Windows 11 Freezes

I have a Windows 11 machine. 16GB Ram, 1.82 TB open storage

48 Mbps download, 10Mbps upload on a DSL network.

If I walk away from my PC without locking it (WIN L) it almost always freezes if it sits that way for long (hours).

If I lock it with WIN L, most of the time when I try to wake it, it comes alive with no problems. But 1 in 5 times, I have to use the power button to wake it up.

Freezing in this case means that no matter how many keystrokes or mouse movements or clicks wakes it up.

To wake it up when it has locked, I press the power button until the red power light is off, press it again to turn it back on. It doesn’t really reboot, all of my open applications are still running. The machine acts like it is rebooting.

I do leave it with several apps running, Chrome (with several tabs open), Quicken, Outlook, Excel, Calculator.

Any ideas? This is a fairly new problem, maybe 3 months. I have done searches for this problem with no help.

Thanks

 

Check you're task manger and see if any thing is sucking up ram and cpu. Antimalware Service executable tends to be a resource hog.And what version of windows 11 are you running. 23h2,24h2,25,2

 

Could be a 'memory leak', but as you describe it as when you leave the PC for a while, might be more a sleep problem. I don't think MS ever fully mastered sleep/hibernate. You might want to look around power settings and disable sleep, look at what is 'allowed' to wake the computer too. I have my desktop to never sleep, monitor off after 30 mins.. but change the sleep setting and see if it still freezes.

 

I agree with XoXgaming and foogo. Check your power settings to see what and when it puts the computer either to Sleep mode and/or Hibernate mode, maybe there is some settings conflicts.

Also check your computer's BIOS settings for any Power Save modes and power settings including display monitor settings that might cause issues.

Are all your hardware drivers up to date?

 

Open an elevated command prompt. Click Start type cmd, then CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER. An elevated (Admin) prompt should open.

In this prompt copy/paste powercfg -h off hit enter and reboot the machine.

What this does is; turns off hibenate, deletes the hiberfil.sys which often gets corrupted. It also uses a ton of space (I've seen it in the 16-20 GB range) but usually around 2-3 GB.
Hopefully it will help.
If you want to turn it back on just replace the off with on. powercfg -h on

It's the first thing I do when setting up a new desktop. I leave mine off. And like @foogoo stated, set the monitor to shut off at a chosen time.

hyberfil.sys

 

I don't agree. I believe the problem is hardware manufacturers and software developers failing to ensure their products (or drivers) comply properly with industry standards and Microsoft's published requirements.

Sleep works perfectly well for 100s of millions of users. Hard to blame the operating system if it doesn't for a relatively few exceptions. Possible? Sure. Never say never.

I for one, rarely ever shut down my computers when done with my computing sessions. I just let them go to sleep, with rarely a problem. When there is a problem, it is invariably that the computer failed to go completely into sleep mode. Not that it failed to wake. And the cause for it failing to go to sleep is invariably, something is still running and fails to suspend properly.

So IMO, it is MUCH MORE likely to be a program/app that's left running, or fails to suspend properly.

How do you normally try to wake it? Keyboard press or mouse wiggle? Or with the power button?

Note the ATX Form Factor standard requires all ATX compliant power supplies supply +5Vsb standby power to several points on the motherboard whenever the computer is shutdown, but still plugged into the wall (and, if equipped, the master switch on the back of the PSU is set to "|" or "On"). This +5Vsb voltage is what enables the "Wake on Keyboard" and "Wake on Mouse" features. This voltage is also what enables the case's front panel power button to signal the motherboard to signal the PSU to power up.

The power button switch not working properly could suggest a problem with the distribution of that +5Vsb voltage. Failing to wake with a keyboard press or mouse wiggle could also suggest a problem with the USB port. This could even be a motherboard or again, PSU issue. Or even a bit of fuzz, dust bunny in the power button switch.

 

Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 25H2
Installed on ‎2/‎24/‎2025
OS build 26200.8246
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.297.0

When it works normal, mouse wiggle or keyboard works to wake it.
Chrome is using the most memory at 2350MB now, CPU use is 3%. Total of all apps 86% Memory is being used and 13%CPU used.

Power system Balanced. Screen off in 1 minute, Sleep after 15 minutes and never hibernate.

Farm season, so I will check some of the other suggestions later.

Thanks

 

Maybe there is a trick to find hardware drivers? I have checked some and they are up to date, but I am not sure what drivers I have or how to check all of them.

 

One of the reasons I don't use Chrome. Frankly, it seems most browsers can be hogs and fail to end all sessions properly when exiting. I use Edge as my primary. It is better than Chrome in this area, despite being based on the same Chromium kernel. Firefox has problems too yet Waterfox, a fork of FF, seems to have less.

If you want to keep using Chrome, you might want to create a Chrome Taskkill shortcut. I keep on on my desktop.

