Windows keeps Freezing + Black screen every couple of seconds

Hello everyone,

TL;DR: After building a new PC and installing Windows 10, the system freezes for 20-60s with a brief black screen at the end after every 5-10 seconds of "normal" usability. Needless to say, the system is not usable like this. I've tried many things and I cannot even pin-point the source (hardware or software) of the issue.

As mentioned above, Windows runs fine for a 5-10 seconds and then all mouse / keyboard input is ignored (mouse can still be moved) for another 5 seconds followed by a complete freeze for 30-40s. At the end is a brief black screen, after which everything is fine again for another 5-10 seconds. Then the cycle repeats. No suspicious activities in the task manager.

The problem appears regularly even without running any tasks. However, I feel it gets worse when you run a task or start a programm or two.

Due to my efforts below, the only causes I can think of are an issue with the very old graphics card or maybe an issue with the CPU and SSDs? I am lost, to be honest.

Below are my hardware configurations and the things I've tried so far. I would be more than thankful for any help or even idea that I could try.
Best regards!

Hardware (all new except old GPU form 2012)

Motherboard: ASUS B450-F ROG STRIX
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700x
RAM: 2x Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT 660
SSD: WD Blue M.2 SSD 2280 1TB
PSU: Corsair RM550x

History/Tried fix and result:

Issue appeared during windows setup (before first desktop), after resolution went up during the windows set-up process.
Get all Windows Updates - did not solve the issue
Get AMD update via ASUS Grid software - did not solve the issue
Activate Windows 10 and run updates again - did not solve the issue
Running RAM Test (normal settings: 2 Tests) - Passed successfully
Getting WDC Dashboard for SSD status /driver - Everything fine. However, sometimes, during loading of the program, the freeze etc. is triggered and the program remains blank afterwards as it seems to be unable to load the SSD data
Getting Nvidia experience program for latest driver - did not solve the issue
BIOS update on ASUS Board - did not solve the issue

Checked compatibility of M.2 SSD with mother board. Should be fine.
Checked slots for RAM in motherboard again and mechanical issues (everything plugged in tightly etc) overall.
Changing power plan in settings to not suspend the drive - setting value from 30min to 240min (found that in a forum) - did not solve the issue

Rebooted without mouse and keyboard plugged in (i.e. without USB devices plugged in) - did not solve the issue
Using an older 750W Power supply - did not solve the issue
During one of the many trips to the UEFI, I tried the auto-tune (i.e. automated overclocking settings) of CPU and RAM. The SSD was not found afterwards, and I had to revert to default settings. Maybe hinting to an issue with CPU and SSD?
Removing and installing the SSD completely - did not solve the issue
Using an older SSD (Crucial 128GB), reinstalling Windows - issue there again, however, not during Windows setup (stayed in low resolution). Started happening on desktop (on automated full resolution) immediately again.

The following was tried on the old SSD and hence all above steps (new drivers etc.) are not yet installed!
Via reg file, add AHCI link power management settings option to power settings in order to turn off LPM (found that in a forum) - did not solve the issue
Lowered resolution to 800x600 - did not solve the issue
Removed graphics card driver to use windows graphic driver - did not solve the issue (I am not sure if I did that right though, as it reverted to some sort of Nvidia driver after all)

Thank you in advance for everybody who reads this. I hope I was detailed enough.
Best regards,
Max

dalchina said:

Hi,
a. Does the problem occur in Safe Mode?

b. You could capture all activity and, noting the time as accurately as you can when the problem occurs, inspect the activity log to see what was happening then using
Procmon (Process monitor)
- free from MS.

You can apply (techinical) filters to the log to eliminate and simplify - the log includes everything from registry accesses upwards.

c. Eliminate and simplify- remove any unnecessary hardware, perform a clean boot. Does the same problem occur?

d. Boot from a known live boot disk and see if the same occurs.

Hey dalchina,

thank you so much for your reply!

In the mean time, I've tried reinstalling (clean install) the graphics driver and calling

Sfc /ScanNow
Dism /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth

in the command line. That did not help either.

Everything is fine in safe mode (with network). No issues there. Thank you for the tip. I completely forgot safe mode....

I'll try Procmoc next and post the result here,

Best regards

dalchina said:

Whilst you can post the log, it's likely to be huge- really that's for you to review - remember you need to know the time the problem occurs so you can focus on the log around that time.

Then look for any kind of repetition or pattern.

Consider that in Safe Mode a lot of drivers aren't loaded, also 3rd party programs.
Next step would be a clean boot and try to compare the two if you then see the same problem.
If not, there's another clue.

Safe Mode uses a basic graphics driver.

Hey dalchina,

thanks again for the tipp.

The freezing gets unbearable when running ProcMon. If I'm fast enough with the 5 seconds of normal usability, I can get it running with a filter. When it freezes with ProcMon running, it either crashes or freezes for 5-10 minutes. Only to run again for 5 seconds.

I tried that for an hour and I think, a Nvidia programm is always on the list (of the 5 minutes) after a crash.

When doing a clean boot, i.e. disable all services in msconfig, the issue remains, no matter which combination of services are enabled or disabled.

As I've already tried to use the latest Nvidia driver, do you have any idea, what I could do please?

I'm currently in the event viewer and it seems that there is an error related to an unknown describtion which occurs after all freezes with a short black screen. However, the entry reads something regarding a Video device.
Event-ID 14
Source nvlddmkm
[...] \Device\Video3

Best regards
Max

MaxLampe said:

Issue appeared during windows setup (before first desktop), after resolution went up during the windows set-up process.

from your original post, you mentioned the above. this is from when installation of window and/or just after installation of windows?

sounds like an issue of a possible SSD running too hot might be causing a problem similar to this. install hwinfo and check the temp of your NVMe SSD.

also since you have older hardware doesn't hurt to try testing each one

install a fresh window without any graphics driver, let it use onboard mobo or dgpu VGA see if this problem persist. if it does only after a graphic driver is installed its likely the GPU.

Have you tried this##(SOLVED) WIN 10 freezes randomly / black screen

The gtx 660 is too old and ---nvlddmkm--- is the clue.
If you are able,check Reliability History and the entries should show ---nvlddmkm---as a recurring fault.
As Win 10 keeps changing,using old hardware becomes more problematical.
Win XP used a CD for installation,Win 7 a DVD and Win 10 an 8gb USB stick.The resource requirement went upwards accordingly.