The Windows 10 freezing issue has been plaguing many users of the Windows 10 anniversary update. This freezing issue was caused after a system level change made in the Windows 10 anniversary update (also known as Redstone 1). Has this problem been fixed? The short answer is yes, it was solved. Here’s some background.

I first noticed this freezing issue back in January of 2016, when Microsoft released one of the first builds of Windows 10 from its Redstone 1 development branch. The PC would freeze suddenly. I could move the mouse, but my mouse clicks or keyboard commands would yield nothing. After some time, usually ranging from a few seconds to over a minute, the computer would unfreeze and all the clicks and keyboard commands I gave the PC while it was frozen would happen in rapid consecutive order.

For instance, say I am editing a video, and this happened, the PC would freeze, and I would try to play the preview. Nothing would happen. I would click the start menu. Nothing. I would try opening File Explorer and task manager. No use. The PC would stay frozen. After, say, 30 seconds, the PC would unfreeze, would play the preview video, open the Start menu, launch File Explorer and Task Manager in rapid concession.

After the PC unfroze, everything would seem to be fine until the next freezing cycle occurred, which could happen a few seconds later to a few minutes later. But it would happen.

I reported the issue to Microsoft, both on twitter and feedback hub. They gave me no response. Microsoft didn’t even show signs of acknowledgment of this problem’s existence. My guess is that MS’s feedback filter system failed to bring this issue forth. Or, perhaps, not enough insiders had this issue for them to get enough telemetry.

I knew that the issue had to do with the Hard Drive. My laptop had the freezing issue while I had a crucial SSD drive in there. After replacing it with a Kingston SSD, the problem disappeared. Now, before you say anything, no it’s not the SSD’s fault. That same SSD showed no freezing problems with Windows 10 Version 1511 or Windows 8. When I put the Crucial SSD running the Anniversary Update on a completely different PC, the issue occurred.

After the release of the Anniversary Update, more and more reports of the freezing issues surfaced. I had expected this to happen (hoping, in fact). In fact, an old  bug report video I made about this issue skyrocketed in views after the release of the Anniversary Update, with many complaining that they were experiencing this issue as well.. This allowed Microsoft to get enough telemetry to diagnose the issue and release a fix. The fix was released with a cumulative update for Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607). If you have a Windows 10 minor build number of 14393.187 or higher, then you should no longer have the freezing issue. Microsoft later integrated that patch to its RS2 development builds. So, if you are running Redstone 2 builds of Windows 10, make sure you are on build 14926 or higher to ensure you are running the fix.

According to Microsoft, the issue was, indeed, related to SSDs. The freezing issue occurred if an user had the OS installed on an SSD, with some apps installed on another hard drive, which was the case for me. And, thankfully, the update solved the issue for me. If it doesn’t solve the issue for you, it is likely that something else is causing freezing problems on your PC and you would need to take steps to diagnose the issue.

So, let us know if you had the issue and whether the patch fixed the issue.