Taskbar (or possibly whole Windows) not responsive

Hello, I'd like to consult about a problem I started having a few days ago.

My computer is a legal Windows 8.1 and running on an SSD.

The issue is that my windows began becoming unresponsive at seemingly random moments. So far I can't figure out any pattern in what surely causes this problem. It's usually the taskbar and also the wallpaper that gets affected, but sometimes other programs as well like browsers.

The symptom is: the taskbar becomes opaque (normally I can see my wallpaper through it, when this happens the it turns to solid color) and unresponsive. Like any unresponsive programs if I hover my mouse over it the cursor turns to a loading cursor (spinning ring). I don't have access to functions like alt-tab and minimize/maximize either. If this happens at the wallpaper, I also become unable to click on icons or drag/drag-select properly. 

The issue is likely with Windows itself. I have managed to force-restart the process by repeatedly clicking on the unresponsive taskbar, which causes it to disappear and launch again. All other programs aren't affected, except the Windows Explorers which don't get restored.

I've run antivirus and malware programs, nothing was detected so I suspect something happened to my Windows itself. I haven't tried formatting the Windows just in case.

I haven't managed to find other cases that matches the problem I have. I'd very much like some assistance with this problem. Thank you.

March 20th, 2015 8:36am

Hello 

I would recommand at first to check the event log for any hint.
after that check your Hardware with a good diagnostic utilities.

if you fond nothing try to restore your windows from previous date or try to format and install back again.

bye 

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March 20th, 2015 9:09am

Apart from looking at the event logs you should also:

Log in to Safe mode and recheck the issue.

Clean Boot . See How to perform a clean boot in Windows

March 20th, 2015 9:21am

I found some entries which might be related, although I can't tell because I'm not familiar with event logs. These are the logs that began appearing roughly around the time I started having the issues.

Warning - "NtpClient was unable to set a manual peer to use as a time source because of DNS resolution error on 'time.windows.com,0x9'. NtpClient will try again in 15 minutes and double the reattempt interval thereafter. The error was: No such host is known. (0x80072AF9)"

Warning - "An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk2\DR2 during a paging operation."

I get a feeling these aren't the causes though, based on what I got from googling these.

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March 20th, 2015 10:39am

If I am understanding, this is happening even after formatting and reinstalling Windows?
March 20th, 2015 11:26am

Hello Hyung Jon,

Have you tried to use clean boot as MVP S.Sengupta mentioned?
If the issue doesnt exist in the clean boot, it may be related to third-party software.

Please open the task manager, stop the process Windows explorer and restart it again.
About how to restart Windows Explorer, please take a look at the following article.
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2686-windows-explorer-restart-explorer-exe-windows-8-a.html
Please note: Since the website is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.

As you receive error log about the device harddisk., please check the hardware by contacting the manufacturer
Additionally, please try to update the hardware dirver.

Best regards,
Fangzhou CHEN

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March 24th, 2015 1:32am

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