Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

by Guest Fri 07 Nov 2014, 04:26

Hi. When I was trying to the Sims 4, I got this window almost immediately afterwards: Unable to start: Cannot start because required game data is missing or damaged. Please try reinstalling the game. [85262c58:29f00e76:00000000] Funny thing is it worked fine last night and I never had a problem until a little while ago. My computer is Windows Vista 32-bit. I'm sure my antivirus isn't messing around with it since it's let me play the game. The antivirus is Norton. Can someone please help me with this problem? It took me almost a week trying to download because of some computer issues. Thank you Smile

by Guest Fri 07 Nov 2014, 04:50

Hi there, and welcome to the Games4theworld Forum! Smile

Please, download our Ultimate Fix from this link here:
https://games4theworld.forumotion.com/t18086-the-sims-4-ultimate-fix

Make sure to read and follow the Installation Guide carefully. It should get rid of the error. But do let us know how it goes! Good luck!

by Guest Fri 07 Nov 2014, 05:33

Thanks for your reply, SeoY. I downloaded the fix but the installation guide I can't follow. Is there a program I need to download so I can read the guide?

by Guest Fri 07 Nov 2014, 05:38

ShadowFury wrote:Thanks for your reply, SeoY. I downloaded the fix but the installation guide I can't follow. Is there a program I need to download so I can read the guide?

Did you make sure to extract the Ultimate Fix with WinRAR? Using any other program may corrupt the files. You can get it from our downloads website here:
http://www.games4theworld.org/downloads.html

Please try extracting it with that and see if the guide is fine now. Smile

by Guest Fri 07 Nov 2014, 05:57

Thanks again for your reply. I always extract my Sims stuff using WinRAR. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

by Guest Fri 07 Nov 2014, 06:18

ShadowFury wrote:Thanks again for your reply. I always extract my Sims stuff using WinRAR. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

What exactly are you seeing in the Ultimate Fix, if you don't mind me asking?

You should try downloading the Ultimate Fix again from the mirror, or even with a different browser. Disabling your antivirus temporarily isn't a bad idea either.

by Guest Sat 08 Nov 2014, 03:35

I'm seeing the _installer, Data, Game and Support folders in the Ultimate Fix as well as the Installation Guide. But this is what I'm seeing (example): %PDF-1.5
%µµµµ
1 0 obj
<>
endobj

and this was with WinRAR, Firefox (browser), Alternative mirror and disabling Norton. I would have entered more but I was told that the message was too long.

by Guest Sat 08 Nov 2014, 13:12

Hey I had the same problem like you had, and I fixed it thanks to Carlos and SeoY.

I found out that some CC contents were making this trouble (So i saved my mods some where else and deleted everything except resource file) and disabling your anti-virus could really be helpful.

Hope it helps, as this was the method that helped me to deal with this problem

by **The_gh0stm4n** Sat 08 Nov 2014, 23:13

ShadowFury wrote:Thanks for your reply, SeoY. I downloaded the fix but the installation guide I can't follow. Is there a program I need to download so I can read the guide?

ShadowFury wrote:Thanks again for your reply. I always extract my Sims stuff using WinRAR. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

ShadowFury wrote:I'm seeing the _installer, Data, Game and Support folders in the Ultimate Fix as well as the Installation Guide. But this is what I'm seeing (example): %PDF-1.5
%µµµµ
1 0 obj
<>
endobj

and this was with WinRAR, Firefox (browser), Alternative mirror and disabling Norton. I would have entered more but I was told that the message was too long.

Hello,

I can't really tell either what is wrong on your side. But as stupid as it sounds, do you actually have the (free) "Adobe Reader" installed on your computer ? If not, google for that.

And can you even re-download the Ultimate fix with another browser (Chrome) ?

by Guest Mon 10 Nov 2014, 03:48

Well, I did get some success on the Installation Guide. I found out that my Adobe reader was out of date but I am able to read it. Now the bad: When I clicked on 'vcredist_x64' a window popped up saying that the setup failed. On the bottom of the window, it says: 0x81f40001 - Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) - 12.0.21005 can only be installed on Windows XP SP1 (x64) or newer platforms. I have a Windows Vista.

by Guest Mon 10 Nov 2014, 03:55

ShadowFury wrote:Well, I did get some success on the Installation Guide. I found out that my Adobe reader was out of date but I am able to read it. Now the bad: When I clicked on 'vcredist_x64' a window popped up saying that the setup failed. On the bottom of the window, it says: 0x81f40001 - Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) - 12.0.21005 can only be installed on Windows XP SP1 (x64) or newer platforms. I have a Windows Vista.

