HELP - Witcher 3 will not start - Black screen and then crash

[VinorSion]

When i click play or launch the exe manually, a black screen will appear and my cursor will turn into the loading icon, then the application will crash.

When i first purchased the game I launched it to make sure it was working correctly, which it was, I then closed it and instilled about 20 mods. I used scriptmerger to fix errors and launched the game. The "engine script compiler" thing popped up and threw a few errors. After not being able to fix them i uninstalled all mods. I launched again and it still threw errors. I decided to re-install the game. Now i am where I am at now. This is very frustrating as I have been able to use the GOG version of the game before, and even launch the steam version before it apparently broke, but now i cannot do anything.
Specs:
8gb of RAM
Intel i5-4590 @ 3.3GHz
R9 Fury (under clocked as i have see suggested)
1080p Monitor @144Hz

I have already done all these things:
1. Verified the game cache through steam (many times)
2. Re-Installed the game
3. Restarted my computer
4. Installed/ Repaired vcredist
5. Started Witcher 3 as an administrator
6. Uninstalled my AMD drivers through DDU and installed the latest optional version
7. Extensively searched online for fixes and tried a lot of them
8. Moved the installation (through steams utility) to the drive where my OS is located, rather than a secondary drive (this is why the crash log and the application error suggest different paths, as the game is no longer producing crashlogs)

I consider myself pretty adept at fixing issues with my PC, yet this one i cant seem to fix. I have no other problems with any games.

A common thread in these errors are the words "EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" and "Exception code: 0xc0000005" (which is an access violation code)

Also, it appears d3d11.dll is the culprit, as suggested by the application error pulled form the event viewer.

Attached are the logs from the event viewer, the crash log and my DxDiag.

Nothing is working. Please help!

(Edit: Did not include DxDiag)

 

[devivre]

If you think d3d11.dll is the culprit, it would make sense to reinstall the software related to it -> Direct3D 11 Runtime

Another possibility is that your antivirus program is blocking the game in some way. In that case adding an exception for Witcher might be worth trying.

I googled the issue, yeah, it's not easy to find a clear answer. It could be ram related (in that case perhaps resetting the Bios might help - but I can't say for sure and I don't want to give you a bad advice here...).

Anyhow, it's probably best to contact CDPR support with this form ->
http://en.cdprojektred.com/contact-support/

 

[SigilFey]

Sorry you're seeing issues, but it does seem that something is not cooperating on the system end.

R9 Fury (under clocked as i have see suggested)

I strongly recommend against doing this. Underclocking is not a solution to problems that your PC is experiencing. If it's necessary, then it may be indicative of a hardware issue.

When i first purchased the game I launched it to make sure it was working correctly, which it was, I then closed it and instilled about 20 mods. I used scriptmerger to fix errors and launched the game. The "engine script compiler" thing popped up and threw a few errors. After not being able to fix them i uninstalled all mods. I launched again and it still threw errors. I decided to re-install the game. Now i am where I am at now.

The mods are almost 100% the issue. Several of them may have overwritten certain game files. I think a full reinstall to a new directory path is probably the best way to handle it. Just be sure you completely uninstall any mod manager you may have been using before re-installing the game.

If problems persist after that:

4. Installed/ Repaired vcredist

1.) That was going to be my first suggestion, but you can also install / update all of the following:
DirectX 11 / 12
DirectX 9.0c (June 2010 installer will work with Windows 10)
Visual Studio 2010 - present (Install all of them in order, ensuring that you install the x86 and x64 version of each.)
Visual C++ 2010 - present (Again, x86 and x64 of each version, installed in order.)
.NET Framework
XNA Framework

2.) Also, ensure the game is not installed anywhere under Program Files or Program Files(x86). Install to the root of your drive or to a folder of your own creation on the root. If using Windows 10, also set the ...Documents\The Witcher 3\... folder's Permissions to "Everyone". Always use "Run as administrator".

3.) Be sure you add the game's installation folder to the exceptions list of any anti-virus / firewall you may be using.


Let us know how that goes!

 

[PloughEnthusiast]

1) Uninstall all mods. Not just deactivating them in a manager, but fully removing them from your system.
2) Uninstall game, including the Documents folder. However make a backup of your gamesaves.
3) Look for the The Witcher 3 directory - if it's still there. See if anything's inside. Sometimes some mods or parts of mods remain. Delete anything that's inside, then delete the The Witcher 3 folder itself.
4) Make sure you have the newest drivers, that your GPU is working properly (try other games), etc.
5) Do a clean, fresh install of the game into a different location. Make sure not to install any mods or anything mod-related.

That would be my procedure if I was in your situation. I have it before and it worked for me, although I had different problems.

 

[VinorSion]

Sorry you're seeing issues, but it does seem that something is not cooperating on the system end.



I strongly recommend against doing this. Underclocking is not a solution to problems that your PC is experiencing. If it's necessary, then it may be indicative of a hardware issue.




The mods are almost 100% the issue. Several of them may have overwritten certain game files. I think a full reinstall to a new directory path is probably the best way to handle it. Just be sure you completely uninstall any mod manager you may have been using before re-installing the game.

If problems persist after that:




1.) That was going to be my first suggestion, but you can also install / update all of the following:
DirectX 11 / 12
DirectX 9.0c (June 2010 installer will work with Windows 10)
Visual Studio 2010 - present (Install all of them in order, ensuring that you install the x86 and x64 version of each.)
Visual C++ 2010 - present (Again, x86 and x64 of each version, installed in order.)
.NET Framework
XNA Framework

2.) Also, ensure the game is not installed anywhere under Program Files or Program Files(x86). Install to the root of your drive or to a folder of your own creation on the root. If using Windows 10, also set the ...Documents\The Witcher 3\... folder's Permissions to "Everyone". Always use "Run as administrator".

3.) Be sure you add the game's installation folder to the exceptions list of any anti-virus / firewall you may be using.


Let us know how that goes!

I am using the steam version and steam will not let me make an installation folder outside the program files(x86)/steam/steamapps/common path. What can I do?

 

[SigilFey]

I am using the steam version and steam will not let me make an installation folder outside the program files(x86)/steam/steamapps/common path. What can I do?

Just follow these instructions for moving an existing Steam installation. Note that you'll have to verify the integrity of each game once after doing this.

Put the new installation path in something like: C:\Steam... or C:\MyGames\Steam...

Also -- very importantly -- do things in this order: completely uninstall the game, remove any managers, move the Steam installation, lastly reinstall the game.