Windows 10 freezes after opening Discord on laptop

Question

Hello everyone. My PC has recently started freezing and getting unresponsive after I launch Discord for some reason. It either makes it so that nothing on my screen is clickable (I can move my cursor but can't interact with anything on the screen, key shortcuts don't work either), or it makes it so that the start menu doesn't open and the task manager gets unresponsive and doesn't work when I try to launch it (after which the PC usually freezes and nothing is clickable again). The only way to get Win 10 to work again is to turn off the laptop by holding down the power button and turning it on again...

Same thing happens with Mod Organizer 2. I recently tried getting a modpack to work on Fallout NV, and noticed that 1-2 mins after opening MO2 the PC, again, either freezes or the start menu/task manager stop working.

Not sure if its relevant, but when I was downloading the modpack, I deleted a partition with Ubuntu on it to free up some space and expanded my main partition with Windows 10 on it. That messed something up and I would get some Grub CLI screen and would not be able to boot into windows. I eventually fixed the issue by removing a directory called Ubuntu in the EFI partition with the help of some folks on Discord.

What I tried:
-Uninstalled GPU drivers using DDU and installed newest Nvidia drivers for my GPU. It first seemed to work but started crashing again after I set the power settings to max performance in the Nvidia Control Panel. Not sure if that has anything to do with the issue or if it was just a coincidence...
-Ran Discord and MO2 as an administrator
-Reinstalled Discord
-Updated intel CPU and iGPU drivers
-Ran "DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth" and "sfc /scannow" in cmd. Sfc /scannow first found and fixed some corrupt files and the second time I ran it, it found nothing

The laptop is a Dell Vostro 15 5568

Specs are:
GPU - Geforce 940MX
CPU - intel i5 7200u
RAM - 16gb

I also checked event viewer to see if there were any logs that had anything to do with the freezes. I checked the Windows Logs\System tab and the only error I found were these.

Event 7023, Service Control Manager

The Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Zero Configuration Service service terminated with the following error: %%2147770990

Event 1801, TPM-WMI

Updated Secure Boot certificates are available on this device but have not yet been applied to the firmware. Review the published guidance to complete the update and maintain full protection. This device signature information is included here.
DeviceAttributes: FirmwareManufacturer:Dell Inc.;FirmwareVersion:1.20.0;OEMManufacturerName:Dell Inc.;OEMModelSKU:0786;OSArchitecture:amd64;
BucketId: 002a9ccd73bd54dc8fbb041c855b574ec3161deea761c44f574e1c03844ce993
BucketConfidenceLevel: Under Observation - More Data Needed
UpdateType: 
For more information, please see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2301018.

Not sure if they're related to this issue though...

If you need more information please let me know.

Answer 1

Hi, thank you for replying. Since the issue persists, the next option is to run a reset and keep your files. However, this process will delete all apps. If you are okay with that, kindly follow the steps below:

 

Warning: Apps you installed from websites and DVDs will be removed. Apps that came with your PC and apps you installed from the Microsoft Store will be reinstalled. Windows puts a list of removed apps on your desktop after refreshing your PC.

 

To Reset the PC:

 

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery

 

Under Reset, your PC, tap or click Get started.

 

Select Keep my files > Local reinstall

 

Follow the instructions on the screen.

 

Reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reset-your-pc-0ef73740-b927-549b-b7c9-e6f2b48d275e

Note: If the issue persists, I suggest contacting a local technician to physically check the device for any hardware-related issues.

Answer 2

You are always welcome, and I'm glad it is now all good.

Answer 3

Hi, thanks for the detailed information. After checking and analyzing the event files you have, there are general errors in the event files. Moreover, kindly follow the steps below for us to fix the issue:

Method 1. Do a clean boot:

A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs, so that you can determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program.

• In the search box on the taskbar, type msconfig and select System Configuration from the results.
• On the Services tab of System Configuration, select Hide all Microsoft services, and then select Disable all.
• On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select Open Task Manager.
• Under Startup in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then select Disable.
• Close Task Manager.
• On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select OK. When you restart the computer, it's in a clean boot environment.

Troubleshooting reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

If none of the above solutions work, I suggest doing an in-place upgrade, wherein it will update the device to the latest version and repair all issues without deleting any files.

