Question Gaming Laptop freezes when starting games ?

[gendermutt]

I just made an account here because I couldn't find any solutions to my issue online. Sorry if this is in the wrong forum or if I get anything wrong.

More than a year ago I got a new Acer Nitro AN16-41 Gaming Laptop, and in the last year or so I have started to encounter an issue where my laptop will freeze for a few seconds and make the Windows device connect noise when starting and closing games. In the last month, however, when I try to start more recent and graphically intensive games (ie: Need for Speed: Unbound, Horizon Forbidden West, and Assassin's Creed Shadows) the display will freeze, the disconnect sound will play, then the connect sound, and then a second disconnect sound, and then the display will stay frozen. Audio, however, will continue to play despite this.

Eventually the laptop will restart itself or I will have to hard power it down it by holding the power button. I have tried rolling back my drivers, doing a clean install of my drivers using DDU, installing the most recent stable BIOS, and nothing seems to work. I'm kind of out of ideas at this point and any help would be appreciated.

Specs:
OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Home
OS Version: 10.0.26100 Build 26100
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
GPU Driver: 566.36
CPU/Integrated Graphics: AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS w/ Radeon 760M Graphics
CPU Driver: 25.3.1
Ram: 16GB

I don't know if it's relevant or helpful, but I also have an external Samsung 5TB SSD. Also the Nividia app says there is no display connected to the GPU but in the Nividia control panel the prefered graphics processor is the Nividia one.

Edit: I have reinstalled Windows 11 if that helps.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Regarding DDU, you're advised to remove all GPU drivers(Intel, AMD and Nvidia) in Safe Mode, then manually install the latest version sourced from Nvidia's support site.

I would disassemble the laptop and see if the vents on the laptop are clogged or restricted with dirt/debris. While doing this step, I'd look into replacing the thermal paste and pads with something higher in quality. Following that, I'd reinstall the OS in offline mode. While in offline mode, install all relevant drivers with the latest versions in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

Moved thread to Laptop Tech Support section from Systems section.

 

[gendermutt]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Regarding DDU, you're advised to remove all GPU drivers(Intel, AMD and Nvidia) in Safe Mode, then manually install the latest version sourced from Nvidia's support site.

I would disassemble the laptop and see if the vents on the laptop are clogged or restricted with dirt/debris. While doing this step, I'd look into replacing the thermal paste and pads with something higher in quality. Following that, I'd reinstall the OS in offline mode. While in offline mode, install all relevant drivers with the latest versions in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

Moved thread to Laptop Tech Support section from Systems section.

Thank you for responding! Sorry for the late response, it was getting pretty late and I don't like to mess important stuff after dark.

I have checked the vents and there was nothing clogging them, and I will have to replace the thermal past and pads at a later date. I have reinstalled my OS and reinstalled my drivers in offline mode and I still seem to be having some issues. Assassin's Creed Shadows had multiple performance issues, despite having none before hand, and my GPU driver crashed when trying to load into a game in Need for Speed Unbound.

Edit: I am starting to think this may be a hardware issue with my Nvidia GPU.

 

[dooh]

It is not a hardware issue, just created an account to answer you. Latest Nvidia driver is bad and breaks something on the switching between the iGPU and the GPU. Downgrade to the December driver by following the advice of @Lutfij to uninstall from safe mode.

During my research I think the issue is more related to the Nvidia App than the driver, and as soon as you reopen the Nvidia App with the downgraded driver, the issue reappears.

Unfortunately I have not seen many reports regarding this issue.

 

[gendermutt]

It is not a hardware issue, just created an account to answer you. Latest Nvidia driver is bad and breaks something on the switching between the iGPU and the GPU. Downgrade to the December driver by following the advice of @Lutfij to uninstall from safe mode.

During my research I think the issue is more related to the Nvidia App than the driver, and as soon as you reopen the Nvidia App with the downgraded driver, the issue reappears.

Unfortunately I have not seen many reports regarding this issue.