On a blank space of your desktop, right click > New > Shortcut. Then in the text field, type in (or copy and paste) the following,

C:\Windows\System32\taskkill.exe /F /T /IM chrome.exe​

Then click Next and enter a name. I just use Chrome Taskkill. Then click Finish.

A quick double click on the new shortcut icon will kill every instance of Chrome running. You can make similar shortcuts for just about any program you suspect is lingering. I also have one for Edge.

It should be noted that Hibernate is actually better for laptops, where you might want to suspend what you are doing, take the laptop to work then resume where you left off at work. Hibernate is ideal for laptops because when in hibernate mode, no power is required to keep data alive, and thus the battery is not being used.

Because PCs are always plugged in (and receiving +5Vsb voltages), there's no worry about a battery being drained. So "Hybrid" mode was created for and is ideal for PCs. It works similarly to hibernate but keeps what you were doing alive in system RAM (but in a very low, and efficient voltage state) to support very quick wake times. But, just in case you lose power when in sleep mode, it also saves an image to ensure no data is lost, just like regular hibernate mode. So you might to double check to make sure Hibernate is not selected, and if you want make sure Hybrid is selected. But do note, not all motherboards support Hybrid mode, unfortunately.

Note when in sleep mode, a PC consumes a measly 1 - 5 watts of power, less than a standard nightlight. If using DDR5, it is closer to that 1 W than 5.

For more info on Hybrid sleep mode see, How to enable hybrid sleep Windows 11 - TechBloat

 

wow 80 percent ram you need to restart system. you wonder why it's lagging.My version of 25h2 only using 20% out of ram

 

Here is what windows is really suppose to be running.I have fully de-bloated windows and only kept the items i use.80% ram is unacceptable for 16 gigs.The only game i run that takes that much is RUST.



This is at idle and with firefox nightly open.

And yes i have the same version of windows as you.

 

I think there's a misunderstanding in how RAM is used. There is NOTHING unacceptable about 80%. In fact, with 16GB, 80% is perfectly normal. If anything, you could say it is wasting 20% and that would be unacceptable.

If you were hitting and staying at 100%, that would suggest a problem. But what that 80% is telling me is the OS is effectively using your available RAM, but not crying for more. That's a good thing.

 

not true if you play a game like rust it will take up to 16 gigs if not more for it to be playable.So if 80% is being taken all ready your system would crash.And windows is not suppose to a ram hog.

just to prove a point here is with rust loaded

 

I don't know on Win 11 but on Win 7 you go into the "Start" menu, then "Control Panel", then "System", then "Device Manager", then you can expand all/each of the devices/hardware and able to check each driver versions/editions/dates. I suspect it likely is something similar on Win 11.

Also IF you haven't already done so. Check the Motherboard's/Computer's Manufacture website in the Motherboard's/Computer's BIOS' section to see IF there MIGHT be an 'Updated' BIOS that may/does address your "Sleep State Wake" and/or "Hibernate" problems. And BEFORE you attempt a BIOS update, check with the others here helping FIRST for further instructions.

 

It is true. Sorry, but you don't understand how memory management works.

Sure, Rust likes 16GB of RAM but will run in 10GB.

If your system crashes at 80% RAM utilization, something else is wrong. That does NOT mean it has run out of RAM. In fact, if your system hits 100% RAM utilization, it will not crash if configured properly. Instead, it will force Windows to rely more so on virtual memory (page file on the hard drive or SSD), but continue running. It will most likely take a significant performance hit.
It will crash, however, if you dinked with PF settings and/or have allowed the drive to run out of free disk space.

And sorry but your screen shot proves nothing, except your entire environment is only using 70% of your available RAM.

And IN NO WAY will any running program be able to utilize all the RAM installed. Windows actually is very effective at managing memory efficiently. But the fact remains, Windows needs and uses some memory. Not to mention there typically are dozens of other tasks running at the same time.

Regardless, @X0Xgaming, this thread has nothing to do with Rust. And the OP is complaining about not being able to wake his system.

 

D.H. I did go to the Lenovo web site, did a scan using the tool I found there and there is a recommended update. I did not download or try to install based on what you said about getting help first.

Thanks. new versi0n M1VKT79A

 

And I switched to using Edge to see if that helps. I was unable to use the enhanced CMD. I do not have am admin password. When I tried to enter the enhanced CMD it asked for one and would not let me leave it blank.

 

What BIOS version is currently installed on your computer?

This is what Lenovo text file for the that M1VKT79A version shows https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/thinkcentre_bios/m1vjy79usa.txt for changes/fixes.

 

It is labeled "Revision Level" M1VKT6BA

And I have a bunch of tabs open on Edge, Closed all my chrome tabs. The computer was left to sleep overnight and it woke up just fine this morning. Coinicidence?

And if I follow the text file you sent me on updating my BIOS, I should be ok?

Thanks

 

BIOS updated, no Pup or adware, all device drivers are up to date and the computer unlocking as it is supposed to.
Thanks for your help