Windows 10 freezes every time 5 minutes after startup

Question

Windows 10 freezes every time 5 minutes after startup

Rodo 0

I am running Windows 10 on my PC. Last night when I turned on the PC, it froze approximately 5 minutes after boot up. This has never happened before. By froze, I mean the windows screen looks normal with mouse cursor visible but the keyboard and mouse are not responsive, sound stops, etc. & the hard drive is not running excessively. I can login to Safe mode OK without issues but every time I turn it on in normal mode, it freezes at 5 minutes and 10 seconds +- 10 seconds.

I tried fault-finding the issue (disabled bios settings, startup services, apps, power management) and I eventually discovered that if I turn off the internet connection for the first 6 minutes to get over that initial 5 minutes and 10 seconds mark, that if I turn the WiFi on after that, the computer does not freeze at all.

I assume the issue is related to a Windows system file but I have not been able to find the culprit. Can you help? I thought it might have been iqvw64e.sys but I cannot find that file on the PC. I turned off Memory Integrity setting but this did not help. What is Windows flagging as the issue and checking after 5 minutes when connected to the internet? What can I do to resolve this? Can I roll back to a previous version/update of Windows? Or is there a fix/update for this?

Richard Martie 5 Reputation points

2026-03-22T23:41:04.12+00:00

Mine started doing the same thing on the same day, driving me nuts,
Sin-D 9,180 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-23T04:40:51.68+00:00

Hi Richard Martie,

Thanks for reaching out. Have you tried the steps in my original response below?

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Richard Martie 5 Reputation points

2026-03-22T23:41:04.12+00:00

Mine started doing the same thing on the same day, driving me nuts,
Sin-D 9,180 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-23T04:40:51.68+00:00

Hi Richard Martie,

Thanks for reaching out. Have you tried the steps in my original response below?

Answer 1

Rodo 0

Uninstalling the network drivers and then updating them did not help.

I've found a better workaround for now. See this Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1ryvmsx/windows_freezes_a_few_minutes_after_start_up/

It appears that the PC freezes because of a task which is scheduled to run called Microsoft\Windows\PI\Secure-Boot-Update. I have disabled that task and now the PC does not freeze after 5 minutes and at any other time.

Hopefully there will be a proper fix from Microsoft soon.

Sin-D 9,180 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-29T05:34:30.8566667+00:00

Hi Rodo,

Thanks for sharing the update and the workaround you’ve found.

Please note that the Reddit link you referenced is a third‑party source and does not represent official Microsoft guidance. Use such workarounds with caution, and ensure your system remains up to date. Thanks again for sharing your experience and for your understanding.
Have a good day!
Rodo 0 Reputation points

2026-03-29T11:51:34.48+00:00

Thanks Sin-D, I do understand that the Reddit link is not Microsoft's official guidance but what you told a me to do did not help resolve the freezing. Can you share any information about what the Secure Boot Update does, why it is set to run 5 minutes after startup and why this is causing Windows to freeze? It would be good if Microsoft can investigate this and provide a system update soon so this is fixed properly. Are they working on a fix?
Sin-D 9,180 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-30T04:07:32.42+00:00

Hi Rodo,

Thanks for the clarification. I understand your concern.

At this time, Microsoft hasn’t published detailed public documentation explaining the internal behavior or scheduling of the Secure Boot Update task. To help Microsoft investigate this properly, please submit feedback through Feedback Hub (include logs and note the freeze occurs shortly after startup): Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app. Also make sure the device is fully up to date via Windows Update, as fixes are delivered there when available.

For now, please treat Reddit or similar sources as third‑party community discussion, not official guidance.

Answer 2

Hi Rodo,

Thanks for your post. I understand your frustration and I'm here to help you.

About What Windows is doing at that 5‑minute mark, Windows initializes device drivers (including network adapters) and networking services during normal startup. Safe Mode loads only a limited set of drivers, which explains why network‑related freezes often do not occur there. When Windows is connected to the internet, it may also perform background driver and connectivity checks through Windows Update. If a network driver fails or hangs during initialization, the system can appear frozen even though the desktop remains visible. For reference:

For Troubleshootings, please try the following in order:

Step 1 – Clean reinstall the network driver (not update)

Boot Windows with the internet disconnected
Open “Device Manager”
Expand “Network adapters”
Right‑click your Wi‑Fi or Ethernet adapter → “Uninstall device”
Check “Delete the driver software for this device” if available
Restart the PC (still offline)

Then download and install the latest network driver directly from your PC manufacturer’s support site (not Windows Update).

