Windows 11 users with AMD Ryzen processors are reportedly being hit by a bug that in some cases is causing various problems including freezing up the PC and affecting the performance of games.
The issue was introduced with the December cumulative update for Windows 11 22H2 (patch KB5021255), and Windows Latest (opens in new tab) highlighted a number of users who are suffering at the hands of this gremlin and have posted complaints on Microsoft’s Feedback Hub and Reddit.
While this problem doesn’t seem to be all that widespread, those who are encountering it are getting pretty frustrated as some of the effects observed are nasty indeed.
One poster on the Reddit thread (opens in new tab) wrote: “After installing this update [KB5021255] on Windows 11 22H2, our clients with AMD CPUs started to completely freeze up at random times for minutes, then unfreeze again.”
Apparently uninstalling the patch resolved the issue (and the same thing happened with KB5019980, according to the poster). Furthermore, they observed that the same type of PCs running Windows 11 21H2 weren’t affected by these patches.
Another person with a PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X chimed in on the thread: “These CUs [cumulative updates] are causing my computer to randomly freeze then unfreeze after 10-20 seconds. I’ve been uninstalling apps I’ve recently put on my computer but still [have] the same issue.”
As well as problems around freezing up, Windows Latest notes that some users (presumably on the Feedback Hub, though they aren’t quoted) are further experiencing poor performance with games and drops in frame rates and stuttering. (This may cause some deja-vu for some folks, as well, as stuttering has been a big issue with a previous bug that has only just been cured).
Analysis: Bugs that cause more grief than usual
While it isn’t widespread, as we mentioned above, the severity of the bug for some people – with PCs apparently locking up for 20 seconds or even minutes at a time – is going to be supremely irritating. And anything that interferes with gaming frame rates will be very unwelcome, too, obviously enough.
It’s not the first time Windows 11 has come unstuck with Ryzen CPUs either. Back in October 2022, high-end Ryzen models ran into trouble with the operating system’s thread scheduler effectively throttling them.
With any luck, Microsoft and AMD will be looking into this latest issue, although it may be the case that if the number of impacted users isn’t that many, it won’t be high on the priority list. As there’s a lot of stuff to fix of late with Windows 11, as you can tell from that Reddit thread where there are a number of other miscellaneous complaints. One example that springs readily to mind that we’ve just highlighted is another annoying bug with File Explorer (where it randomly pops to the front of the desktop, on top of other apps you may be using, obscuring them).
Indeed, there appear to be a few too many strange and frustrating bugs plaguing Microsoft’s desktop OS of late – let’s hope this isn’t going to become a trend for Windows 11.
