Windows 10: Frozen start menu & repeated hardware error

Hi everyone! I've been having two issues for the past few weeks. After a while, (it varies time wise) the start menu and search bar become unresponsive and will no longer open. The only way to make them respond again is to restart; however, this comes with another issue. It will hang forever on the "Restarting..." screen unless I do a hard shutdown.

On the other hand, a hardware error keeps appearing and it appears to talk about an Nvidia driver.

After checking the reliability monitor, it shows that I have two critical faults:












I've tried numerous troubleshooting steps, which I will list below, and none of them have provided any lasting results:

• Disabling Cortana (helped at first, now the issue is back)
• A clean install of the latest Nvidia drivers, twice on two separate days (fixed the hardware error for a day, now it's back)
• sfc /scannow (It shows no integrity violations)
• Installing any and all windows updates (nada)

I even chatted with a support agent at Microsoft and the only thing he could tell me was that "User Accounts are being corrupted and that Microsoft is researching a fix". I'm confused how User Accounts interfere with the start menu and cause a hardware error. This never happened when I was on Windows 8.1, so I am confused as to what has changed (other than the OS version, of course).

Info is attached below; I appreciate any help/advice. Thanks guys! *Smile

:)

 

Free Windows 10 deactivated.

After repairing my Excel (had a DLL error), my Start Menu & Task Bar was frozen (still is) and I have a message on my desktop requesting that I Activate my Windows 10 but I receive an error when I try to activate (explorer.exe).

 

Start menu frozen

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Community.

We understand your concern and we will provide the assistance required to help you resolve the issue.

Before we proceed, I would like you to provide the information stated below:

1. Did you make any changes to your PC prior to this issue?

2. Do you perform any specific task when the start menu freezes?

3. Are you able to open icons on the task bar when the start menu freezes?

For now, I suggest that you check if the same issue occurs in Safe Mode. Safe mode starts Windows in a basic state, using a limited set of files and drivers. It can help you troubleshoot problems on your PC. To learn how to log into Safe Mode click on the link
below

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-10/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode

Also, I suggest that you create or log into another user account and check if that account display the same symptoms. To learn how to create a new account click on the link below

Create a
local user account in Windows 10 - Windows Help

Hope this helps

 

Hi Ohstopyou,

Welcome to the 10forums.

Your problems are not related to BSOD's.
Please create a new thread at the Performance and Maintenance section for the frozen start menu problem.
Please create a new thread at the Drivers and Hardware section for the repeated hardware error problem.