Question Windows 11 AMD And pretty much any game played crashes windows 11's explorer. Forza 5, BioShock, GRiD, u name it

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,290
389
126
I have been fighting myself with some games on windows 11 to crash, Forza 5 and a old game which is BioShock remastered so far after redoing my room where I am now at, getting my equipment out of the old room and into here, and now got my Hisense tv hooked to my audio card, and using the 6700XT as my audio source to my tv so when I do not feel like using my Marantz I have some good Altec Lansing speakers to use in place of my tv, but not sure if you or anyone else there is having this problem, but felt what I have found fighting windows 11 new install, some games new and old, and using the 6700xt audio vs using my creative x3 going to my Marantz receiver. I was just about to say f it all to windows 11, for I been going nuts since getting my tv in here so I can read text again, and playing some games.

The problem I been having so far with Forza 5 is the game would start, but start in the background, with a tab in the taskbar showing the game is running, and same really goes or Bioshock, starts the same way, in the background. The VERY moment I click on the icon or full size (BioShock) out of window mode and into full screen, my game goes away and locks up, windows explorer flashes, all desktop and taskbar icons go away and come back, but now either of the games, they have icons in the taskbar, but do nothing but allow me to right click and close windows and for the most part it just quits. Sometimes I have to go into task manager and kill it for it says not not responding.

Before forza would just die on booting game. If I select the desktop ico, and not xbox app, right clicking, run as admin, the game will then not crash. but do then like bioshock and wrote above. I actually got it to run yesterday and was sooooo happy, thought I figured it out. I also found out after fixing that problem and NEW Forza 5 problem came up telling me my profile attached to the game was no longer and coudnt be used to play that game. After more hours of messing around found if I make a new MS outlook email when I signed out and asked to use my original I been using for decades, decided to just make a new MS outlook email, and it worked, and after I signed out of the new email, and signed back in with my original one, it loaded up and played NP even had the save from when my son and I was playing it through my laptop browser while we waited for my pc to install it.

My son and I yesterday wanted to do some old school modern game and tried to fire up BioShock remastered, and well, it was doing above and last night I wanted to get some racing in before bed and it started crashing in full screen all over again with Forza. They both will run fine, audio is working, can here it all load up but no matter how long I let them run for in the background and feel its got to be ok now, its been running for a long time, and click on the icon, and bam, lock up, explorer restarts, no more game, audio from said game that was just playing in the background, dead, and at that point I was pissed and decided this morning when I get I up I am just going to redo my pc with windows 10 again and let 11 bake a little longer.

I was sitting here chilling, waiting for MS to make me a flash drive with 10 on it since my other had 11, and fired up my Marantz, selected my X3, and was listening to music, when it got done and decided to try and see if there was anything at all out there I was missing I have not seen or tried before I redo my pc, but the main thing up to this point, I been playing all my games on a much smaller monitor while my son been doing up my new room for me, using my X3 going to my vintage Sony set up. but for craps and giggles fired up Forza, and worked perfectly again. I decided wth, the internet guy just left putting in a new fiber box due to my other acting up, and since I been working on pc/cars/rc cars and trucks for well over 30 years (not combined) thought of all the crazy crap I had go down you would never think in a million years that would of caused a problem and did anyway, but said before I redo all of this all over again with windows 10 this time and tried it anyway, and DAMNIT IT WORKED full screen and all. wait for it ;)

Got into the menu of bioshock, switched from wind to full screen, 4k everything on to the max, and played the game, and was like wtf, I did nothing different but went to bed, got up, moved files around off the ssd since I was going to be redoing it, and ONLY thing different was new internet fiber box. WAIT FOR IT!

Since my son hooked a heater up in my room near my Marantz, the sub is no longer coming on, and I wanted the boom boom. I stopped the game, switched over the audio selection to AMD_Hisense so it will come out my speakers I hooked up to the tv's headphone jack, fired up the game and................CRASH!!!!!!! Fired up Forza 5 and CRASH!!!!! This was with using the old 10/21 and 11/21 optional AMD driver for my 6700xt. AND YES, I been doing this for a VERY long time, so all my drivers are up to date, all gaming software is up to date, all EVEYTHING is up to date and using the windows 11 drivers only, and when I switched back to my X3 and Marantz, they worked perfect, switched back over to AMD and using my tv, even switched it from DP to HDMI and tried several different DP and HDMI cables cheap and high dollar with NO change at all, crashes all the time all over agin till I select ANYTHING BUT AMD from the list. And YES I have configured it and set up its properties to make sure nothing in there is causing a issue like between bitrate/HRZ and my tv trying to play it, but since all BUT games seem to work with AMD selected, I can only at this point assume it has to do with AMD's audio driver and windows 11 not liking each other. But shut them down, switch to AMD for audio and select my TV for the speakers, and those games crash all over again when ever they go from running in the background to clicking on icon in taskbar trying to run full screen.


