Steam games not launching, task manager freezing, but everything else works perfectly.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Hi Traiectum,

If the situation is the same after erasing all data, only on the software level, further tests and observations will be based on testing different versions of Windows.

Windows with different build dates integrate components that were compiled on different dates.

Testing Windows with different build dates may help to analyze whether the problem is related to the Windows version or to specific functional code. (Do not perform a Windows update after the installation of Windows is complete to keep the Windows installation pristine)

Discussion messages from community members in this thread mentioned channel to obtain some of the previous versions of Windows.

(The channel is not provided directly by Microsoft)

• Where can I download the windows 10 and/or 11 iso for ARM - Microsoft Community

At the hardware level, you can try changing to a different electrical environment, such as that of certain offline computer service support stores.

Best Regards,

Kyo.Y - MSFT | Microsoft Community Technical Support

Hi Traiectum,

Thanks for the clarification.

System Restore options are not listed directly in the “Category” mode, you may need to manually search for “Recovery” in the search box in the upper right corner, or switch the “View by” to “Large icons” or “Small icons” to find the “Recovery” option.

The results obtained in Safe Mode may mean that certain drivers or certain driver-dependent features are affecting the behavior of the system. (It is normal for you to be unable to open Steam in Safe Mode to launch a game, in most cases Steam is offline in Safe Mode)

XMP or similar configurations won't necessarily trigger problems in all scenarios, but it's still a non-destructive testing idea that applies to a wide range of problem troubleshooting processes.

For the Brave browser, it may be worth observing what happens without reinstalling Brave.

In some of the threads on the community, some community members have shared one configuration, hardware acceleration, that may be associated with anomalous browser behavior.

Internet browsers on windows 11 Artifacting when hardware is - Microsoft Community

The uninstallation tests for AMD drivers seem to have produced some changes, which is good news.

An alternative to testing a different version of Windows is to first and back up any important data, then (physically)remove the disk with the old Windows (to avoid impacting the old system).

Put in a new disk(empty disk) that does not contain important data, and install the new Windows on that “new” disk.

Best Regards,

Kyo.Y - MSFT | Microsoft Community Technical Support

/ Does it also freeze when you click on the “CPU” option in the “Processes” page to perform a sort?

> No, it does not freeze. It sorts the list, but they all show 0%. If I sort the memory column it does show apps using memory and sorts them accordingly. I did notice that when I have steam open it uses memory, but when I close steam, the memory usage only updates when I close task manager (then it does freeze) and start it again.

/ Were there any special events in the device before the situation occurred?

For example, system update, driver update, application update, BIOS update?

> Not that I remember (I’ve been trouble shooting some after work for several weeks now). I did update to windows 11 but that was several weeks before the problems occurred. I notices Brave browser first, and then games / task manager. However, I don’t remember a specific ‘trigger’.

/ Is the situation the same when you observe it in a relatively clean environment (for example, new safe mode)?

> I tried new safe mode (haven’t before). This allowed me to see Brave again (also tried opening and closing it numerous times, still seemed to work (and show correct, lower values that also updated). It also prevents task manager from freezing, I can see the other tabs now too. It didn’t allow me to open Steam so I couldn’t try launching a game, is that correct? (probably because it’s offline?)

I booted the computer normally again. For a second I thought the problem was gone (Brave worked normally, task manager did not freeze). The I tried opening Golf with friends again and that opened a black screen again which froze instantly. Then Brave and task manager were messed up again too. Task manager showed 61% usage again but not in the column below (just like before).

/ Is there any configuration on the device that can be used to restore the system to an earlier state (for example, system restore points, uninstalling updates)?

> I don’t see the restore option:

> I can uninstall some updates, but they are all from after the problem first occurred: 

/ Is the situation same if you disable/restore any software configurations or BIOS configurations that may affect hardware performance/frequency(for example, AMD Ryzen Master or XMP)?

> I never overclocked or otherwise tweaked my hardware apart from setting my fan speeds. I did enable something for my RAM to have them run at the speed they are marketed at (XMP? See photo below), but that was right after building the PC and never caused problems. Should I undo this? 

/ Is the situation same if you perform a clean uninstall of Brave to clean up Brave-related files?

> I did an uninstall and new install before, same problems. I did this again today, but using Revo Uninstaller. I selected everything and threw it away. Reinstalled Brave again and rebooted my PC. Same as the second par. under “/ Is the situation the same when you observe it in a relatively clean environment (for example, new safe mode)?”.

/ Is the situation the same if you perform a clean uninstall of drivers and test previous versions of graphics drivers instead of the latest version?

> Ran the uninstaller, I saved the report if that would help. The text was way too long to share here. I tried, and Golf with friends now starts (!!!), albeit stuttering and real slow/with loads of lag. Brave also works and task manager does not freeze.

> I installed the driver version ‘Adrenalin 24.3.1 (Release data 2024-03-20)’, which is the most recent previous driver. Now launching the game gives me the black full screen again and it instantly freezes, so the exact same problem occurs again (Brave also freezes and task manager as well).

/ If possible, would you mind testing some previous versions of Windows (which would involve performing a clean install)?

> I’d rather not lose any files I currently have on my PC if that’s avoidable. I do have three drives in my PC, is there any way to perform a clean install without losing files (or by making a backup on one of them and ejecting the drive for example?) If so, what’s the preferred method? 

I really hope the info above will provide you with more specific information to troubleshoot some more. Thanks in advance for your excellent suggestions! :)