PC hangs after startup, windows frozen, explorer crashes, blue screen

This is a long description but any help would be very appreciated.

A few weeks ago my PC has been struggling to boot up normally with no obvious cause.

What I mean by "boot normally": I would be able to login and then start opening windows a few seconds after with no issues except with a bit of delay which is to be expected at startup, and I would not have any issues with my computer after which.

But I think after a windows update which I think didn't install right - I'm not to sure if that is the cause but I think it's the most likely - my computer keeps experiencing a huge delay after the login screen.

What I think may have caused these series of issues is when I was prompted to install a windows update but something was off. Typically I get the two options: "Update and shutdown" and "Update and restart" but this time I only got the option for restarting. I thought ok maybe it needs an immediate restart to finish installing? So anyway I did so but after rebooting the option remained. I also didn't get the configure message after the restart. It normally says it's configuring the update before shutting off and after powering back on.

Since then - again I think - this is when I have been experiencing problems.

I'll login just fine, get to the desktop which loads just fine but then I can't open anything. Task manager? Nope. My taskbar highlighting-graphic-thing will freeze over a icon and not update, Control + Alt + delete won't open the menu and then maybe after a few seconds everything will go blue which indicates that explorer has crashed. So it's kinda like explorer is not responding after logging in even if I let the computer sit at the desktop and not press anything.

Sometimes I can open task manager and a few things work but after a while it'll just freeze and all windows will stop responding. I have had some instances where it has been able to recover but that has only happened a few times.

The only solid way of resolving this is manually shutting off and on again.

What have I done to resolve this? A lot.

I've tried using "sfc /scannow" in command prompt (as an admin) and the first time it did say that there were corrupted files so I used "DISM" to fix this. I confirmed with "sfc" after and the corrupted files were fixed. But this didn't resolve it.

I've tried installing newer windows updates. Nope.

I've tried booting in safe mode and the freeze doesn't occur but I'm still not sure on how I can identify the problem.

I've tried using troubleshooting methods with repair and that but that hasn't worked.

So in desperation I did a windows reset (not a complete reinstall but resetting windows whilst keeping files) and at first I thought it fixed the issues as I restarted my PC a few times without the issue, but then I got the blue screen of death.

It stated that the PC ran into problems and would be restarted. It also said it was collecting data (but it never did) and after the restart it wouldn't boot. The underscore / cursor that appears before the windows logo was blinking continuously where I then hard reset and now it's been working fine.

I can't understand why it keeps freezing after startup. Just to clarify I can still move my mouse cursor around but nothing will react to my mouse presses and like I said, windows and programs that are open will stop responding.

Any thoughts on how I could resolve this? Thank you.

Greetings & Welcome to TenForums:

First, do you happen to remember what the BSOD error message was that was presented within the BSOD?

Second, what version of windows 10 do you have? Pro / Home?



Third, when was the last time you updated your windows drivers?

I use Auslogics' Driver Update. However, The Windows Club's Best Free Driver Update List lists some good free driver updaters to try.


Fourth, how did you use the DISM and the SFC /scannow commands. Did you use them with the your Windows drive mounted or unmounted? Meaning did you set to run these commands so that your computer can scan your drive upon boot up?

These two TenForums Tutorials by Brink might help you out:

Run SFC Command in Windows 10

Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image


Fifth, when you downloaded your ISO for the Windows 10 Update are you positive it was not a bad image? You might want to try and redownload the Windows 10 ISO image from Microsoft Download again to make sure. You can use the Media Creation Tool that Microsoft has available on its page or you can spoof your USER AGENT and directly download use a Virtual Drive ISO mounting program that you can open the ISO like a DVD and then use RUFUS to create a bootable USB, if necessary.

Warning: If you decide to use a bootable USB and restart your computer from that drive you are then going to attempt a clean installation of Windows 10 and will loose your installed programs!

However, the latter still lists the May 2019 Windows 10 Update.