So far those have been the only 2 games I have tried so far after loading up windows, doing all the drivers, reinstalling Origin, GOG, steam the like trying to play them using the Audio from my AMD 6700XT.

So not too sure what the heck is going on here, but so far felt it warranted enough of my time in what I have found, and why it is Forza is crashing for soooooo many people, and now with bioshock doing it, but both run perfect if ANY other then AMD being used for audio, seems to only be effecting games I can tell, doesnt crash with music, surfing, or movies, just with games, and AMD as the audio souce/driver with windows 11. I plan on trying some other games ( I have almost 2K alone in Steam not counting all the others, I love Fanatical) and will post more game finding later today as I try them before I redo my pc later today or tomorrow with windows 10, for if it is the AMD driver, and its Audio software causing this crash to me, and millions of others, I really do not have ANY way to find a updated driver just for my Video cards audio.

So take with a grain of salt. Not sure if you or others are having this problem, but AMD and games using my video card as the audio source is a HUGE no go when trying to play a game. Any other audio selected but the AMD one, and games work perfectly fine (well aside of Forza and that error saying my liked account to the game is no more, but figured that out), but this one was killing me for days I been trying all I knew, and read, and was just about to give up, but had my son forgot to plug my sub in, and using my Marantz and 7.1 Analog to it, then Switching back over to my tv, and doing all I been fighting with for hours and days, never in a million years would of thought it came down really to the freaking AMD sound capabilities and windows 11 causing the crashes in those games so far, and have a feeling the list is about to get HUGE in a few hours ;)

Sorry again for the book, but felt this was too important not to share my findings since the OP started off with saying his 6800xt and audio from it has been acting a fool, and not sure if he is running 10 or 11, but if 11, here is your fix. Dump 11, go back to 10, AMD audio driver will now work fine, and wait for 11 to bake for a bit more ;)
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Game edits:

Steam Games:
------------------

Bioshock Infinite-Gets into main menu, set game up, selected my saved game and went to load up my saved game after menu screen, said loading then.....CRASH! Selected then my Marantz and X3, plays just fine.
GRiD 2019-Does like Bioshock and Forza, but doesn't even make it to menu before it crashes windows explorer. Works fine with same tv and video going from my6700XT, but again Using my X3 plays just fine.
GRiD 2-OMG what a PITA this one was! Made it to where it says GRiD on the screen and LOCKED up my PC. No hitting windows key, trying to go into task, it was just stuck on the GRiD screen and ONLY way I got out of it was to Task manager hit restart. Switched again over to my X3 after reboot of system no crashes, plays fine.

Origin Game(s)
NFS HP2 Remastered-Just flat out crashed the moment you hit play. Nothing comes up, the App for Origin locks up and need to manually shut game down. Game after about 10 min actually popped up even after closing the app, but locked up right away and had to manually shut it down. With the X3, and you guessed it, not a single problem.
Peggle-Works just fine
Bejeweled Twist-Works just fine
Star Wars Fallen Order- crash/lock up 10 min after it decided to pop up saying it was running, but no icon in the taskbar for said game. Could not get the splash screen for the game to go away from/off desktop after crash and turning stuff off. Had to reboot my pc and on X3 as audio however it worked fine.

Epic-
Ghostbusters Remastered-works fine
GTA V works fine, but with a AMD 3600X/6700XT/AMD or not in windows 11 under 25fps???

I tried a few more games, that were not small games with same results every time. I have again over 2K in games on steam itself, and I, since unpaid to fix their problems (cannot get work anywhere do this of which I love to do because I have no degree but all I know is 100% self taught), so why should I sit here in pain, mental problems, disabled, pretty much broke 24/7 as they pay millions to people to fix this of which I did in about 48 hours time? It pisses me off to no end, for I cannot get a job doing this, which would accommodate my disability problems keeping from getting other jobs that pay for crap, but because I have no papers, people in these positions getting paid the big bucks to fix something like this, or was able to figure out and diag that this was the problem they are facing to work on a fix between AMD and MS getting paid the big buck with papers cannot even diag or do their job right, but I cannot even get the work doing their job for they have papers and I do not :D Sad SAD Panda :( :(

I think at this point after trying them, and others that if you use the AMD video Card as sound through HDMI cable and windows 11, they do NOT like each other at all no matter what updates or drivers, or anything you read on the googles is fixing this, and honestly had it not been for my son forgetting to plug my sub back in, never, EVER, would of thought this was the problem for me and man man many others out there having the same issues. Its something about digital sound and games only for everything else, including playing movies in dd/dts/dtshd/atmos using amd's sound for just games crashes/locks up windows explorer in windows 11.

