How to fix Sims 4 unable to start video card [Steps]

What is ‘Unable to start video card’- Sims 4 game error in Windows 10?

If you are facing Sims 4 unable to start video card, or Unable to start video card- Sims 4 error on Windows 10 when you try to play Sims 4 game, and looking for ways to fix, then you are in right-place for the solution. Here, you are provided with easy steps/methods to resolve the issue. Let’s starts the discussion.

‘Sims 4 unable to start video card’ error:

‘Sims 4’ game: Sims 4 is social simulation game designed & developed by Maxis and published by EA (Electronics Arts). It focuses on its improved character creation and housebuilding tools, as well as deeper in-game simulation with the new emotion and personality systems for Sims. This game is available for Microsoft Windows OS, macOS, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One console. In this game, the player is responsible for directing their actions, attending to their needs, and helping them attain their desires.

However, several users or Sims 4 game players reported they faced Sims 4 unable to start video card error on their Windows 10 computer when they tried to play Sims 4 game. There could be several reasons behind the issue including issue with network connection/router, outdated/corrupted graphics card driver, incorrect in-game settings and graphics settings, and other issues. It is possible to fix the issue with our instructions. Let’s go for the solution.

How to fix Sims 4 unable to start video card error in Windows 10?

Method 1: Fix Sims 4 unable to start video card error with ‘PC Repair Tool’

‘PC Repair Tool’ is easy & quick way to find and fix BSOD errors, DLL errors, EXE errors, problems with programs/applications, malware or viruses infections in computer, system files or registry issues, and other system issues with just few clicks.

Method 2: Check if your PC is eligible to play Sims 4

It might possible your PC is not eligible to play Sims 4 game. You can check minimum system requirement for Sims 4 game and check if you can play Sims 4 game or not. Let’s take a look at minimum system requirement.

  • The next one is video card requirements which are NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon X1300 or Intel GMA X4500 for minimum and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 or better for recommended.
  • Pixel shader for minimum requirements is 3.0 and recommended is 5.0.
  • Vertex shader 3.0 is required for minimum and 5.0 for recommended.
  • A sound card is required.
  • The Free disk space needed is 10 GB.
  • Dedicated video RAM 128 MB is the minimum requirement while 1024 MB is a recommended requirement.
  • The minimum requirements needed for the CPU to run Sims 4 are Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 or AMD Athlon 64 X 2 4000+ (2.0 GHz Dual Core required if using integrated graphics) whereas Intel Core i5-750 or AMD Athlon X4 are the recommended requirements.
  • RAM needed for minimum requirements is 2 GB while recommended is 4 GB.
  • Next comes the operating system which is Windows XP for minimum requirements and 64-Bit Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 as per recommended requirements.

Method 3: Restart your router

This issue can be occurred due to some temporary issue with network connection. You can fix the issue by restarting your router. To do so, you need to remove the power cable of router and system and press & hold ‘Power’ button for about 5 seconds, wait for 2-3 minutes and drain the power completely and then plug the cable again into router and system, and then them ON, and check if the issue is resolved.

Method 4: Update graphics card driver

Updating graphics card driver to latest & compatible version can resolve the issue.

Step 1: Open ‘Device Manager’ in Windows PC via Windows Search Box and expand ‘Display Adapters’ category

Step 2: Right-click on your graphics card driver and select ‘Update Driver’, and follow on-screen instructions to finish update and once done, restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.

Download or reinstall graphics card driver update in Windows PC [Automatically]

You can also try to update all Windows drivers including graphics card driver using Automatic Driver Update Tool. You can get this tool through button/link below.

Method 5: Repair Sims 4 game

This issue can be occurred due to corruption in game files relating to Sims 4 game. You can repair Sims 4 game in order to fix.

Step 1: Open ‘Origin’ client in Windows PC and click ‘My Game Library’, right-click ‘Sims 4’ game and select ‘Repair’

Step 2: Follow on-screen instructions to finish repairing process and once finished, restart your PC and then restart Sims 4 game and check if the issue is resolved.

Method 6: Disable In-Game Origin

Step 1: Open ‘Origin Client’ in Windows PC and click ‘Origin’ tab and click ‘Application Settings’

Step 2: In ‘Origin In-Game’ tab, switch ON the toggle for ‘Enable Origin In-Game’, and click ‘Save’ to save the changes and check if the issue is resolved.

Method 7: Modify compatibility settings

Step 1: Find and right-click ‘Sims 4’ game shortcut, and select ‘Properties’

Step 2: Click ‘Compatibility’ tab, tick ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for’ checkbox, select your operating system from dropdown or prior one, and then hit ‘Apply > Ok’ button to save the changes. Once done, check if the issue is resolved.

Method 8: Run Sims 4 game in Windowed Mode

It might possible your system’s display settings doesn’t allow you to run Sims 4 game in Full Screen mode. So, you can run Sims 4 game in Windowed Mode in order to fix the issue.

Step 1: Find and right-click on ‘Sims 4’ game shortcut, and select ‘Properties’

Step 2: Click ‘Shortcut’ tab, add ‘-w’ in ‘Target’ bar, and then hit ‘Apply > Ok’ button to save the changes. Once done, check if the issue is resolved.

Method 9: Disable Mods

This issue can be occurred due to interference of game mods in Sims 4 game. You can disable game mods in order to fix the issue.

Step 1: Open ‘File Explorer’ in Windows PC and go to Sims 4 game installation folder

Step 2: Search for Sims 4 Mods folder, select it and click ‘Move to button’, select ‘Desktop’ inside ‘Move To’ dropdown menu and once done, restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.

Method 10: Modify graphics card settings

Step 1: Open ‘NVIDIA Control Panel’ app in Windows PC via Windows Search Box and click ‘Manage 3D Settings’

Step 2: Click ‘Program Settings’ tab, click ‘Add’ and select executable of Sims 4

Step 3: Under ‘Specify the settings for this program’ section, locate and click ‘Power Management mode’, set it to ‘Prefer maximum performance’ option, and click ‘Apply’ to save the changes. Once done, check if the issue is resolved.

Method 11: Reinstall Origin

If the issue is still persist, you can uninstall and reinstall Origin client in computer to fix the issue.

Step 1: Open ‘Control Panel’ app in Windows PC via Windows Search Box and go to ‘Uninstall a Program > Programs & Features’

Step 2: Find and select ‘Origin’ client, and select ‘Uninstall’ to uninstall it and after that, restart your computer

Step 3: After restart, download and reinstall Origin Client in computer and once installed, check if the issue is resolved.

Conclusion

I hope this post helped you on How to fix Sims 4 unable to start video card error in Windows 10 with easy ways. You can read & follow our instructions to do so. That’s all. For any suggestions or queries, please write on comment box below.