Anki crashes consistently when I click File → Import it happens the moment the windows file selection dialog opens. Anki closes instantly without error message and it’s reproducible every time. I tried starting Anki in safe mode and crash still occurs and restarting windows.
Pls note drag-and-drop import sometimes works!
Version 25.09.2 (3890e12c)
Python 3.13.5 Qt 6.9.1 Chromium 122
Event Viewer logs (relevant entries)
.NET Runtime version 4.0.30319.0
There was a failure initializing profiling API attach infrastructure.
HRESULT: 0x80004005
Process ID: 13504
Message ID: [0x2509]
Starting Anki 25.09.2...
2026-01-31 19:12:49,984:INFO:aqt.mediasrv: Serving on http://127.0.0.1:64367
Warning: C:\Users\M Ahmed\AppData\Roaming\Anki2\addons21\175794613\custom_shige\translate\en.json not found. Falling back to default translations.
has wheel False
Starting main loop...
conf key imgocc should be fetched with col.get_config(), and saved with col.set_config()
conf key imgocc should be fetched with col.get_config(), and saved with col.set_config()
conf key imgocc should be fetched with col.get_config(), and saved with col.set_config()
start checkConversionBinaries
> True: verified file exist.
Error: Failed to run (-1073741819): C:\Users\M Ahmed\AppData\Local\AnkiProgramFiles\.venv\Scripts/python.exe -c import aqt, sys; sys.argv[0] = 'Anki'; aqt.run()
Press enter to close...
Hi, I have an updated version of anki on my windows.All of a sudden I cannot export any of my decks. I click on export and then my screen freezes and I get kicked out of anki. I have restarted and updated my computer (brand new by the way). I have held shift while opening anki. I have deleted anki and reinstalled. I have checked the media and the database. Nothing works. I am not sure what the problem is? I have even switched my profiles on anki and still cannot export anything. It just completely shuts down anki after I click on export button. I have some screenshots below. I am not sure why but it lingers on my one drive folder and I can’t click on downloads (that is where I always export to) and then it just shuts down. I do not know what could be the issue but I think it may be something with the laptop.
I followed these instructions and this is what i got screenshotted at the very bottom. Anki did open. But I still have the same issue with exporting. I am pasting the last bit from what came out of the command prompt. It is very long. I am unable to copy paste the whole thing here. Is there particular part in the output that I should be looking for?
Hi, I’m having an issue with Anki: the PC desktop application crashes every time I try to import a deck. I’ve already gone through all the troubleshooting steps on the Anki wiki, but nothing has worked.
If I try to import a file into Anki by going to File > Import, the program crashes. I’ll click ‘Import,’ a window pops up, it immediately freezes, and then the entire program crashes and closes.
Again, I’ve already tried every single standard troubleshooting option. I also tried doing a clean reinstall of Anki by uninstalling it and then installing the latest version through the Anki website. However, the problem persists.
I did notice that this started happening after a major Windows 11 update. Could it be a Windows problem? Has anyone else encountered this?
@sd35k@sophie1@mal85
Can you each go to Help > About Anki – click “Copy Debug Info” and paste that here?
If you could each tell us something about the deck you’re trying to import, that would help too – subject-matter, publicly shared or private from a friend? (If it’s the same deck for all of you, that would be a silly clue to miss!)
I’m seeing this problem happen with any type of file: .colpkg, .apkg, .csv.
And update: it’s also happening when I try to export decks. I click File > Export, a file explorer dialog box opens, it freezes, and then it crashes and closes.
The only work-around I’ve found is to open Anki, then open a file explorer window (NOT through Anki) and double-click on the .apkg or .colpkg. Of course, that’s no help if I need to export something.
Thanks for your response. No, unfortunately changing the video driver didn’t help. That was one of the recommended troubleshooting steps. I went through all video driver options on my PC, one by one, re-starting the Anki each time – but still no luck.
Although the OP seems to have already disabled add-ons via safe mode, so it’s not directly related. The cause of the crash was that the add-on’s Always on top feature called QFileDialog when trying to display all QWidgets on top (e.g. eventFilter, .triggered.connect). So excluding QFileDialog resolved it. (I haven’t looked into Anki for desktop’s code so I don’t know the cause of the OP’s problem.)
Try to install any pending Windows updates (if available) and restart your PC
Try to Right click desktop > Personalise > Themes > Advanced Sound Settings > Sound Scheme: No Sounds as was suggested in https://www.windows10forums.com/threads/file-system-error-1073741819.2072/ and partly in https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3f9bqf/a_solution_to_those_having_file_system_error/
Try updating Anki to use the latest Qt version (6.10.2).
Close Anki.
Click the Start menu (or press the Win key) and paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\AnkiProgramFiles to open it in Windows Explorer (https://docs.ankiweb.net/files.html#program-files).
Seeing the same issue (same error message in terminal when exporting .apkg as seen by sd35k.)
I followed the steps as outlined in your prior message and still same result (Error: (-1073741819)).
Troubleshooting on behalf of my wife who is in the other room studying (: this is a such a great open source study tool. Glad there is such a solid support community for it as well.
