100% CPU Usage + Black Screen On Launch

[AhnzoVincente]

Product: Anthem
Platform: PC
Please specify your platform model: PC
AMD or Nvidia Model Number EVGA  RTX 2070 XC ULTRA
Enter RAM memory size in GB 16gb
Please select your region North America
Were you on an Expedition when the issue occurred? No
What Javelin were you using when the issue occurred? No
What type of Expedition were you on when the issue occurred? None
What was your Expedition team makeup? None
Where did this issue occur? Please include menu name or in game location. Origin Client, Launching Anthem game
When did this happen? (dd.mm.yy hh:mm) 19-12-2020 05:56 AM EST
Summarize your bug Upon launching game via desktop shortcut or in Origin desktop app "PLAY" button, a bordered window opens and a black screen appears and the window freezes. Then my CPU hits 100% usage for no reason and Task Manager states that Anthem.exe is using like 98% of the CPU.
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Launch the game via Origin client or Desktop Shortcut for the first time.
What happens when the bug occurs? Upon launching game via desktop shortcut or in Origin desktop app "PLAY" button, a bordered window opens and a black screen appears and the window freezes. Then my CPU hits 100% usage for no reason and Task Manager states that Anthem.exe is using like 98% of the CPU.
What should be happening instead? The game should launch as intended.

So back in early 2019, I think when the game was still in early access or something, I had bought my GPU and I got a free game code for Battlefield or Anthem. I entered the game code for Anthem and the game was then connected to my account and downloaded accordingly. I remember initially having issues receiving the code from the place I got the GPU from but I did get a code and it did give me a copy of the game. Well, unfortunately because life is utter chaos, I never got around to launching the game at all. Not even for an initial start up. 

Well I did today, and nothing happened. I opened Origin like I always do for Origin client games. Then clicked the desktop icon. Then a small window appeared, with a black fill, and then white text appeared like it was an options menu. Then this window disappeared and nothing happened. I maximize Origins and the PLAY button is greyed out like the game is running. I open task manager and it says Anthem is running and that my CPU usage is now at 100%. I quite the process in task manager and launched again. This time I got a bigger, almost full size bordered window open and it too was just all black. No sound played no loading indicator. It froze and I opened task manager again and it said 100% CPU usage again and Anthem was running. Origin's client says I've had the game open and played for 'less than an hour'.

I've tried repairing the game, deleting the .exe from the installation folder, which led to Origin thinking it was completely gone all together. There was no 'settings' folder in Documents/BioWare/Anthem. I have a few other "fixes" I've seen across the internet, but these are from early 2019 after a patch made in like February or so. I doubt they are still relevant or don't work anymore as the game seems to have updated since.

I don't know if it has to do with the code I was given or how I gained access. I just have the base version, so I don't have any of the extra add ons from the Origin store.

Attaching a screenshot of the one window I talked about.

[EA_Barry]

@AhnzoVincente 

To help ensure your GPU is actually being used, please try the following steps:

1. Check your monitor video cable is connected to your GPU rather than your motherboard video output port
2. Open the nvidia Control Panel
3. Click Manage 3D settings
4. Click the Program Settings tab
5. Click the Add button
6. Select the game from the list or click browse and navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Anthem\Anthem.exe
7. Select Anthem.exe and then Open
8. Customise individual settings if you like
9. Exit nvidia control panel and try playing.

Thanks.

[AhnzoVincente]

@EA_Barry both of my monitors are connected directly to my GPU via display port cables.

Anthem has already been added through the Nvidia control panel when I attempted to do that fix as well.

I also tried changing the language, as an older post on Reddit mentioned that.

Repaired the game several times, uninstalled and tried again and nothing so far unfortunately

[zipman1313]

Hey @AhnzoVincente.

I am dealing similar issues and have been researching things. If you want to know what I have found. DM me on discord (reference you posted on EA) and I can share what I have found.

Discord user: zipman_13#8784

[Valhalla-strider]

Hi @zipman1313  if you have time it would be nice of you to share some here so it can help more players...

[AhnzoVincente]

Dude just share it here. You’re not helping by trying to hide it this way. It’ll help others trying to deal with it.

[AhnzoVincente]

@EA_Barry
You never got back to me, it's been several months. I know there's some stuff going on with the future of Anthem and that's fine but the fact I can't even play the game at all currently despite WANTING to, is disheartening. I tried all the fixes you provided and it didn't fix anything. My specs are well within range of the recommended specs for Anthem. I can't help support the game during this time with a show of loyalty if I can't even launch the game at all and if the game just freezes my PC. Please help, I want to enjoy this game so much, it looks wonderful, I hate to be missing out for something I can't fix.

[ChiraaKitteh]

@AhnzoVincenteTry clean booting your Windows PC. The purpose is to try to determine if something is running that is interfering with the game starting.

https://help.ea.com/en/help/faq/how-to-clean-boot-your-pc/

[AhnzoVincente]

@ChiraaKitteh @EA_Barry So I did a clean boot and the game DID launch. I changed settings in the game accordingly. I started the game until I got to the part where you're asked to go for a female or male voice. After my selection I exited the game and quit Origin.

Then after that I changed the boot settings back to normal and restarted my PC. I tried launching Anthem again but got the same problem I have been encountering this whole time. It just wouldn't work.

As much as I want to play the game, I'm not to keen on doing a clean boot EVERY TIME I want to launch the game. Plus then I can't use like half my peripherals either. I have only a few startup programs that I need to run peripherals. Other than that there are tons of programs but none that should inhibit launching a game so I am at a complete loss how to fix this issue. Any other ideas?

What seems to happen is it takes forever for the game window to open after I click the game. Then a bordered window opens and that's the black screen I get stuck on. When in clean boot the same thing happens but the window moves to full screen then closes then opens back up in window mode, and then the studio intro plays and I get to the main menu where I changed the graphics settings.

[ChiraaKitteh]

@AhnzoVincenteThe point of the clean boot is troubleshooting if some other startup program is causing the problem. It could be a driver or other program that works in the background. Probably, one of the peripheral drivers is interfering. Normally, what you would do the clean boot, turn everything off then start adding back the startup programs a few at a time. Then, when you restart and the game doesn’t work, you know one of them is the issue. The Anthem devs can’t account for every program of this type, just too many permutations. Sometimes you can update a driver that causes this sort of issue. Sometimes you can quit the particular background program and just launch it again after you’re finished playing.

You don’t necessarily need to do a clean boot every time, but it might take some sleuthing to figure out the issue. 

Just don’t tell you friends you’ve fixed this sort of problem... they will ask you to fix their computers all the time. 😉