Is your Windows Vista 32-bits? If it is, it won't allow you to install the vcredist_x64, as it can only be installed in a 64-bit OS. Just continue with the rest of the guide, it shouldn't change anything. Wink

by Guest Mon 10 Nov 2014, 05:01

Well, I have been officially upgraded from 'Missing or damaged data' error to the 'dynamic library 'rld.dll failed to initialize (E0)' error. At least I got this far lol. All I have to do now is reinstall my game. Thanks for all of everyone's help on this.

by Guest Mon 10 Nov 2014, 05:13

ShadowFury wrote:Well, I have been officially upgraded from 'Missing or damaged data' error to the 'dynamic library 'rld.dll failed to initialize (E0)' error. At least I got this far lol. All I have to do now is reinstall my game. Thanks for all of everyone's help on this.

There's no need to reinstall the game because of that error. What is most likely happening is that your antivirus is deleting some important files from the game install location. Have you already added all of the folders to the exceptions list? You could try adding the subfolders to that list too, as depending on your antivirus it may ignore the exception if the subfolders are not added too.

Another thing you could try is re-downloading the Ultimate Fix with the antivirus disabled, to prevent it from deleting files from inside the Ultimate Fix. Enable it only after you've copied the folders again (and that you made sure that the game is working properly).

Please, let us know how it goes. Good luck! Very Happy

by Guest Wed 12 Nov 2014, 14:55

Hi guys I'm having the same error come up and it told me to reinstall the game, which I did but same error still popping Why God.

. I did everything said in the installation guide but I am a bit skeptical over the first step of adding the file to Antivirus exception list, I just added the folder under C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\, was that correct? Wat.

by Guest Wed 12 Nov 2014, 18:35

mvnds wrote:Hi guys I'm having the same error come up and it told me to reinstall the game, which I did but same error still popping . I did everything said in the installation guide but I am a bit skeptical over the first step of adding the file to Antivirus exception list, I just added the folder under C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\, was that correct?

Hi there!

Please, create a new topic for your issue. Even if the problem seems the same, each of you may require a different solution. And you should always create a new topic if this one wasn't originally yours.

We'll be glad to help you after you've created the new topic.

by Guest Thu 13 Nov 2014, 04:26

Im getting this same issue now. I followed all the steps in the ultimate fix except I have Mcafee lifesafe and there isn't a way to add an exception list to it. I also just installed some mods so im thinking that may be an issue as well. Where did you put your mods, DarkNPure? I don't want to completely disable my anti-virus. I just got this laptop and its completely different from my 8 year old computer so im still trying to figure it out and I don't want to risk it getting infected but turning Mcafee off every time I play Sims.

Update: It does have something to do with the mods. I deleted the file and its working perfectly now, minus the mods. Is there any way to figure out which mod is causing the issue or any ideas on why its not working with mods installed?

by Guest Fri 14 Nov 2014, 22:51

shellbell2113 wrote:Im getting this same issue now. I followed all the steps in the ultimate fix except I have Mcafee lifesafe and there isn't a way to add an exception list to it. I also just installed some mods so im thinking that may be an issue as well. Where did you put your mods, DarkNPure? I don't want to completely disable my anti-virus. I just got this laptop and its completely different from my 8 year old computer so im still trying to figure it out and I don't want to risk it getting infected but turning Mcafee off every time I play Sims.

Update: It does have something to do with the mods. I deleted the file and its working perfectly now, minus the mods. Is there any way to figure out which mod is causing the issue or any ideas on why its not working with mods installed?

Hi there!

Sorry, but you should also create a new topic. And, as you can see, the problem is caused by different things. But for now, you'll have to narrow down the mod that is causing your issue using something the halving method, where you take half of the mods out and then test the game. If the game runs fine, you take the other half and check it. The half that is causing you issues, you halve it again and repeat the same process until you're left with the mod that is causing the problem.

