Error on Sims 3 startup

[Queen_Wyvern]

I want to preface this by saying that I'm no computer genius, but I've now spent two days on this (because I hate unsolved problems), and I have no more ideas.

Every time I try to open Sims 3, I get the message "There was an error during startup. Please check the log for details". I've had this issue off and on with various Steam games, but have always eventually been able to fix it by uninstalling, clearing the download cache and reinstalling. Now, NOTHING is working.

Things I've tried:
uninstall/reinstall
cleaning the registry
launching from the game files rather than from Steam
launching as administrator
restarting everything
uninstalling Steam and starting from scratch

In the error log, the error code is 10016. It says something about permissions. My account is the administrator account, so from the computer side of things, permissions shouldn't be an issue. Could it be an issue with the product keys? If so, how do I get a hold of working product keys?

Help!

[† ßâd•£üç]< Îñç™]

Are you running Windows 10 by chance? If so, you might want to look these pages over as it seems to be fairly common.

• http://www.itexperience.net/2017/01/13/event-id-10016-fix-the-application-specific-permission-settings-do-not-grant-local-activation-permission-for-the-com-server-application-with-clsid/
  
• https://www.tenforums.com/performance-maintenance/20230-windows-10-event-id-10010-10016-errors-distributedcom-21.html#post976660
  
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4022522/dcom-event-id-10016-is-logged-in-windows-10-and-windows-server-2016

Good luck!

[Queen_Wyvern]

I tried this, and there's not even a "CLSID" folder in the place that these links say there will be. Nor can I find my game in the registry anywhere. I feel like this is a registry issue, but cleaning up the registry with ccleaner did nothing. I'm getting into "I'm scared to touch this because I don't know how it works" territory. I just asked Steam for a refund on the new DLC and will see if I can get the game to work once the DLC is out of my account.

[marstinson]

This is normally not necessary, but if you're on Win10, try running the game (TS3w.exe) in compatibility mode (right-click the executable, select properties and go to the Compatibility tab). Selecting Vista (SP2) or Win7 might help.

Also, Steam likes to install to the Program Files (x86) folder, which can sometimes have issues with user account control. If you can't put Steam on a separate drive (better solution), put Steam in some other folder. For this machine I have it installed to C:\Games\Steam, which eliminates those built-in UAC issues.

Also, have a gander at cruinne's troubleshooting guide:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=279488894

[Jagpanther]

Just fixed this issue myself. This stems from a previous install on the computer, and the steam version is in a different directory. This can be fixed by 1. uninstalling sims 3. 2. Right click on the start button (lower left corner of the desktop), go to RUN. 3. regedit is what you type in, to get to the registry editor. You have to be very careful in the registry editor, messing up in here can cause big problems for your computer. in regedit, you have to delete all sim3 entries. This can be done by clicking on computer in the left pane, and searching (ctrl+f) for sims3, and deleting all sims3 entries you find. F3 takes you to the next one, remember be very careful. 4. Reinstall sims3.

[Jagpanther]

if anyone wants a more detailed explanation, post again, I can do a longer step by step walkthrough.

[† ßâd•£üç]< Îñç™]

That is great news and congrats on fixing it yourself!

I think it is a great idea to write and share a detailed guide to help others having a similar issue. (That and it is also handy in case you need it again for yourself in the future.

[Queen_Wyvern]

y'all, I've tried all of this, none of it is working. In the error log, if I google the code, it's got something to do with permissions. But even running as administrator won't help. I've cleaned up the registry leftovers. I got rid of the new DLC. NOTHING is working and Steam won't refund me because I've had the game too long.

[Queen_Wyvern]

I've downloaded two other games from Steam and both of them work with absolutely no issues. So it's not Steam.

[cruinne]

Yeah, there seems to be something going on that your computer just isn't making a particular connection somewhere. In this case, I like to do a full removal and reinstall. I know you've likely already done a lot to try to get this working, but here are the steps I'd do, in order (If you want to do this I recommend that you don't skip any of them).

1. Uninstall the game in Steam.
   
2. Shut Steam down completely.
   
3. Navigate to your Steam install folder for Sims 3 (for most, this is: C > Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > The Sims 3) and delete the entire "The Sims 3" folder.
   
4. Open Documents > Electronic Arts, and there, delete the entire "The Sims 3" folder.
   
5. Open the Registry Editor: press Windows + r and type in regedit
   
6. Starting at the very top of the left-hand panel, navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Wow6432Node > Sims(Steam)
   
7. In the left-hand panel, right-click "Sims(Steam)" and choose "Delete".
   
8. Restart your computer.
   
9. Open Steam.
   
10. In your Steam Library, right-click The Sims 3 and choose Properties.
    
11. Open the "DLC" tab, and untick everything that may be ticked, then close the Properties box.
    
12. In the Steam Library, right-click and Install the game.
    
13. Don't try to run it until the download is completely finished.
    
14. Before running it, make sure no other program is running on your computer (just shut down everything while it gets set up).