Windows 10: PC Freezing with "Waiting for Cache"

Hello. I come here out of desperation for the issue I have been battling for the past 5-6 months. My windows version is 1909 (Build 18363.418).

Here's my best description of the issue. Essentially, my computer will soft-freeze for a varying amount of time ranging from 1-5 minutes. During this time, I can still move the cursor and interact with some windows/applications, though interacting with anything too much causes it to freeze completely. This includes windows explorer. This happens when I am using Chrome almost every time, and everytime it is frozen, chrome says "Waiting for cache..." in the bottom-left. One of the first things I tested is if it happens when chrome is not running, and it very rarely happens in that case, but it has actually happened once or twice without chrome running. So that is worth noting.

My thoughts are that this is disk-related. This seems obvious to me based on what I've observed and tried with the issue for the past months. I'm much more likely to freeze during any disk-intensive activity such as a steam game download, a large read/write operation, etc.

Also I believe the behavior of how some things are interactable until they are frozen can be explained as such; If I were to have a chrome tab open of a video on YouTube and I froze again, then the video continues playing and I can still interact with the player controls. This is true until it has to load/buffer something new, then it freezes. Although sometimes *chrome* itself can freeze but I still have video pre-loaded, in which case I cannot interact with Chrome but the video still plays. Another example is any game. Games will still work just fine, but will be unable to load new resources or information. So anything already loaded into memory or cache is fine, but any new menu/map, etc, cant load until I am unfrozen.

So the short version of that is; I believe that my SSD is "freezing" occasionally. things work fine until they attempt to load more from the disk, then they freeze until unfrozen. My cursor usually stays active the entire time unless I click frantically. Sound always continues to play as long as it's already 'loaded in'. (i.e. Youtube video that is pre-buffered, game sound, etc)

Now, here's what I've tried and also what anyone willing to help me should know. First is that I just reinstalling windows fresh from USB and the issue still persists. Second is that I use no form of antivirus/antimalware, even Windows Defender. In fact, I keep my PC *very* minimal in it's background processes, so this isnt a case of high background activity overwhelming my PC. Third, my SSD is relatively new. I've only had it for about the amount of time I've had this issue in the first place. I did not have this issue on my old HDD. Fourth, before I reinstalled windows, I ran a dual-boot of windows and ubuntu on this SSD as well. The issue still happened on windows but I never experienced it on Ubuntu. This could be for many reasons, a few being: I did not use Ubuntu as my main OS, and thus was not on it for very long at a time. Also I used Firefox as my browser on Ubuntu. Then there's the obvious fact that it's a different OS so that could play a part.

I think that's everything. I tried to include everything important, but do feel free to ask anything relevant and I will answer. I greatly appreciate anyone willing to help me out here, as for most issues I can solve on my own but this one has plagued me for too long.

Thanks. I will be actively responding ASAP and will not be abandoning this.

:)

 

waiting for cache

I found some suggestions for how o solve the problem with windows updates and th slow browsers saying "waiting for cache" - I am not a computer nerd, so I need a simpler way to solve the problem or someone can show me how to solve it visually. Thanks.

I have recently upgraded to a solid state drive.

 

Win 10's PC freez on Please Wait screen

Hi,

Blue screen errors are usually occurring due to outdated drivers or some corruptions within the system files. For us to provide an effective solution, we would need you to answer the following questions:

• Which build and edition of Windows 10 is installed on your computer?
• What is the make and model of your PC?
• What changes were made to the device before this issue happened?

For initial troubleshooting, we suggest following the steps provided in this
link. It serves as a guide on how to troubleshoot blue screen errors in Windows 10 devices.

We'll be waiting for your reply.

 

Edge Search Does Not Permit Change of Region


I got these suggestions from the Microsoft Community forum.No. 1 worked for me:

Thank you for posting the query on Microsoft Community. I am glad to assist you on this.
We have reproduce the issue here and we are able to access non-regional search for google using Microsoft Edge.
I would suggest you to try the below steps and check if it helps.
Step 1:
Clear browsing data option of Microsoft Edge and check if you face the issue. To do so perform the steps below.

1. Click on the More actions icon next to the feedback icon present on top right corner of the Project Spartan homepage.
2. Select Settings and click on Choose what to clear.
3. Check the boxes Browsing history, Cookies and saved website data and Cached data and files and click on Clear.

Step 2:
I suggest you to create a new user account and check if the issue occurs.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Choose Accounts and then select Family and other users.
3. Select add someone else on this PC.
4. Enter a user name and hit next.
5. Click on Finish.
6. Sign out from the current Account and Log into the new account.

Step 3:
It could also happen because of network issue. I suggest you to try with different network connection and check if it helps.