Many users have reported recently that they are facing issues with their PCs following a Windows 10 update. The system would either freeze or crash suddenly, and only rebooting makes the issue go away. But even after the reboot, the PC would suddenly again crash down. If you are also facing this issue, then this article will definitely help you out.
We have listed out all the possible solutions that can solve this PC crash or freeze issue. Many Windows 10 users clean installed Windows 10 all over again, and if nothing works for you, then you should go for that method too. However, before cleaning out every system file on your PC, give all the other solutions a try too. One of these solutions might actually prove to be the solution for you.
How to fix PC freeze and crash issue after Windows 10 Update?
The most probable cause behind this issue is that your drivers are probably non-compatible with this build of Windows. It can even be an application that is no longer compatible, and while trying to start up, it is crashing every time.
Update your graphics/video drivers:
Graphics or video drivers are the first and most probable cause behind every driver incompatibility issue. So that is what we will check as the first fix.
Press and hold Windows Key + X and choose “Device Manager” from the list of options.
Expand Display adapters in the device manager windows and right-click on your graphics card’s name.
Choose “Update Driver.”
Choose “Search automatically for updated driver.”
Follow the on-screen instructions and install the driver update that shows up.
If you don’t see any files for an update in this way, then try updating your graphics driver from your manufacturer’s website. Search for your PC model’s drivers and download the latest version of the graphics/video driver you find there. Then install it and restart your computer.
If you still face sudden crash and freeze issues with your Windows 10 system, then move on to the next potential solution.
Update your audio drivers:
Incompatible audio drivers could also be the cause behind your issue.
Press and hold Windows Key + X and choose “Device Manager” from the list of options.
Expand Audio inputs and outputs in the device manager window and right-click on your audio device’s name.
Choose “Update Driver.”
Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software.”
Follow the on-screen instructions and install the driver update that shows up.
If you don’t see any files for an update in this way, then try updating your audio driver from your manufacturer’s website. Just like the previous method, search for your PC model’s drivers and download the latest version of the audio driver you find there. Then install it and restart your computer.
If the problem persists, try the next solution.
Clean Boot your Windows:
If your system is accustomed to heavy usage, clean booting helps eliminate most issues and even improves the system’s performance. So surely give clean booting a try too.
Press and hold Windows key + R, and the Run dialog box will show up.
Enter “msconfig” in the Run dialog box and click on Ok.
The system configuration window will show up. Click on the services tab.
Here, check “Hide All Microsoft Services” in the bottom left corner of the window.
Click on “Disable All.”
Click on Apply and then Ok.
The system will prompt you to restart your computer. Choose to restart later.
Press and hold Windows key + R, and the Run dialog box will show up again.
Enter “msconfig” in the Run dialog box and click on Ok.
The system configuration window will show up again. This time click on the startup tab.
Select “Open Task Manager.”
Take a look at the last field called Start-Up Impact, and disable all the ones with High Impact. To disable them, right-click on them and choose disable. This will only prevent these services from starting up when you reboot your system. You can restart these services by opening up the startup tab again and choosing enable after right-clicking on each of these disabled services.
Now restart your computer, and it will boot up in clean boot mode.
If you are still encountering PC freeze and crash issues on your Windows 10 system, then move on to the next solution mentioned below.
Reset the Winsock Catalog:
Click on the search bar and search for “Command Prompt.”
Once it shows up in the results, choose “Run as an administrator.”
Once the command prompt window shows up, enter “netsh winsock reset” and press Enter key.
Let the process complete, and then reboot the PC.
Now, if you are still facing PC freeze or crash issues, move on to the next solution.
Uninstall incompatible programs:
This is not a unique windows issue, and many people have reported that they were able to fix this issue by simply uninstalling some applications. As mentioned above, some applications may run incompatible with the new build of Windows, and they could be the reason behind the system crashing down. So we have listed out three potential applications which could be the cause behind your problem.
- Speccy.
- Acronis True Image (2015).
- Kaspersky.
If you have any of these applications installed on your computer, then uninstall them right away. If you face the same screen freeze and crash issue even after uninstalling these applications, try the next solution.