 

Note: before doing this, make sure to create a restore point: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027538/windows-create-a-system-restore-point

 

1. Go to this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
2. Select Download Now, and select Run. You need to be an administrator to run this tool.
3. On the License terms page, if you accept the license terms, select Accept.
4. On the What do you want to do? page, select Upgrade this PC now, and then select Next.
5. After downloading and installing, it should fix the issue.

 

Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Answer 4

Hi, I'm Bernard, a fellow Windows user. I'm happy to help!

Based on your inputs, it seems that the partition and file system might be one of the main issues why you are having this problem. Moreover, can you please check the System logs on the PC so I can further examine the root cause of the issue?

 

To share the System logs, please follow the steps in the link below:

 

Press the Windows key + X, then select "Event Viewer"

Click the drop-down of "Windows logs"

Right-click System > click Filter Current logs > Check: Critical, Warning, and Error > Hit OK

On the right pane, click "Save Filtered Log File As..."

Save the System logs file to your desktop and share it by following the steps from the link:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-onedrive-files-and-folders-9fcc2f7d-de0c-4cec-93b0-a82024800c07

 

Note: You can also use your preferred cloud storage to upload and share the logs.

Answer 5

The freezes indicate a system‑level hang, not just an app crash. To diagnose and collect evidence on Windows 10, use the freeze‑troubleshooting workflow and capture a memory dump while the system is frozen, then analyze it.

1. Confirm the system is actually freezing
   • When Discord or Mod Organizer 2 is opened and the issue occurs, check:
     • Whether Ctrl+Alt+Delete shows the security screen.
     • Whether the machine still responds to ping from another device.
     • Whether administrative shares (for example, \\<computer>\c$) are reachable from another machine.
   • These checks help determine if only the shell is hung or the whole OS is blocked.
2. Configure the system to capture a complete memory dump
   • Open Run → type sysdm.cpl → Enter.
   • In System Properties → Advanced tab:
     • Select Performance → Settings → Advanced → Change and verify there is a paging file on the system drive that is at least 100 MB larger than installed RAM.
     • Back in System Properties → Advanced → Startup and Recovery – Settings:
       • Under Write debugging information, select Complete memory dump.
       • Check Overwrite any existing file.
   • Ensure the system drive has more free space than the amount of physical RAM.
3. Enable keyboard crash to force a dump when the freeze occurs
   • In Registry Editor, configure CrashOnCtrlScroll so the system can generate a dump via keyboard:
     • Go to:
       • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
       • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\kbdhid\Parameters
     • In each key, create a REG_DWORD value named CrashOnCtrlScroll and set it to 1.
     • Restart the laptop.
   • Next time the system freezes after starting Discord or MO2:
     • Hold the right Ctrl key and press Scroll Lock twice.
     • This forces a bugcheck and writes a memory dump to %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP.
4. If the system is already frozen and cannot be accessed locally
   • From another machine on the same network, use Registry Editor → Connect Network Registry to the affected laptop and verify:
     • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl\CrashDumpEnabled is set to 1.
     • Paging file configuration under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PagingFiles.
   • If remote registry access works, CrashOnCtrlScroll can also be enabled remotely in the same way as above.
5. Analyze the memory dump
   • After a freeze and forced crash, copy %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP to a working machine.
   • Use Dumpchk.exe (Dump Check Utility) to verify the dump is valid and not corrupted.
   • Then use Windows debugging tools to analyze the dump and identify:
     • Driver deadlocks or GPU stack issues when Discord/MO2 are active.
     • Resource exhaustion (for example, kernel pool, handles) that coincides with launching those apps.
6. Collect performance data if the system recovers after partial hangs
   • If the system sometimes recovers (for example, only Start menu/Task Manager fail), collect performance data:
     • Run Performance Monitor and configure data collector sets, or from an elevated command prompt use logman to create and start logs.
     • Logs are stored under C:\PERFLOGS for later analysis.
7. Review event logs and diagnostics when the system is no longer frozen
   • When the laptop is back in a good state, review System and Application logs for:
     • Application Error events.
     • Service Control Manager errors around the time of the freeze.
   • Run perfmon /report to generate a System Diagnostics report and review for driver, disk, or resource issues.

This process will produce a complete memory dump and performance data that can pinpoint whether the freezes are caused by GPU drivers, Discord/MO2 interactions, or another kernel‑mode component. Once the offending driver or component is identified from the dump, it can be updated, rolled back, or removed.

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References:

• Advanced troubleshooting for Windows freezes
• Troubleshooting Windows unexpected restarts and stop code errors