Problem Occurrence#
Every day after booting up, the computer either freezes with a black screen or encounters a blue screen.
After booting up without doing anything, the screen goes black and there is no response. I have to long-press the power button to restart.
After booting up, if I open the browser and use it for a while, a blue screen appears. After a hard restart, it freezes again and requires another hard restart.
After booting up, if I use the computer for less than five minutes, it freezes and can only be restarted forcefully.
After multiple boot-ups, sometimes the screen goes black and restarts suddenly after opening the browser or other applications.
In summary, the problem with the computer is that it freezes or encounters a blue screen every time it is booted up.
The difficulty in testing is that the computer returns to normal after repeated restarts, and the issue does not occur again until the next day. The only way to test is to restart the computer every day.
Retrieving the Timeline#
Investigate each potential cause of the problem.
What did I do before noticing this issue? I tried to install Docker but failed. I performed various system repair steps, enabled virtual disks, installed Windows Subsystem for Linux, etc. However, even after uninstalling Docker and removing the subsystem, the problem persisted.
The power supply is unstable. Whenever my colleague next to me uses a hot water bag, my monitor goes black for a second.
Sometimes, when I boil water myself, the screen also flickers. A sudden increase in power can cause the monitor to flicker. There is an external UPS power supply, and power outages frequently occur during summer when there are power restrictions.
I have a WiFi module connected to the desktop, could it be a network card driver issue?
I have a USB docking station connected, with a numeric keypad and a DIY clock. Could there be conflicts with the interfaces?
I installed some software and updated several drivers and system security patches.
Attempted Solutions#
✅ Uninstall all recently installed software.
✅ Replace the UPS power supply with a regular power strip.
✅ Uninstall recently installed drivers and patches.
✅ Disconnect WiFi and test the computer in offline mode.
✅ Remove the docking station and disconnect the numeric keypad.
✅ Start the computer in a clean boot and disable all non-essential startup items.
✅ Set the power options to "Best Performance," disable screen savers and sleep mode.
✅ During the boot-up phase, avoid using high-power electrical appliances.
✅ Try different USB ports for the mouse and keyboard.
I won't go into the specific details of these operations as they can be found online. The key point is that even after trying all these steps, the computer still experiences a black screen freeze upon booting up, followed by a blue screen freeze. It takes three or four hard restarts to get it running normally.
With no other options left, I decided to reinstall the system. I used a brand new 32GB USB drive and Rufus to automatically download the latest Windows 11 ISO and create a bootable disk.
I was a bit worried when using the self-made bootable disk to install the system, especially since my computer encountered a blue screen interruption during the creation of the bootable disk. I wasn't sure if the disk was damaged.
During the installation process, there was a long period of inactivity with only the message "Ready." I installed a completely clean version of Windows 11 without any pre-installed third-party software. Compared to systems installed using tools like "Xiao Bai Zhuang Ji," it was like the difference between synthetic meat and real beef.
I installed basic tools such as input methods, office suites, browsers, etc. On the third day, the computer froze when accessing a webpage in the browser.
I was on the verge of collapse. I had installed all the patches for the reinstalled system, but this freezing issue persisted like a stubborn shadow. I had tried every possible solution, from software to external device power supply, from wireless drivers to wired broadband, removing the UPS power supply, and even replacing the 4K monitor. I disabled all software from starting up with the computer.
Despite trying all these solutions, the problem of black screen freezes and automatic restarts still persisted. I started considering hardware damage, such as whether I needed to replace the memory, motherboard battery, or power supply.
If the problem couldn't be solved, I planned to keep the computer running continuously like a server until it completely crashed, and then replace it with a new one. Of course, before using this method, I would make sure to back up all my data.
Day 150: God Opens His Eyes#
On this day, while using the latest version of Figma to input Chinese characters, I encountered garbled text. The solution was to switch to the default Chinese input method. Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck me. Why had I never considered whether the input method was causing the problem?
I believed that using the "Xiao Lang Hao" input method should be safe from any third-party malicious ad hijacking. I had no issues with "Xiao Lang Hao." The key was that if I changed the system's default input method to "Xiao Lang Hao," it would cause an error, just like how Figma encountered an error when inputting Chinese characters.
When I changed the default input method back to Microsoft Pinyin, the blue screen issue upon booting up was finally resolved.
To ensure that the problem was completely resolved, I released the startup of several software applications every day, which was the opposite of what I did during the troubleshooting process.
After a week of normal boot-ups with all commonly used software applications released from startup, I could almost confirm that the problem of blue screen freezes and black screen freezes upon booting up, which had plagued me for over a hundred days, was completely resolved.
This was probably a bug caused by multiple issues overlapping.
I can't be certain that changing the system's default input method to Microsoft Pinyin is the correct solution, but if you encounter similar boot-up issues, you might want to try this little secret revealed by God.