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Turn Off Link State Power Management:
Link State Power Management or LSPM is a battery-saving feature that works in two modes. Firstly, there is Moderate Power Savings that saves less power but recovers quickly from the sleep state. Secondly, Maximum Power Savings saves more power, but the time to recover from the sleep state is increased.
Some users have reported that disabling this feature entirely has solved the sudden screen freeze and crash issue on their systems. So give this a try on your PC too.
Press and hold the Windows Key + R. It will open up the Run dialog box.
Enter “powercfg.cpl” and click on Ok.
Click on”Change Plan Settings” for your active plan.
Select Change Advance Power Settings.
Go to PCI Express and expand it. Here, expand Link State Power Management and turn it Off entirely.
Finally, click on OK.
Now, restart your computer and check whether the issue on your system is resolved or not. If you still encounter PC crashes and freezes, move on to the next potential solution.
Turn Off Fast Startup:
- Press and hold Windows Key + X and choose “Power Options” from the list of options.
- Click on “Additional Power settings.”
- Then go to “Choose what the power buttons do.”
- Click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable.”
- You will see “Turn on fast Startup” with a check next to it under shutdown settings. Disable it and click on Save changes.
If that does not solve your PC freeze and crash issue, try the next solution.
Increase your Virtual memory:
Virtual memory acts as additional memory for the system when the computer’s actual physical memory runs out of space. To make up for the RAM’s low space, virtual memory takes some TEMP storage from the hard disk and uses it up as RAM.
Many people have reported that simply increasing the virtual memory to free up the RAM has done wonders on their systems to solve sudden PC freeze and crash issues. So definitely give this a try.
- Press and hold the Windows Key + R. It will open up the Run dialog box.
- Enter “sysdm.cpl” and click on Ok.
- Then go to the Advanced tab and click on “Settings.”
- Go to the next Advanced tab and then click on “Changed.”
- Uncheck the option “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.”
- Select “Custom Size.”
- Then set the “Initial size” and “Maximum size” by yourself. The sizes you set in here should be in accordance with the Recommended size below.
- Click on Ok.
Your system will prompt you to restart the computer. Do so and check whether the PC freeze issue is resolved or not. If you are still facing the same issue, try the next solution.
Turn Off Location services:
Whenever there is an issue in Windows 10, the system tries to report it to Microsoft Windows. For that, the system requires access to location services. But turning off location services completely did help many users to fix the PC freeze or crash issue.
- Press and hold Windows Key + X and choose “Settings” from the list of options.
- Click on “Privacy.”
- Then click on the “Location” tab.
- In the right pane, turn off the location, and you are done.
Now check whether your PC freeze and crash issue is resolved or not. If you are still encountering the same issue, go on to the next solution mentioned below.
Restoring your system:
Restoring your system will restore your files and settings to a previous point. Since the crash issue showed up after a Windows update, restoring to a previous build may be able to solve your problem.
Click on the search bar and search for “system restore.”
Click on “Create a restore point.”
In the system protection tab, click on “System Restore.”
The system restore wizard window will show up. Click on Next here.
A list of all restore points in your system will show up. Choose the one with a date when your system did not have the crash issue and click on Next.
Finally, click on Yes and confirm your action.
After the restore is done, your system will go back to its previous settings. Now, if you still encounter the screen crash and freeze issue, move on to the next solution.
Remove Temporary Files:
The temporary files created by the applications installed on your computer can sometimes cause the PC to feel slow. These files could be the reason behind your PC crash issue too. These are not important system files, so delete all of them and then check whether the issue is resolved or not.
Press Windows Key + R, and it will open the Run dialog box.
Enter “Temp” in the Run dialog box and click on Ok.
Select all the files that you see in the window that pops up and press Shift + Delete keys to delete all these files permanently.
Now try using your system like usual again. If you encounter a freeze or crash issue, go on to the next solution mentioned below.
Run Disk Check:
Your hard disk might be at fault, too, if you are facing frequent screen freeze issues. So perform a check on your hard disk and check if there are any errors there.