Little games with NO digital stuff in them to really decode, like peggle, has no effect, just larger well known games and AMD audio crashes the system, locks up my system, hangs my system, breaks my system with windows 11 for all these games with same tv, same video card, same audio selection on windows 10 all plays 110% just fine. And if this is a bug, and why everyone is having problems (not sure if nvidia is effected in same way), could I get the credit for this if it is what I say it is?

I am about to redo it back to 10 since till they fix this with a new driver, I canno wait for it and not get to play my games, for I already had the neighbors over complaining my bass was too much when using my Marantz during a week day, so I have no choice but to redo my system back to 10, for I use this in the morning or at night during a weekday, and it is a must now that my Hisense H8G is back with me in my new room, I cannot wait and sit here with no games to play, having to much time on my hands to let me think more on how much my life sucks ass. Need to keep my mind going 24/7 with no rest for bad things to come to mind, so no books from me for a little bit as I redo it all, and reinstall it all with windows 10 again. AMD and MS fix it!
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,290
389
126
Chipset drivers updated? Scanned for malware?

Its a fresh install with all new updated drivers and everything, with nothing non legit stuff installed, or websites gone to that I could of picked up something. But it is 100% for sure having to do with AMD and windows 11 not liking to play games together using the AMD card as sound card.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
If it's a fresh install, did you install the MSVCRT AIO driver pack from TechPowerUp.com ? That's should give you all of the MSVC Runtime "drivers" (really, runtime library support DLLs) that you need for some games (esp. Blizzard ones) to run properly.
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,290
389
126
Yes I always use that, and the direct x one as well. I have the newest they have for both too. All the games mentioned did work on it when running windows 10, BUT, Forza 5 did not come out till after I redid my stuff to run windows 11. And I just got my Hisense tv out here with me a week or so agao, and got my drives and stuff ready to play some games in 4K and 55 inches, then a 20" monitor, and my old man eyes looking at text that small, after about 2 hours I could not see jack crap with or without my glasses, everything was out of focus and blurry. But hooked it up, my speakers into the headphone jack of the tv and my Altec Lansing desktop speakers to give me a little some way better then tv speakers, and tried to load bioshock for old school gaming with my son, and crash. Tried Forza 5 for it was crashing, and had to redownload 100GB+ 3 or 4 times, till finally figured out that with all the rest of my games not playing right, is AMD Sound to my TV was selected. Onboards realtek, My Creative X3, Bluetooth headphones, all play sound, and when I try to play ALL my games, my pc NEVER crashes, but when I select AMD To Hisense and try to then play the same games it crashes on anything more demanding on the pc then Peggle type games.

Ontop of that, I have yet to move over, I am still trying more I can come up with thinking it may be the cause, and did my Iobit Driver Booster check, and it come up with a different driver for some IDE/SATA crap, and a AMD Gameready driver. I also for poo and giggles reinstalled the VS++/DX stuff. Still everything crashed. I then restarted my pc and got into bios. I set everything to default (again, but wanted to try one last time for I feel I have tried it all at this point and feel 99.99999999% right that it comes down to a game with audio digital code needing to be decoded to my TV through HDMI from select games that AMD hardware/software and something within Windows 11, like when it really did not matter what hardware you are running for sound, its become kinda universal making cards up to that point not really matter if it had Aopen or EAX, its all gonna sound no different anymore. So something between JUST AMD's hardware portion of the video card, and what ever different Microsoft has implemented as a standard those two may have over looked and why AMD is the most effected by the windows 11 all together for sound and windows 11 are not playing nice ;) Might even be something so stupid as to do with how ARC is sent to my tv and sound ;)

With that written, just come up with something I have not tried yet. I will finish and give my other troubleshoot a try and hopefully came up with a fix.....
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,290
389
126
Well.......

I thought maybe mentioning ARC that switching my tv over to HDMI Standard, and NOT HDMI 2.0, it could of been causing it, and nope it was not, still locked up the games no differences at all. With Bios set to default, and only things I had to change in it was my beep from my mobo, and the AMD Security permissions in bios so you can install and run windows 11 on the pc hardware stuffs.

