How to Fix Freezing and Buzzing Noise Issue on your Windows 11 PC

After the release of Windows 11, many users have reported experiencing an error where their computer will freeze while running a program or game and suddenly their screen is frozen and they hear a very loud noise coming out of their headphones or speakers. This problem is not new to Windows 11 and has existed in previous versions of Windows.

Now, it can be very hard to pinpoint what is causing this issue. As far as user reports go, it generally happens during playing graphics-intensive games or running the Chrome browsers but sometimes it can even happen while watching a movie or even when your computer is idle. Regardless of what is causing this issue, here are some fixes that will help you to eliminate this issue.

1. Restart Your Computer

It is highly likely that this error simply happened due to any internal bug or any system service crashing. In such cases, restarting your computer will restart all the background apps and processes and fix this issue.

Now, if you are experiencing this issue, you have two options depending on if you can access your desktop. If the application you were running was frozen but you can tab out by pressing the Windows key or tab out of that frozen application by pressing ALT+Tab then you can restart your computer from the Start Menu.

To do that, go to the Start Menu by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard and then clicking on the Power button. Now, from the power menu select ‘Restart’.

Now, if the whole screen is frozen then you have to use the physical button on your cabinet. Generally, in all cabinets, there is a physical restart button next to or near the power button. Press that button and your computer will restart.

2. Boot Windows in Safe Mode

If your computer often freezes and makes a buzzing noise then you can try booting your computer into Safe Mode. When your computer boots into the Safe Mode, it only runs the essential services and background apps. It also uses only necessary drivers. You can boot your computer into the Safe Mode using the System Configuration window.

First, open up the Run window by pressing Windows+r on your keyboard. Now, on the Run window, type ‘msconfig’ inside the command line and then press Enter.

After the ‘System Configuration’ window opens up, switch to the ‘Boot’ tab and then you will see the ‘Safe boot’ option in the ‘Boot options’ section. Now, tick the box before Safe boot. Don’t forget to make sure that below Safe boot, the minimal toggle is selected.

Then, switch over to the ‘Services’ tab. From there, check the box that says ‘Hide all Microsoft services’.

Lastly, click on ‘Disable all’. After that click on okay and restart your computer. Once your computer boots up, use it for a while and check if you are experiencing any screen freeze followed by the buzzing noise.

If you still experience the same issue then you should try other fixes. But after booting into Safe Mode if you experience no issue then this means a third-party application or service is causing this issue. In such cases removing the faulty application will eliminate the issue.

3. Reinstall/Update Graphics Driver

According to users who also have experienced this issue, often times re-installing or updating GPU drivers has fixed the issue. This indicates that outdated or broken graphics drivers can cause your computer to freeze. To make sure that your GPU drivers are updated, you can use the dedicated driver software such as the Nvidia GeForce Experience or the AMD Radeon Software.

Here, we have an Nvidia GPU installed, and therefore to demonstrate the steps we will use the GeForce Now experience. If you have an AMD Radeon GPU installed then you need to use the dedicated software for AMD GPUs. There is no need to worry as the steps are more or less the same.

First, open up your GPU software by searching for it in the Start Menu search and then selecting it from the search results.

Once the GeForce Experience window opens, click on ‘DRIVERS’ next to ‘HOME’ located on the top-left corner of the window.

After that, click on ‘CHECK FOR UPDATES’ located below your username on the right side of the window.

If there is no update available, it will show ‘You have the latest GeForce Game Ready Driver’ on the bottom-left side of the screen. This means that the driver is not what is causing your computer to freeze.

On the other hand, if there is an update available, you will be prompted to download it. Update your GPU driver and then restart your computer afterward to see if this fixes the issue.

Alternatively, you can also use the Device Manager application to update or reinstall the GPU driver. If you are running an Integrated Graphics Card or an APU then this method will be applicable for you. First, open up the Device Manager application by searching for it in Windows search.

After the Device Manager window opens, click on the arrow before ‘Display adapters’ to expand the menu. Now, from the expanded menu, right-click on your GPU and then click on ‘Update driver’.

Then, a new window will appear. From there, click on ‘Search automatically for drivers’.

After that, Windows will automatically look for available updates. If there is one, it will be downloaded and installed. Otherwise, it will show ‘The best drivers for your device are already installed’.

You can also try uninstalling and then reinstalling your graphics drivers. Right-click once again on the GPU from the expanded Display adapters menu and this time, instead of ‘Update driver’, select ‘Uninstall device’.

You will receive a dialog box called ‘Uninstall Device’. From there, click on ‘Uninstall’ and your screen may go black for a few seconds. Let it load back and then restart your computer.

After your computer boots up, Windows will automatically reinstall the graphics drivers and the issue should be fixed.

4. Clean Your RAM

If you encounter the ‘Freezing and Buzzing Noise Issue’ very frequently then you may clean your RAM sticks. Sometimes there is an error or fault in connection which can also cause this problem. Therefore, take the RAM sticks out of your motherboard and re-install them properly and see if this fixes your issue. You can also try alternative PCIe slots if it does not work initially.

If the issue is still not fixed then maybe you need to replace your RAM. Bad Memory can cause numerous issues in your computer. Also, make sure that you are not using custom memory profiles for your RAM. You can check this by going to the BIOS of your motherboard.

5. Check for CPU Overheating

If you are running intensive games or tasks that require high processing power then it is possible that this issue is caused by your CPU overheating or thermal throttling. To check this you have to use any third-party applications or go to the BIOS of your computer.

Now, what is the ideal temperature for your CPU to be in while it is running completely depends on which CPU you have. Although, if your CPU crosses 85-90 degrees then it is probably overheating and highly dangerous for your system.

In this case, there are quite a few things that you can consider. You can simply stop running those highly demanding games or applications so that your processor does not go through heavy load all the time. If this is not an option for you, then you might have to provide your processor with better cooling by using an aftermarket CPU cooler. You can also use a better thermal paste to conduct more heat and keep your CPU temperature low.

6. Update Audio Drivers

Just like the GPU driver, you can use the Device Manager app to update your audio drivers. To do that, first, open up the Device manager app by searching for it in the Start menu search and then selecting it from the search results.

Once the Device Manager window opens, click on the arrow before ‘Audio inputs and outputs’.

Then, from the expanded menu, right-click on any audio device and then select ‘Update driver’.

A new window will appear. From there, click on ‘Search automatically for drivers’.

Now, if there is an update available, it will be downloaded. You can also check for audio driver updates in the Windows update. After the update your complete, you can restart your computer and the problem should be fixed.

7. Perform an SFC Scan

If you do an SFC scan on your computer, it will show you if your system had any broken/corrupted file and will also remove it from your system. To do this, first, open up the Command Prompt window in administrator mode by searching for it in the Start Menu search.