Windows 11 users running AMD Ryzen processors are said to be running into a glitch that in some cases causes various problems including freezing of the computer and affecting gaming performance.
The issue was introduced with Windows 11 December Cumulative Update 22H2 (Patch KB5021255), and newer Windows (Opens in a new tab) A number of users experiencing this gremlin have highlighted and posted complaints on Microsoft’s Feedback Hub and Reddit.
While this problem does not appear to be widespread, those who encounter it are frustrated that some of the observed effects are actually bad.
1 poster on a Reddit thread (Opens in a new tab) He wrote: “After installing this update [KB5021255] On Windows 11 22H2, our customers with AMD processors started to freeze completely at random times for minutes, then unfreeze again. “
Uninstalling the patch seems to have fixed the issue (same thing happened with KB5019980, according to the poster). Moreover, they note that the same type of Windows 11 21H2 PC is not affected by these patches.
Another person with a PC powered by AMD Ryzen 9 5900X got into the thread: “These modules [cumulative updates] It randomly causes my computer to freeze and then unfreeze after 10-20 seconds. I have uninstalled the apps I recently put on my computer but still [have] The same problem “.
In addition to issues with freezing, Windows Latest notes that some users (presumably on the feedback center, although they don’t mention it) are also experiencing poor performance with games, low frame rates, and stuttering. (This may cause some deja-vu for some people too, as stuttering was a major problem in a previous bug that has just been fixed).
Analysis: Bugs that cause more grief than usual
Although it’s not widespread, as mentioned above, for some people the severity of the error – with computers seemingly shutting down for 20 seconds or even minutes at a time – will be quite annoying. And anything that interferes with gaming frame rates would be very unwelcome, too, obviously enough.
It’s not the first time Windows 11 has failed with Ryzen CPUs either. Back in October 2022, high-end Ryzen models had an issue with the operating system’s thread scheduler that effectively throttled them.
With any luck, Microsoft and AMD will be looking into this last issue, although it might be that if the number of affected users isn’t much, it won’t be high on the priority list. There have been a lot of things to fix lately with Windows 11, as you can tell from this Reddit thread where there are a number of other miscellaneous complaints. One example that easily comes to mind that we just highlighted is another annoying bug in File Explorer (it randomly appears at the front of your desktop, above other applications you might be using, blocking them).
In fact, there seem to be quite a few weird and frustrating bugs plaguing Microsoft’s desktop operating system lately — let’s hope this doesn’t become a Windows 11 trend.