So I am just gonna call it, for its only effected by HDMI/ARC/AMD Sound/And windows 11.
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
30,854
12,353
136
Just for this thread I installed Win 11 Pro on a spare SSD on my current AMD system.

The OS is running fine. I installed steam which has numerous older games like Serious Sam, UT3, Doom 2016, Doom 3 and Bioshock 1 & 2 both original and remastered.

I installed Bioshock 1 Remastered. It automatically installed the required VC+ files and Directx 9c.

The game works perfectly. No crashes at all.

I will try other games later on.
 

Justinus

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,166
1,508
136
I've been running W11 since launch on my 5950x/6900xt box and haven't had any issues like yours at all. Forza 4 runs fine. Forza 5 runs fine, besides the launch bugs that were fixed in the patch that just came out. Tomb raider games, doom Eternal, far cry 6, riftbreaker all run fine.

Haven't tried any other games since w11 though.
 

Justinus

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2005
3,166
1,508
136

Linus had his Win11 PC black-screen and lock-up while playing games on multi-mon.

Windows 11 shipped with many multi monitor bugs and I wouldn't be surprised. All of my issues were fixed after a major update a few days ago, and I'm not sure if Linus tested before or after the update that resolved these issues.
 

OlyAR15

Senior member
Oct 23, 2014
982
242
116

Linus had his Win11 PC black-screen and lock-up while playing games on multi-mon.
I take it you have no personal experience with W11?
This video is typical LTT FUD. Most "issues" he's listed is overblown, or just wrong.
1. It was a bug that got fixed. Hardly an issue.
2. Flat out wrong. You CAN install W11 Home without a Microsoft Account. There are easy workarounds, which I've verified myself. As an aside, I don't know why people make a big fuss about having a Microsoft account, but say nothing about having a Google or Apple Account. I have all 3.
3. Never had this issue. I always upgrade my drivers, especially my video drivers, from the manufacturer's website.
3.5. Also never experienced this.
4. Hated that change in W10, turned it off on all my PCs. I do like the live weather tile on W10, miss it, but the widget is an okay alternative.
4.5. Either he doesn't have much experience, or he's not telling the whole truth. He didn't mention that you can access Task Manager by right-clicking the start button. Not quite as simple as just clicking the task bar, but not that difficult either.
5. My main gaming rig and my flight sim rig both have intel cpu, so no experience with this issue. Have not had any issues playing games on W11 at all.
6. Never noticed this. My gaming monitors are set to 100% scaling, so that's probably why. May have to try hooking up a 2nd monitor to my work machine, which has a 4k display set at 150% scaling.
7. Also never exprerienced this. I upgraded W11 from W10 on 6 machines, all worked fine. Subsequently did a fresh install on 4 of them, also without a hitch. Not sure if this is any different than W10. Some had no issues doing an in-place upgrade from W7, others didn't. I've also had a fresh install of W10 go bad, and had to re-install it.
8. Never tried this. I keep most of my icons in the tray.
9. He skipped 9
10. Eh. Never had an issue with rounded corners. Do like the idea of increasing the sweet spot. Right-click menu is annoying, though.
11. Don't use windows search a lot, and the few times I do I never had an issue finding apps. Still, if there are ways to streamline, I'm all for it.

Overall, a lot of his "issues" are pretty minor, IMO. It just seems that he's making a mountain range out of molehills.
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,290
389
126
I had windows 10 before going 11, and aside of never had redone it for a while, was developing problems due to a flooded reg files, and clean ups over the year(s).

ALL hardware was the same for 10 as well as the move over to 11.

ALL the games were playing great, without a hitch, BUT I was not at the time using my Hisense TV again as my monitor in my new room/set up and was using a cheap on with no speakers in it, and my DP cable since it had a single DP input, and the audio I was using before the tv move was my old 80's sony receiver and 90's DCM speakers with my Creative X3 sound card, using the headphone jack to the sony due to where everything was placed, and when I wanted to be quiet I then plugged my little Altec Lansing Desktop speakers with a very little sub speaker. NOTHING Digital at all, or have to do with my 6700XT other then VIDEO at this point.

We bring out my Marantz SR3010 to the new room and my H8G Hisense tv I been using as a computer monitor for my eyesight after about a hour on the little one goes bad, and with or without glasses, no matter what I try to read I cannot see. Hooked up my Xb1 to the tv, and "dial" it in with it using the video stuff in it, then finalize it to my taste. I had been up to this point been playing all my games, and my son and I wanted to check out BioShock Remastered on the TV with my pc. I had to select then the MAD as my Sound for it was then hooked up to my pc using the HDMI line, selecting 1-HISENSE (AMD High Definition Audio), changing at this point JUST the setting to 48KLZ for it was going through the HDMI line, and from there the headphone jack out the tv to my Altec Lansing's.

