Anki 2.1.49 on Win 11 not running

Anki Desktop
1

Hey all, first post here.

I am running Windows 11 21H2, its fully updated from what I can tell. On my first profile, Anki had this same issue-

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that is, when opened, it would go blank and eventually say the program is not responding and needed to close. So, I:
I installed 2.1.49 and when it didnt work, I tried a restart of my computer and still nothing. I uninstalled and removed all the program files I could find, restarted again and reinstalled and it launched, but as soon as I tried to change any options it would freeze again. Rinse and repeat 3 more times trying to restart and reinstall (I got it to launch once, right?). I tried making it run off the graphics card and still freezes on launch, I tried installing older versions and still freezes, I tried running it in compatibility mode and still nothing, I tried running it while holding shift and still freezes… Many times when trying to uninstall Ill get an error saying it cant find the program files to uninstall it. The only deck I have is from here: learnjapanese moe/resources/ (the N4 deck).
SO THEN. Then I decided “forget it” and just made a new user account, because this was a brand new machine anyway. Eureka, Anki started working. I installed the add-ons from animecards (animecards. site/minefromanime/). I had hot keys set up. Everything running awesome for the past two or three weeks.
Until today. Exact same issue as my old user account. So this time, following the FAQ, I:
Uninstalled and reinstalled. No dice.
Tried running an alternate version in the Program Files (x86)… Which worked, sort of. I was able to load Anki but not my user account.

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When I tried to open a back up, it told me it couldnt move the existing file to trash. Running as admin changed none of this, so…
I made a new folder for Anki after fully uninstalling and restarting, same issue, window pops up but nothing loads.
I tried running in from Python via the FAQ.
Running Anki from console also doesnt change anything and I dont get any errors.

I really need this for school so Im trying everything I can think of, I dont want to restart my progress or make all new decks with yet another new Windows account. I know this is a lot, but please help. :frowning: Im not super tech savvy so if I missed something obvious please let me know.

2

You need to use the downgrade&quit button prior to switching to an older version. But instead of downgrading, I suggest trying the different video drivers, and if that doesn’t work, trying the qt5 and qt6 betas.

3

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I cant get into the preferences to change the drivers. edit: This was the same result on my original users account when I tried changing the drivers there I open cmd and type that command to change the video driver and… nothing happens. I feel like Im missing something important? What do I change in the command (if anything) to change the graphics driver? Im sure the page explains it but Im not understanding what Im doing wrong, thanks! edit: I tried both as admin and as my regular user (which has admin rights)

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4

The command doesn’t output anything, and that’s normal. Did you try running Anki after running the command?

If nothing has changed in Anki, try running the following command to see the configured video driver:

type %APPDATA%\Anki2\gldriver

It should print auto.

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5

Yes, thats what happened. I tried running Anki again after that and the same result… Sorry for the hand-holding, but Im super lost, thank you for your patience and help

6

Please try replacing ‘auto’ with ‘angle’ in the command above, then start Anki again. If that doesn’t help either, please try ‘software’.

7

Thank you so much. While just changing to software/angle showed the same result, I was able to get it working after d/cing my external display. So. Changing to software, restarting, disconnecting my 2nd monitor, and then launching Anki has done the trick. Able to plug in my 2nd monitor and launch now without issue as well. I wish there was a way to tip you both youve saved my skin thank you thank you thank you, sorry Im so tech illiterate thank you both so much

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