Stuck too on wolf logo (game doesn't boot)

[naraku666]

First of all can I say that this is very odd I've played the first witcher game with the same setup and it runs fantastic I just finished it yesterday.

Now I want to play the next installment and the game remains stuck on the wolf logo.
I've tried to set the compatibility to WIndos 7 I've tried to lower CPU count with Affinity through a custom link (run in administrator mode), I even tried to launch it through GOG but still the same result nothing.

(In Win 7 modus the launcher loops)

System specs:

CPU: AMD 5950X
mem: 32Gb
Video: Nvidia 3080 RTX
Mobo: Asus x570-plus
OS: WIndows 10 21H2

[rainysk]

Witcher not working (help)

when i start game it shows me only head of wolf but game isn´t starting.. Help someone please (i have it from cd key)

[RPC263]

Originally posted by Rainy ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.net:

when i start game it shows me only head of wolf but game isn´t starting.. Help someone please (i have it from cd key)

So the game doesnt come?

[Full_Metal_Raiden]

I found a solution that helped me to get the game run:

- Start the game like normal in Steam and the Witcher 2 Launcher appears

- While the launcher is open, go to the Task Manager

- in the tasks/processes, right klick on ''The Witcher 2 Launcher Application'' and select ''Go to details''

- now right klick on ''Launcher.exe'' (has the Witcher logo) and select ''Set affiliation'' (its under ''priorities'')

- now ONLY select CPU 0, 1, 2 and 3. The others should be deactivated.

- when this is done, just close the task manager and go back to the Witcher 2 launcher that is still open and running.

- in the Witcher 2 launcher, select ''Start Game'' and wait about 10 seconds. The game should start now :)

I hope this works also for other people who had the same issue like me :)

[Full_Metal_Raiden]

Oh and before that deactivate any kompatible modes like Win7 or any other. Also start as a admin is also not needed.

[naraku666]

thanks for the reply but alas it's still is stuck at the logo with with only 4 cores active for this appplication

[ThunderPipe]

for me changing nothing but following that process and only turning off the very last core worked. took about 3 hours of searching for fixes.. only thing annoying is turning the core off everytime before you play but at least you get to play it now.

[ThunderPipe]

i also have an amd 5950x, 32Gb mem, windows 10 and an amd 6800 xt

[naraku666]

Originally posted by ThunderPipe:

for me changing nothing but following that process and only turning off the very last core worked. took about 3 hours of searching for fixes.. only thing annoying is turning the core off everytime before you play but at least you get to play it now.

Alas still nothing thank you for the reply though

[naraku666]

Got something new now an error message:
Script compilation error
There were errors compiling scripts. Unable to rune game.
Maybe some selected user packages are incompatible?

game\quests\quest_functions.ws[2283]: parse error near '{'
game\scenes\scene_functions.ws[1795]: parse error near '{'

But all the DLC stuff is already disabled weird!

[Karax]

Hmm, this is all strange, have you tried verifying game integrity, or fresh install of the game?

Also, make sure you have all the dependencies you need for the game to run, ie...drivers, libraries etc..

[Gorlami]

Originally posted by Full_Metal_Raiden:

I found a solution that helped me to get the game run:

- Start the game like normal in Steam and the Witcher 2 Launcher appears

- While the launcher is open, go to the Task Manager

- in the tasks/processes, right klick on ''The Witcher 2 Launcher Application'' and select ''Go to details''

- now right klick on ''Launcher.exe'' (has the Witcher logo) and select ''Set affiliation'' (its under ''priorities'')

- now ONLY select CPU 0, 1, 2 and 3. The others should be deactivated.

- when this is done, just close the task manager and go back to the Witcher 2 launcher that is still open and running.

- in the Witcher 2 launcher, select ''Start Game'' and wait about 10 seconds. The game should start now :)

I hope this works also for other people who had the same issue like me :)

BROOOOOO YOU ARE GOD, THX SO MUCH

[Andy Gilleand]

Originally posted by Full_Metal_Raiden:

I found a solution that helped me to get the game run:

- Start the game like normal in Steam and the Witcher 2 Launcher appears

- While the launcher is open, go to the Task Manager

- in the tasks/processes, right klick on ''The Witcher 2 Launcher Application'' and select ''Go to details''

- now right klick on ''Launcher.exe'' (has the Witcher logo) and select ''Set affiliation'' (its under ''priorities'')

- now ONLY select CPU 0, 1, 2 and 3. The others should be deactivated.

- when this is done, just close the task manager and go back to the Witcher 2 launcher that is still open and running.

- in the Witcher 2 launcher, select ''Start Game'' and wait about 10 seconds. The game should start now :)

I hope this works also for other people who had the same issue like me :)

Worked for me too. Seems the game was designed for 4 cores and doesn't launch well with systems that have more. After it launched I was able to turn on all cores again and the game seemed to run fine, although I only played for a little bit.