At this point is when crap got weird for it did not matter after much much testing that ANY game "better" then Peggle type would crash. Some right away, some after loading, some would right away, then get into menu some times, but click full screen and it would then crash (this is BioShock). MOST started with music, but would not go right into full screen, but sit on my taskbar, and then the moment I click on it and it goes to resize for fullscreen, it crashes. Some even when they crash lock up everything to a point I have NO CHOICE but to hold my power button in.

I have tried all the drivers, signed and unsigned for AMD. I have the newest bios, and even set it to stock defaults, but flipped back on the trusted computing again for default turns that off, and needed for widows 11. I have all the rest of the newer driversvisual/dirctx/the works, not my first time doing this kind of crap ;) the windows was a legit windows, and newest one taken from MS put to my SD card. I furthermore updated all windows, for I went into it and asked it to look and did not wait for a pop up, and installed everything. I googled my problem, and there are others, for the ONLY EFFCTS using the 6700xt (of mine) sending audio for ONLY GAMES PLAYED, music, movies, crappy cheap games, it played perfectly fine using the 6700xt (AMD to my Hisense, or Marantz) worked great, but once you go beyond a Peggle like game, NOTHING GAMEWISE at that point would go to my Marantz or Hisense. And yes I even unplugged one then the other to see if by chance it didnt like something, and did not make a difference.

If it had to use the audio going from my 6700XT for JUST the GAMES I was screwed. NOW Games running off my X3 in Analog 7.1 going to my Marantz, or through my Headphone jack to my Sony, worked fine, NOTHING crashed at all played be it games or anything else, the very moment I swtch audio over to my AMD card and either my Marantz or my Hisense TV GAMES CRASHED!

I did NOTHING to bios, and grabbed the newest copy of windows 10 from MS, and with the same hardware and bios setting, and after installing all drivers, and a few gaming systems proceeded to install some the games I had trouble with using my 6700xt as the audio driver, and the same tv and Marantz with the same cables, and would you not know it.........IT ALL FREAKIN WORKS FINE!

Its windows 11, and Im not expert at all, but it would seem what ever they have changed in windows between the 2 that handle games with digital sound encoded with them, and crashes when said VIDEO card AMD 6700x and its driver to decode the digital crap, and the new windows 11 and how it decodes it for stuff with HDMI or DP as the OUTGOING audio source to digital displays or receivers. What ever they changed when going to windws 10 making pretty much all sound cards to lose crap like EAX Aureal and going with a one size fits all approach to ALL audio sources and generic it all. They may have did a "opps" and changed something in there AMD and it doesnt like to work together in windows 11 causing all the problems out there with mostly AMD and 11, idk :p

But for others out there, with a MSI 6700XT (maybe it comes down to card makers as well?) switch over and use your tv and the 6700xt as the audio card to send the audio via HDMI to your tv (my not effect gaming monitors with speakers in, IDK I do not have one to test or would have) and or your HDMI receiver to suck the digital out of your video card for sound and see if you get a crash. Anyone out there wanna try with different cards and makers and have one big orgy! It MUST BE though video card audio out, going to a tv or receiver using a HDMI cable only, NO SPDIF!! Damn Cheaters :p

If anyone cares to dig deeper, my specs are:
MSI X570 Gaming Wifi Edge
Noctua NH-D15
1TB Inland SSD m.2 from 2019
Patriot Viper Elite 4GB Single Channel 2133 MHz DDR4 32GB (2x16gb)
AMD 3600X
Creative X3 Sound Blaster External Sound Card via USB type c
MSI/AMD 6700XT 12GB
Tried the newest drivers and everything for both cards at the time I was having this problem, and tried to fix it before going back to windows 10 and wasted all that time setting it up, only to redo back to windows with same problem(s) which meant I had to full remove and hunt and look at eveything on everything, but NOPE, windows 10, and everything I was having problems with on 11, are GONE.
 
Last edited:

OlyAR15

Senior member
Oct 23, 2014
982
242
116
nd or your HDMI receiver to suck the digital out of your video card for sound and see if you get a crash.
I've been using HDMI to send multichannel audio to my AV receiver and 5.1 speaker setup for years. First W10 and now W11. Never had the issues you complain about. If anything, the system works better in W11 than 10.