Windows 10: Every time I boot up my PC it freezes on the login screen. How do I fix this?

Hello,I built this PC one month ago and it has been working great. The last couple days however, my pc would not open settings. I attempted to fix settings using commands given online. None of the options were working. When I went to restart my computer, after using code in the Windows Powershell app, it loaded the login screen and then froze. My mouse is not visible and my keyboard does not work on this screen. I can still access the BIOS. But I cannot do anything else.This is the website I was using to try and fix my settings app: https://www.guidingtech.com/best-ways-to-fix-settings-app-not

:)

 

PC freezes on login screen (problem with Spotlight?)

Hi

Welcome to Microsoft community.

It seems like you're experiencing freezing issues on the login screen of your Windows 10 PC, and you suspect that Spotlight might be involved. Here are a few suggestions to help you troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

1. Disable Spotlight:

You can try disabling the Spotlight feature to see if it resolves the freezing problem. Here's how:

• Press Win + I to open the Settings app.
  
• Go to "Personalization" and select "Lock screen" from the left sidebar.
  
• Set the background option to "Picture" instead of "Windows spotlight."
  

2. Update Graphics Drivers:

Outdated or incompatible graphics drivers can sometimes cause freezing issues. Make sure your graphics drivers are up-to-date. You can visit the manufacturer's website or use a driver update utility to ensure you have the latest drivers installed.

3. Check Event Viewer Logs:

The Event Viewer can provide more information about the freezing issue. Here's how to access it:

• Press Win + X and select "Event Viewer" from the menu.
  
• In the Event Viewer, navigate to "Windows Logs" > "System."
  
• Look for any error or warning messages that occurred around the time of the freezing issue. These may provide clues about the underlying cause.
  

4. Perform a Clean Boot:

Performing a clean boot can help identify if any third-party software or services are causing the freezing problem. Here's how:

• Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
  
• Type msconfig and press Enter.
  
• In the System Configuration window, go to the "Services" tab.
  
• Check the box that says "Hide all Microsoft services" and click "Disable all."
  
• Go to the "Startup" tab and click "Open Task Manager."
  
• Disable all startup items by right-clicking on each one and selecting "Disable."
  
• Close Task Manager and click "OK" in the System Configuration window.
  
• Restart your computer.
  

If the freezing issue no longer occurs after performing a clean boot, you can gradually enable services and startup items to identify the specific program causing the problem.

Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem. These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track.

5. Perform a System Restore:

If the freezing issue started after a recent Windows update or driver installation, you can try performing a System Restore to revert your system back to a previous state when it was functioning correctly.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance. Thank you.

Best regards

Derrick Qian | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

 

login screens

is there anyway to stop windows going into the login screen wen i boot up and leave my pc for more then 10mins?i have no password set and im the only user!!

cheers

 

PC freezes on login screen (problem with Spotlight?)

Hello everyone,

I'm currently using Win 10 22H2 (no updates available) and I can't remember when this problem appeared the first time but this has been going on for a while (at least a year), even across versions (e.g. with 21H2):

Usually I press the enter key to switch to the screen with the actual password field but when the freeze happens, nothing works: Enter, left-clicking and dragging up, esc,.... Very rarely I can press enter but then it freezes on the login screen, usually with some of my password already typed in - I then always have to forcefully shut down my PC. Afterwards it's fine, it either shows the lock screen again (but without freezing) or it instantly loads the login screen, without showing the lock screen first.

A restart doesn't seem to cause this, it only happens when I completely shut down my PC and start it back up.

I think that Spotlight is involved in this somehow because at first the freeze would only happen with specific background images, e.g. it would show a painting (and all the infos about the painting that you can then click on to open Edge) and the next x days the same painting came up as background image, the freeze would happen. Once it switched to a different image, it was usually fine again. This didn't happen regularly either, sometimes it was fine for 2-3 weeks and then it froze multiple times in a single week.

The last 3-4 weeks this has happened every day and it kept showing the same Spotlight background image. What I've tried:

• Reset and de-registered Spotlight according to this description (Edge or the settings app don't show up in the list for me)
  
• Set the lock screen to only use a background image
  
• Removed all the apps on the same settings page ("detailed status" and "quick status"), so now there shouldn't be anything displaying any information on the lockscreen
  
• Disabled "Get fun facts, tips and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen"
  
• Enabled/disabled "Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen"
  
• Disconnect the mouse (decently new, maybe 6 months old) and only use the keyboard
  

None of this helped.

I've run multiple virus scans already (they are also done automatically every day) and nothing was found. I also haven't installed any new apps or drivers lately, apart from the Windows update (22H2) and a new gpu driver but I did both of those about 2 weeks ago, so when these freezes were already happening every day. No new hardware either.

I also tested safe boot (msconfig, enable it there, shut down PC completely, then start back up):

• With networking - freeze
  
• Minimal - no freeze
  
• With networking but I disconnected the lan cable before I pressed the power button - no freeze!
  
• Regular boot mode (no safe mode!) with the lan cable disconnected - no freeze either!
  

Whatever is causing this, maybe it's Spotlight, maybe something else, it's something that's trying to access the internet on the login screen and then causes this freeze.

What could be causing this and how do I fix it (without re-installing Windows or updating to Win 11!)? Is there a way to disable Spotlight completely?