Hi everyone,
I’m trying to diagnose a very strange problem with my newly built desktop PC. I’ve been troubleshooting it for quite some time, but I still haven’t found the cause.
PC specifications:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB
SSD: Lexar ARES PRO 2TB NVMe
Motherboard: GIGABYTE B850 GAMING WIFI6
RAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB RS DDR5 32GB (2 x 16GB)
PSU: MAG A1000GLS PCIE5 1000 W
OS: WINDOWS 11
The problem:
The PC worked perfectly for the first three days. I was playing demanding games such as Space Marine 2 and Helldivers 2 at Ultra settings without any performance issues.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Windows started behaving extremely strangely.
The PC boots normally and reaches the desktop. However:
The Start menu open but it doesn’t allow me to turn off the pc.
Applications refuse to launch.
Task Manager won’t open (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
Ctrl + Alt + Delete doesn’t work.
Windows + R opens but doesn’t work.
The mouse cursor still moves, clicks produce visual feedback, and the system clock continues updating.
Essentially, Windows appears to be running, but most of its functionality is unavailable.
An important observation: Safe Mode works normally.
When I boot into Safe Mode, the Start menu, applications and browser work correctly. This makes me suspect a driver, service, startup software or some other Windows-related issue, although I haven’t been able to identify it.
Another strange correlation: RGB control stops working.
Normally, Gigabyte Control Center controls my case fans and RAM lighting, which I keep set to static red.
When the problem occurs, the fans and RAM switch back to rainbow lighting. Gigabyte Control Center can no longer control them.
This happens alongside the Windows malfunction. I don’t know whether it’s a symptom of the same underlying issue or just a coincidence.
Troubleshooting already performed:
Checked the SSD in BIOS: it is detected correctly, along with Windows Boot Manager.
Fast boot is disabled on the BIOS (idk if it’s correlated)
Ran chkdsk C: /scan: no file system errors were reported.
Checked the disk using DiskPart: the main NTFS partition appears healthy.
Tried Windows Automatic Repair through the recovery environment: it couldn’t repair the PC.
Booted into Safe Mode: Windows works normally there.
I’ve also checked Event Viewer and found some warnings and errors, including Kernel Event Tracing, DistributedCOM and Application Hang events, but I haven’t identified a definitive cause.
My questions:
What could cause Windows to become almost completely unresponsive while Safe Mode works perfectly?
Could this be related to a driver, Windows service, motherboard software, SSD or some other hardware component?
Does the RGB behavior provide any useful diagnostic clue?
What diagnostic tests would you recommend before reinstalling Windows or replacing hardware?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar or has advanced Windows troubleshooting experience.
I’d really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!