Sixth, you might also want to try a clean boot and see if you can troublshoot your issues WITHOUT reinstalling Windows 10 first by following Brink's tutorial:

Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts



Well, I hope one of these suggestions helps you in your endeavor. Good Luck.



Cheers!

Try the SFC and DISM commands as noted above. You could try a repair install which preserves your programs and files Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

Do you have a backup to recover from? I use Macrium Reflect Free and can recover to a working state in about 10 minutes.

Steve C said:

Try the SFC and DISM commands as noted above. You could try a repair install which preserves your programs and files Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

Do you have a backup to recover from? I use Macrium Reflect Free and can recover to a working state in about 10 minutes.

I am going to try this and see if this fixes it.

For more information, upon turning on my computer today it did not freeze but my mouse is not working as its "Device Descriptor Request Failed". I had this before I reset my PC and it fixed the issue but I guess it's still apparent now.

- - - Updated - - -

Sawuwaya said:

Greetings & Welcome to TenForums:

First, do you happen to remember what the BSOD error message was that was presented within the BSOD?

Second, what version of windows 10 do you have? Pro / Home?



Third, when was the last time you updated your windows drivers?

I use Auslogics' Driver Update. However, The Windows Club's Best Free Driver Update List lists some good free driver updaters to try.


Fourth, how did you use the DISM and the SFC /scannow commands. Did you use them with the your Windows drive mounted or unmounted? Meaning did you set to run these commands so that your computer can scan your drive upon boot up?

These two TenForums Tutorials by Brink might help you out:

Run SFC Command in Windows 10

Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image


Fifth, when you downloaded your ISO for the Windows 10 Update are you positive it was not a bad image? You might want to try and redownload the Windows 10 ISO image from Microsoft Download again to make sure. You can use the Media Creation Tool that Microsoft has available on its page or you can spoof your USER AGENT and directly download use a Virtual Drive ISO mounting program that you can open the ISO like a DVD and then use RUFUS to create a bootable USB, if necessary.

Warning: If you decide to use a bootable USB and restart your computer from that drive you are then going to attempt a clean installation of Windows 10 and will loose your installed programs!

However, the latter still lists the May 2019 Windows 10 Update.



Sixth, you might also want to try a clean boot and see if you can troublshoot your issues WITHOUT reinstalling Windows 10 first by following Brink's tutorial:

Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 10 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts



Well, I hope one of these suggestions helps you in your endeavor. Good Luck.



Cheers!

The BSOD message said "Your pc ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some error info ... 0%". This % never increased and then it restarted and was unable to boot (blinking cursor.)

I am running Windows 10 Home.

I looked through the SFC and DISM links but I'm still not sure on how to do what you suggested.

I didn't download a Windows 10 Update ISO. I said I updated windows via windows itself (updating when restarting) so it was an automatically update that was present on my machine and not one that I downloaded myself.

I will try performing a clean boot.

Some probable issues may be:

1. RAM issue
2. Motherboard
3. Processor
4. Faulty OS

I'd faced a bit similar issue on my old system and it was because of processor and motherboard.

Update.

My PC is no longer experiencing the freezing issue but I am now experiencing another annoying issue that I can't seem to resolve.

Every time I turn on my computer my mouse will not turn on. I check device manager and it says "Device Descriptor Request Failed". It does this every time I turn on the computer regardless if it's plugged in after or during boot up. Does anyone know why this could be happening? And a way of fixing this as well. Also to note I plug the mouse into my laptop and I have the same issue, but I know for a fact that the mouse works as I've been able to use it normally after I get it to work. So is it the mouse or just my computer?

One a side-note, when my pc is booting up, I use to see the cursor blink a bit in the top left corner of my monitor and then disappear showing the windows logo (indicating that windows is beginning to load). Now the cursor blinks in the top left corner, then goes to the middle of the monitor (not quite middle but close) and then back up to the top left and then the logo shows. This doesn't seem to be a massive issue as my computer still functions but was just wondering what this could mean?