Step 2 – Test with Windows fast startup disabled

Open “Control Panel” → “Power Options”
Select “Choose what the power buttons do”
Click “Change settings that are currently unavailable”
Uncheck “Turn on fast startup”
Restart and test

Fast Startup can reuse problematic driver states between boots.

Step 3 – Check for a recent Windows update rollback (optional)

If this started suddenly and recently:

Go to “Settings” → “Windows Update” → “Update history”
Select “Uninstall updates”
Temporarily remove the most recent quality update (not feature update)

Note: This is a test step only. If there’s no change, reinstall the update afterward.

About rolling back Windows or system files:

Rolling back Windows versions is not recommended unless a specific update is confirmed as the cause
There is no supported way to identify a single “Windows system file” causing this type of freeze
The evidence points to network driver behavior, not core OS damage

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Rodo 0 Reputation points

2026-03-22T11:35:57.51+00:00

Thanks for trying to help. After point 6 in Step 1, when the PC restarts, will it pick up windows system drivers from the PC which will allow the WiFi adaptor to function? If not then how do I connect to the internet if there is no WiFi? For Step 2, I have never had Fast Startup enabled so does not apply to my PC.

For Step 3, do I need to enter the Admin PC password to uninstall an update? Prior to implementing the temporary fix, I did try uninstalling it from the Advanced Boot Options Menu but from there I was asked for the password for my account (which strangely was not my Microsoft password) so I could not do this. Also I have read from others online that rolling back updates does not help resolve this issue (see this thread for details: https://www.tenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/222472-january-2026-esu-kb5073724-windows-freezes-after-4-5-minutes.html). Incidentally, the person who started that post, connects to the internet via a cable and not WiFi so it would seem to me that the issue is not specifically related to my WiFi adaptor.
It's funny, it is now like the old days where Windows used to take a few minutes to start up and then connect to dialup internet. But now it takes even longer than then.
Sin-D 9,180 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-23T04:37:33.43+00:00

Hi Rodo,

Thanks for the clarification and detailed follow up. I’ll address each point:

Step 1 (network driver after restart): Yes. After you uninstall the network adapter and restart while offline, Windows will automatically load its built‑in (in‑box) network driver from the local system. This allows the adapter to function at a basic level without internet access. Once the system is fully started and stable, you can reconnect to the internet and then install the latest driver from the PC manufacturer.

Step 2 (Fast Startup): If Fast Startup was never enabled, you can ignore this step.

Step 3 (uninstalling updates): Uninstalling updates does require authentication. From Advanced Startup, Windows asks for the local account password, not the Microsoft account password, which is expected behavior. Given your experience, uninstalling updates is optional and not required.

Overall, staying offline briefly during boot and focusing on a clean network driver reinstall remains the most reliable approach. Thanks for your understanding.

Answer 3

DaveM121 865.7K Independent Advisor

System freezes are very hard to diagnose, if disabling the network seems to resolve the problem and you indicate the iqvw64e.sys driver may be a contributory cause, that is the Intel Network Diagnostics driver, then the best first option would be to go to the support page for your PC on the manufacturers website, then from there, download and manually reinstall (not update) the Intel network drivers.

Rodo 0 Reputation points

2026-03-22T12:05:32.3666667+00:00

Thanks I will try that out soon when I have some time. As for that system file possibly being the culprit, well I'm not so sure about that. Someone else with the same problem, mentioned on Reddit (see here: https://www.reddit.com/r/computerhelp/comments/1omxlaw/comment/ob3ctn2/) that this could be the cause but they did not say that the issue was fixed by removing the file. I cannot find that file on my PC so unless it is hidden somewhere that I am unable to search for, then it appears unlikely that this is the offending file.

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Windows 10 freezes every time 5 minutes after startup

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