Strange Windows Freezing without an obvious cause

Splittingskull1 · 08 May 2018

I am running Windows 10 Pro x64 and it seems to just randomly freeze, it happens more commonly if my front USB ports have Removable storage for some reason. Ive run Advanced Memory scans, HDD tests, and CPU tests, but no issues are ever found. There is never a BSOD, but it just displays a frozen screen and i have to Hold the power button to turn the PC off. Ive reinstalled Windows 10 Pro x64 Multiple times with no improvement. I Would Highly Appreciate it if this problem could be solved. It is hard to Develop Source Games when the PC Freezes Randomly.

Specs:
8GB 1333MHz ddr3 Ram - Memory
AMD FX-8350 (Black Edition) - CPU
MSI 970A-G43 - Motherboard
EVGA GTX 770 (2GB) - GPU
Corsair 1000hx PSU (1000w) - Power Supply

zenchi · 09 May 2018

i've had the same problems with random freezing, but specifically when i would try to close a program, or move the mouse to the taskbar. what seems to have worked for me since updating to 1803 as a clean install is a tip i picked up in gHacks that was a work around for a chrome freezing issue. i tried this when i had a freeze 2 days in and i've been freeze free ever since. (5 days). when your screen locks up, try pressing windows key + Alt + Shift + B. apparently this resets the graphics driver. it takes a few seconds to do its stuff. don't know if it works with a video card. anyway, seems to be working for me, so it may work for other random lock ups. hope this is useful. good luck.

pepanee · 10 May 2018

zenchi
Hey what you said is pretty interesting. I never knew there's a key combination that resets the Graphics Card. I tried it multiple times, yet I don't see a difference as I type all 4 keys together (screen doesn't glitch or anything noticeable):

Left Windows Key + Left Alt + Left Shift + B

In the past, I've had issues that I was able to narrow down that Google Chrome was causing my computer to freeze up and respond very slowly. (Example: If I click the Start button, it takes about 45 seconds until I see the Start menu load up completely).

Callender · 10 May 2018

pepanee said:

zenchi
Hey what you said is pretty interesting. I never knew there's a key combination that resets the Graphics Card. I tried it multiple times, yet I don't see a difference as I type all 4 keys together (screen doesn't glitch or anything noticeable):

Left Windows Key + Left Alt + Left Shift + B

Win+Ctrl+Shift+B works for me. Press and hold down in order. Never knew that it restarts graphics driver.

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/restar...ver-windows-10

essenbe · 10 May 2018

Restart Graphics Driver of Display Adapter in Windows 8 and Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

pepanee · 10 May 2018

Callender & essenbe

That's freaking Awesome!! I just tried your combination (I guess zenchi accidentally typed "Alt" instead of "Ctrl", yet he intended to say "Ctrl"), and it worked!

Control + Windows Key + Shift + B

The screen turned black for a split second, and I heard a beep through my headphones! That is such a good implemented idea that Microsoft put into the Windows Operating System that I didn't know about. But now I do!

Hopefully I can get one of those very rare and lame "freeze" instances, so I can try this key combination on it.

zenchi · 10 May 2018

that's exactly what i intended. i should have pasted it in!!! when i did this, i couldn't recall the exact combo and couldn't get to the info, so i pressed all the mentioned keys, but yes it should be Ctrl rather than Alt. I sit corrected. glad it did something in the end.

pepanee · 11 May 2018

zenchi said:

that's exactly what i intended. i should have pasted it in!!! when i did this, i couldn't recall the exact combo and couldn't get to the info, so i pressed all the mentioned keys, but yes it should be Ctrl rather than Alt. I sit corrected. glad it did something in the end.

=)
Don't worry about it! But thanks so much for responding. It's good to see people come back to confirm information.
Hold on to that trait; it's a good quality to keep. =)

eLPuSHeR · 11 May 2018

Nice to know. It sure will come in handy. Thanks everyone.

Splittingskull1 · 13 May 2018

Problem for me is, when it freezes, NOTHING responds. so doing this has no effect. ive tried it and it works while its unfrozen, but when it freezes, i can't even move the mouse or anything.