Metro Start Screen randomly freezes on restart

JohnnyGui

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191
Good day all,

For some reason lately, when restarting my PC and logging in (with a picture password) the Metro Start screen that comes up sometimes randomly freezes/locks up. I can still move my mouse but the tiles aren't clickable at all nor do the live tiles change. Any buttons on the Metro UI don't respond either and the charms bar doesn't show up. It is as if the screen is completely frozen except for my mouse. This only happens during a restart; a cold boot doesn't cause this.

During this freeze I only have 2 ways to get out of it:
1. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and doing a restart. Choosing to log off instead and logging in again still shows the Metro Start screen in a locked condition.
2. Pressing the Windows key. When doing that, the screen blinks and it brings me to the Desktop. An error shows up in my events saying that Explorer.exe has crashed. Here's the log:

The program Explorer.EXE, version 6.3.9600.17284 is not responding to Windows and has been shut down.

Proces-id: 580
Starttijd: 01cff3ed53c30a9e
Eindtijd: 15
Toepassingspad: C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
Rapport-id: 9963ff96-5fe0-11e4-becc-bc5ff44ab185
Volledige pakketnaam met fout:
Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout:

I haven't made any changes prior to this issue except disabling the option for Windows to bring me to the Desktop immediately after a boot (which, when enabled, obviously doesn't cause the freeze since it bypasses the Metro screen).
A sfc /scannow doesn't show any corruption.
I reformatted the PC and after a while the problem came back

However, I kind of narrowed down the problem:
1. The freeze seems to have started after I enabled .NET Framework 3.5 in the Windows features options. I'm not sure about this though. Disabling it doesn't fix the problem.
2. The freeze tends to occur more often when I log in with my picture password very fast. The Welcome prompt and the spinning circle in the left half of the screen then takes longer than usual until it brings me to the (freezed) Metro screen.

Note again that this issue happens randomly and I have no idea what triggers it, so I can't say for sure if it also occurs in Safe Mode.

Specs:
Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit with Media Center
i5-3570K (stock) CPU and a GTX 660Ti GPU with 344.48 WHQL drivers
8 GB RAM and 1 TB HDD

Could someone please help me with this annoying problem?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (Update 1) Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asrock Pro4 Z77
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Geforce GTX 660Ti
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HDS921010DLE630
UPDATE: I noticed that this problem only occurs when using a picture password to log in. Typing a password instead doesn't cause this freeze.

EDIT: Nvm, it also happens when typing a password.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (Update 1) Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asrock Pro4 Z77
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Geforce GTX 660Ti
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HDS921010DLE630
Ok, this day has been the worst by now. The Metro froze literally 10 times after 10 consecutive reboots. A few times, the tiles and the buttons of the Metro screen don't even come up after logging in and I am left with a blank purple screen (purple being the theme color of the Start screen). The issue even ocurred once after a cold boot!!

I'm not getting this. Could someone please help me solve this?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (Update 1) Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asrock Pro4 Z77
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Geforce GTX 660Ti
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HDS921010DLE630
Ok, I have been able to narrow down the possible causes of this.

I have reformatted the harddrive and installed a clean version of Windows 8.1 Pro. After installing drivers etc., the problem came back again after a restart. I know that I installed the Realtek sound drivers from my mobo's manufacturer's website right before the restart.
However, since this freezing issue is very random, it could be caused by other drivers I installed before that. Until the problem ocurred, I had enabled .NET Framework 3.5 and installed the following from my mobo's manufacturer's website (from here: http://www.asrock.nl/mb/Intel/Z77%20Pro4/index.nl.asp?c... ): INF drivers, Intel Rapid Storage Technology and Realtek sound drivers as mentioned earlier.

I'm thinking of uninstalling each of them and see how this goes. However, I do need the Intel Rapid Storage driver and but I can't find a newer version compatible for my system (mobo: Asrock Pro4 z77 with i5-3570K). The one on my manufacturer's site is also pretty outdated (10/25/2013).

Any help with this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (Update 1) Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Asrock Pro4 Z77
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Geforce GTX 660Ti
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HDS921010DLE630
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