If you want us to help you further, we'll be glad to do so in your own topic. Wink

by Guest Wed 19 Nov 2014, 20:18

Okay,I'm back but with a bit more confusing setbacks. I have disabled Norton, redownloaded the Ultimate Fix and did everything the Installation Guide told me. After I tried to start the game, (with Norton disabled), it kept saying the same thing as I said at the beginning of my post. Now here's the confusing part: After I redownloaded everything, I enabled Norton. 40 minutes afterwards, Norton started analying TS4.exe and removed it because it was a threat. Does anyone know what I can do for this?

by Guest Wed 19 Nov 2014, 20:47

ShadowFury wrote:Okay,I'm back but with a bit more confusing setbacks. I have disabled Norton, redownloaded the Ultimate Fix and did everything the Installation Guide told me. After I tried to start the game, (with Norton disabled), it kept saying the same thing as I said at the beginning of my post. Now here's the confusing part: After I redownloaded everything, I enabled Norton. 40 minutes afterwards, Norton started analying TS4.exe and removed it because it was a threat. Does anyone know what I can do for this?

Hi again!

The fact that Norton removed the TS4.exe is pretty normal, actually. I wouldn't be surprised that even if you had it "disabled" it was still running and working in the background. Symantec products are some of the worst offenders in false-positives, deleting cracks as if they were malicious files.

And most of the time they are pretty intrusive too, by working even if you don't want them to (and disabled them). One thing you could try is to uninstall Norton, and apply the Ultimate Fix again. See if the game works. Only then you may reinstall Norton (if you so desire), but it may break the game again if it was already working. Wink

It's your decision if you want to keep Norton or use another antivirus. And most of them are better than Norton, in my opinion. But it's your call.

Good luck, and please let us know how it goes! Very Happy

by Guest Fri 21 Nov 2014, 04:11

Hi. Okay, here's the dealio: I uninstalled Norton, got a fresh copy of The Ultimate Fix and did everything humanly possible. But unfortunately, it's still saying that there's missing or damaged data. So, I'm thinking of getting a fresh torrent of Sims 4 and see if that works.

by **The_gh0stm4n** Fri 21 Nov 2014, 06:03

ShadowFury wrote:Hi. Okay, here's the dealio: I uninstalled Norton, got a fresh copy of The Ultimate Fix and did everything humanly possible. But unfortunately, it's still saying that there's missing or damaged data. So, I'm thinking of getting a fresh torrent of Sims 4 and see if that works.

Have you also thought about the (horrible) "Windows Defender" ? That one is actually an "anti-virus" program too. You should make sure to disable that one, but other than that I'm afraid I'm running out of explanations, sorry. Sad

by Guest Sat 22 Nov 2014, 01:17

@ Carlos: Yeah. It's turned off because of Norton but I'll make sure it's fully disabled before I try again.

There are a few more things I'm gonna try before I throw in the towel and just get another download of the torrent from here.

by **The_gh0stm4n** Tue 25 Nov 2014, 04:49

ShadowFury wrote:@ Carlos: Yeah. It's turned off because of Norton but I'll make sure it's fully disabled before I try again.

There are a few more things I'm gonna try before I throw in the towel and just get another download of the torrent from here.

Sorry for the late reply...

Have you tried deleting the folder "The Sims 4", located in (My) Documents/Electronic Arts ? Or you can just rename the folder into anything else.

Keep us posted, yes ! Smile

by Guest Fri 05 Dec 2014, 00:12

I just spent 5 hours working on this "missing or damaged" error message asking me to reinstall the game. In my case, it was definitely caused by bad CC. After uninstalling/re-installing the game, I figured out that all your mods, tray items, and save files aren't deleted during the uninstall process so you have to remove all that manually. I keep my mods folder relatively organized, so through a process of elimination, I was able to figure out which group the bad CC was in, sort it by date and remove the problem. If you're running into this problem, I'd suggest simply removing all the CC you recently added and gradually adding it back in until you find the problem file.

I hope this helps. Smile

by Guest Fri 05 Dec 2014, 10:25

I guess we need a program like 'CC Magik' I hope someone can make this for The Sims 4

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Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

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Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4

Re: Getting the old "Missing or damaged" data error when trying to start Sims 4