The PC often stops when switching out of a full-screen program.
The PC often stops when switching out of a full-screen program.
I've shared this problem before, but it keeps occurring. My computer freezes often when switching out of my game or launching the start menu. It seems to affect the display only—I can still hear Spotify or Discord. I have to restart the system completely to regain control. I believe it happens while entering and exiting a fullscreen program. After installing a clean display driver with ddu, disabling hardware acceleration in Windows, and updating my BIOS, someone on the forum diagnosed it as a Windows issue. I reset my PC after posting, but it still crashes even though XMP is turned off. I'm running out of ideas right now...
It seems the problem with my RX 6800 disappeared after upgrading to an RX 9070XT. I’m not sure if it was a coincidence or if the older card was causing issues, but the fix worked. I’ll wait for more experienced Forum members to advise whether I spent wisely.
Because previous troubleshooting steps eliminated common software fixes, we should examine other possibilities. Check Event Viewer or Reliability Monitor for display driver errors like nvlddmkm or WHEA when the system freezes—this helps distinguish GPU issues from hardware faults. Perform a VRAM and stress test using OCCT or MemtestG80 on your graphics card memory. Damaged VRAM can trigger freezing even with audio still active. Inspect power delivery by switching to a different PSU or slightly lowering the GPU voltage to see if freezes persist. Test the connection with another cable or port, as unstable DP/HDMI cables or ports may cause black screens while audio plays. Replace the cable or port temporarily for immediate results. If none of these adjustments resolve the problem, it likely points to a more serious hardware concern such as a faulty GPU or PCIe slot on the motherboard. At this point, swapping in a verified good GPU is the quickest way to confirm the diagnosis.
It's been a few days and I've tried various solutions... The only entries in both Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor are "unexpected windows shutdowns," which makes sense when I need to perform a hard reboot. I also ran the OCCT VRAM Test for more than half an hour without any issues. I don't think it's related to a monitor or cable, since both my monitors freeze simultaneously... Unfortunately, I can't test another PSU, but my new high-quality Corsair unit (SF850L) seems to be experiencing problems.
I experience fewer issues when playing in windowed fullscreen mode, though the performance remains subpar and this is just a temporary fix.
Thanks for checking in. The successful VRAM test and solid Corsair SF850L PSU eliminate two major possibilities. When both monitors freeze together, it suggests a GPU issue rather than a connection problem. The most efficient next step would be to swap the card into another system or install a verified GPU in your current setup to see if the freezes resolve. Although this can be challenging without spare components, without a proper replacement test it’s difficult to confirm completely. At the moment, your reasoning checks out—your GPU appears to be the limiting factor.