but if WoW is working OK, then your Internet connection is OK, too.

By 'major update' I meant 'cumulative' or 'feature' updates. But Windows 8.1 is a pretty stable system by now - especially compared with Windows 10 - and short of a cumulative update messing with some graphics settings, say, it seems Windows is off the hook.

My advice is to consult a dedicated Sims 4 forum, like this one:
http://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/bd-p/The-Sims-4

It's not that you won't get any help from Tom's, but using EA's own forum might be faster. As it stands right now, you may have to go by jaguarskx's suggestion and re-install the game.

Best of luck,
GreyCatz.

 

[sophiesticat]

Thank you! I have posted there as well, on the same day I posted on here (yeah, I got a little desperate :lol, and only one person replied, suggesting I reinstall Origin.
I've looked up other threads on there and only found one with a similar issue to mine, which is still unresolved, but everyone suggested reinstalling stuff. I'll have someone do this for me in the weekend.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[GreyCatz]

Just a few more things before you leave:

Prior to re-installing the game,

a) Update your graphics driver, if you haven't already done so. If it's an nVidia GTX card, the latest driver is 385.41. For AMD Radeon cards the latest is 17.8.2.

b) Update your network controller (via Device Manager),

c) Locate and export your Sims 4 save file according to these instructions:
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-4/how-to-restore-a-previous-saved-game-in-the-sims-4/

This will allow you to retain some game progress after you've re-installed the game.

 

[sophiesticat]

Just a few more things before you leave:

Prior to re-installing the game,

a) Update your graphics driver, if you haven't already done so. If it's an nVidia GTX card, the latest driver is 385.41. For AMD Radeon cards the latest is 17.8.2.

b) Update your network controller (via Device Manager),

c) Locate and export your Sims 4 save file according to these instructions:
https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-4/how-to-restore-a-previous-saved-game-in-the-sims-4/

This will allow you to retain some game progress after you've re-installed the game.

I re-installed Origin this morning and it works now, if the issues continue to come up, I'll give this a try. Thank you very, very much for all the help!!