[Kelen Thaedrin]

High Core Count CPU's v.s. Older games.
Many older games that where introduced around the Windows 7 era were still limited in thread count by developers and the most common denominators for hardware. As such sometimes the older programs/games do not properly detect the newer hardware and have issues like insta-crash or hang during initialization.

Most time you can correct this by limiting the amount of CPU threads the program sees.

Option 1: Limit the whole system via MSConfig to reduce the cores available. This will affect everything not just the program/game.

Open MSConfig "System Configuration" from start menu.

Change to the 'Boot' Tab and select 'Advanced Options'

Check Number of Processors and set to the desired amount

Apply/OK the menus and reboot.

Option 2: Set CPU affinity for the program through task manager. This will limit the cores available but must be done every time you start the program/game. (There are programs that handle affinity profiles but many have mixed reviews)

Start the Launcher and open Task Manager.

Under Processes select the launcher, right click and go to details.
(You can always just start in the details view but more items to sift through)

Once in the details view right click the launcher and 'Set Affinity'.
As noted above limit your processor selection.
(NOTE: This menu lets you choose what specific core/threads to use so you can assign your higher performing cores once you've taken the time to figure that out.)

[Why target the launcher and not witcher2.exe ? Because witcher2.exe becomes a sub process and inherits the limitations of the launcher and you might not get witcher2.exe to stay open long enough to tag the affinity value.]

Option 3: Patch it with the "Processor Count Lie"
To make a compatibility patch Using Windows Assessment and Deployment Tool Kit (Application Compatibility Tools/Compatibility Administrator).

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

[You can deselect the other tools during install]

Open the version that matches the games "bitness" (is that a word?) 32/64
(Its 32-bit for witcher2.exe)

Hit the fix button (Gear icon)

Give it a name and point it to the game folder and 'witcher2.exe'

Skip the Compatibility 'Modes' section by hitting next.

In Compatibility 'Fixes' select "ProcessorCountLie" then 'parameters' and under Command Line put '16' or less. (16 as most 8-core/16-thread CPU's work just fine, can always set lower).

Save the database, suggest placing under the games folder.

From the 'File' Menu select install.

Next time you launch the game should work and wont need to set affinity or play with MSConfig settings. You have essentially just installed a patch to the game. It is possible that you may need to uninstall it a remake if a newer version update comes down but for older games that unlikely. The patch will show under your installed programs list as whatever you named it during creation and can always be uninstalled.

[White Lion]

Originally posted by Full_Metal_Raiden:

I found a solution that helped me to get the game run:

- Start the game like normal in Steam and the Witcher 2 Launcher appears

- While the launcher is open, go to the Task Manager

- in the tasks/processes, right klick on ''The Witcher 2 Launcher Application'' and select ''Go to details''

- now right klick on ''Launcher.exe'' (has the Witcher logo) and select ''Set affiliation'' (its under ''priorities'')

- now ONLY select CPU 0, 1, 2 and 3. The others should be deactivated.

- when this is done, just close the task manager and go back to the Witcher 2 launcher that is still open and running.

- in the Witcher 2 launcher, select ''Start Game'' and wait about 10 seconds. The game should start now :)

I hope this works also for other people who had the same issue like me :)

OMG !!! Thank God people like you exist!!!

Last year, I was still using Windows 7. I already have 16 physical core CPU and 32 GB RAM too. It was working perfectly in Windows 7. This year, I install Windows 11. Suddenly the game does not work at all. Always stuck on the wolf logo, although in Task Manager it is showing CPU activity and memory loaded. I've spent days and even weeks troubleshooting the issue, including verify file integrity, uninstall + fresh install, change compatibility settings, allow administrator access, removing mods, etc. Nothing work. But your solution instantly work!

Out of 32 cores, I only activated 31 cores for the launcher. Then the game magically work perfectly again. Thanks a lot man !!! You're my savior !!!

I'm so happy, because I love this game so much.

[76561198866399170]

Originally posted by Full_Metal_Raiden:

I found a solution that helped me to get the game run:

- Start the game like normal in Steam and the Witcher 2 Launcher appears

- While the launcher is open, go to the Task Manager

- in the tasks/processes, right klick on ''The Witcher 2 Launcher Application'' and select ''Go to details''

- now right klick on ''Launcher.exe'' (has the Witcher logo) and select ''Set affiliation'' (its under ''priorities'')

- now ONLY select CPU 0, 1, 2 and 3. The others should be deactivated.

- when this is done, just close the task manager and go back to the Witcher 2 launcher that is still open and running.

- in the Witcher 2 launcher, select ''Start Game'' and wait about 10 seconds. The game should start now :)

I hope this works also for other people who had the same issue like me :)

thanks a lot bro