Since upgrading to Windows 11 about a year ago, my computer has developed increasingly frequent display freezes. The screens can freeze once or several times a day, especially during Zoom calls or when VSCode is open and the computer has been sitting at the screensaver for a while. I'm using two DisplayPort monitors connected through a TESmart dual-monitor KVM switch, which is connected to a Windows 11 PC with an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT.
When the problem happens, the audio continues normally, so I can still hear a Zoom meeting even though the displays are completely frozen. Occasionally the screen recovers on its own after waiting, but usually I have to restart the computer. After rebooting, toggling the graphics driver in Device Manager—Enable, Disable, then Enable again—temporarily restores everything.
All drivers and Windows updates are current. I'm considering bypassing the KVM switch for several days to see whether it's contributing to the issue, but I'd like to know what else I should test before resorting to a clean Windows installation.
1 Answer
The audio continuing while the display locks up points toward an AMD display-driver timeout or a signal-handshake problem, possibly involving the KVM and Windows 11 power or sleep states. I’d first bypass the KVM and connect the monitors directly to the graphics card for several days. Also disable the screensaver temporarily and check whether the freezes still happen after the monitors wake.
If the issue continues, use AMD Cleanup Utility in Safe Mode to remove the existing driver, then install a stable driver with a minimal or driver-only setup. That’s worth trying before reinstalling Windows.
That matches what I suspected. I’m going to remove the KVM from the setup for about a week and see whether the freezes stop. It’s the main unknown between the graphics card and the displays right now.