Open “This PC” in the File Explorer.
Right-click on the disk where all your system files are stored and click on “Properties.”
Under the “Tools” tab, click on the “Check” button in Error checking.
Next, choose to Scan the drive and repair it if any issues are found.
Click on Show Details once the scan is complete.
If there are no errors, you will see the message “Windows successfully scanned the drive. No errors were found.” But if there is an error, then you will see, “We have found errors on this drive. To prevent data loss, repair this drive.” Choose to repair the drive and after the repair is done, restart your computer.
If you encounter a PC crash and freeze issue even after that, move on to the next possible solution.
Run System File Checker:
System File Checker or SFC is a Windows utility that can fix most Windows errors and issues.
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- Click on the search bar and search for “Command Prompt.”
- Once it shows up in the results, choose “Run as an administrator.”
- Once the command prompt window shows up, enter “sfc /scannow” and press Enter key.
If you still encounter the PC freeze or crash issue, move on to the next potential solution.
Switch your Broadcom network adapter’s driver software to the Microsoft one:
People with Broadcom network adapters have reported that they could get rid of the PC freeze and crash issue by updating their Broadcom network adapter’s driver software to Microsoft’s software. The one provided by Broadcom is determined to cause some issues with Windows systems, so switching over to Microsoft might be able to fix your particular issue too.
- Press and hold Windows Key + X and choose “Device Manager” from the list of options.
- In the Device Manager Window, expand the Network adapters section by double-clicking it.
- You will find your computer’s Broadcom network adapter there. Right-click on it and choose Properties.
- Go to the Driver tab.
- Click on “Update Driver.”
- Click on “Browse my computer for driver software.”
- Then click on “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.”
- You will see two different driver software variants, and one of them will be the Microsoft variant. Select that Microsoft variant and click on Next.
- Wait till your computer finishes installing the Microsoft variant of the driver software for your Broadcom network adapters.
- Once the installation is complete, exit the Device Manager and restart your PC.
Once it boots up again, check whether your PC freeze issue is resolved or not. If you are still stuck on it, try the next solution.
Disabling “C-States” in BIOS:
C-states are a power-saving option that is enabled by default in the system. They limit the power supplied to the CPU and hence reduces the voltage supplied to it. This, in turn, reduces the speed of the CPU. But having it turned on can decrease the system’s overall performance, which may result in your PC crashing and freezing frequently. So try turning it off in your BIOS, and that might solve your issue.
- Restart the computer and while booting up, when the Windows logo shows up, press the Setup key. (Manufacturers opt for F12, F2, F1, Del, or Esc keys as the setup key. Check which one works for you.)
- Once the BIOS setup menu opens up, navigate to the Advanced tab using the navigation keys and select “CPU configurations.”
- Set the “C1E function” and the “Intel (R) C State Function” to “Disabled.” You can perform the change by pressing the Enter key and using arrow keys to switch from “Enabled” to “Disabled.”
- Then exit the BIOS menu and make sure to save the changes before exiting it.
Now restart your computer and check whether the PC freeze and crash issue is resolved or not. If you are still having the same issue, then try the final solution mentioned below.
Clean Install Windows:
If none of the solutions mentioned above solved your issue, you definitely have some system files missing on your PC. In that case, the only option you have is to clean install Windows 10 all over again. Download the latest build of Windows 10 from Microsoft’s webpage, make a bootable USB or DVD drive and reinstall Windows all over again. Make sure to keep a backup of everything important to you.
After the installation is done, use your Windows Product key that you previously used to make your copy of Windows genuine. After successfully installing everything, you will not face any PC freeze or crash issue anymore. You will have to install every application all over again, though. So use this method only if none of the solutions mentioned above work out for you.
So that is how you can fix the PC freeze and crash issue after Windows 10 Update. If you have any questions or queries about this article, then comment down below, and we will get back to you. Also, be sure to check out our other articles on iPhone tips and tricks, Android tips and tricks, PC tips and tricks, and much more for more useful information.