I reinstalled just the driver without the Nvidia app and it seems to be working so far! It's only been a few hours so I don't know if it's all fixed just yet, so I'll be back in a few days to report.

 

[gendermutt]

Okay after a few days, I am still having issues with my GPU, so reinstalling the drivers without the Nvidia app wasn't a complete fix.

 

[burali]

Hey. I registered just to say same here (i have nitro an16-41).Problem from Nvidia drivers as a temporary solution need reinstall. For me the problem recurs when I reinstall the driver and reopen the laptop after playing games and shutting down the laptop

 

[gendermutt]

After a few weeks of testing it I have found that if I reinstall my Nvidia driver with DDU I will be able to run games fine until I shut off my laptop. After turning my laptop back on starting more graphically intensive games will freeze my display while switching from the integrated GPU to the GPU. I'm not sure where to go from here.

 

[burali]

before playing game select only nvidia in bios or nitro app

 

[gendermutt]

before playing game select only nvidia in bios or nitro app

I'm not sure that's good for the laptop.

 

[burali]

I'm not sure that's good for the laptop.

It will output video from dgpu instead of igpu, so there will be no problem using it that way.

 

[NEMRED]

Like someothers I have registred this site to share my experince with you. My laptop model is Nitro 16-41. RTX 4060 CPU: Ryzen 7 7840HS. I have exactly the same problem you guys having. This problem was started at the end of January 2025. When you try to update your nvidia driver to recent version problem immediatly starts. Normal activities cause nothing but when you hit a game (or trying to switch gpu by yourself manually) screen freezes during igpu to dgpu switching process and game loads at background. You can hear the game sound but screen is already stuck. Beyond that point you can not do anthing to the screen work againe except doing forced power cut (by press holding power button) to restart labtop or closing to lid and wait for a while to reopen labtop lid to reach logon screen. I have tried countless things to overcome and fix this issue but nothing worked permenantly. DDU uninstalls- reinstalls in safe mode, memory tests, ssd tests, windows health check, reinstall, update (including hard reset), bios check, Amd chipset versions, changing power options in windows, event viewer researches e.t.c you named what ever you may thing of. But no success. The only thing worked was insalling Acer support page driver which is nvidia 556.29 version. As soon as I installed this driver all the problems was solved no freeze issue at all. The problem with this option is that you have to stick with that driver forever unless Acer publish a newer versions continuously. This may not a big issue for now but time goes by the driver will be useless for future games if they won't release newer versions.
Lets go deeper to examine what really cause the problem. First of all I have to indicate that there is no hardware problem. There is definitly a software problem. According to my researchs and tryings out comes there is nothing wrong with recent nvidia drivers. I am saying this because when I block all the Acer services that work on the laptop by msconfig then windows 11 and Advance Optimus handles switching process flawlessly. No freezing at all. But of course you can not use any of that Acer softwares like Nitrosense, Care Center e.t.c. Most critical software among them is Nitrosense because you control everthing related to your laptop by it. Battery charge limiter, fans, RGB keyboard, power options e.t.c. If you dont care about all these controls and if recent nvidia drivers are more important than anything else you can choose this option. If you say "No I want and need these controls" then another option is choosing dgpu default in BIOS settings and use your computer all the time with dgpu (in my case RTX 4060). This option also has side effects ofcourse. Your laptop would consume more power along with sort battery life and may face with heating problems. It is up to you. Unfortunaetly it seems that Acer is forcing you to choose one of two bad options atleast up to now. Either way you would lose something.!!!
I know it is a very long post but I wanted to share my experience and hassles for clearing the picture for those who suffering same problem that I have been through. Anyway finally : Actually the real cause of the problem is Nitrosense itself. It is the creator of confilicts between recent nvidia drives and system. Because, as far as I understand, it containes (or may recently added because there was no problem prior to 2025) some codes and services that checks your laptop version and nvidia driver version than reacts accordingly. When you uninstall Nitrosense you will see that no switching problem anymore. But as I indicated above if you need to use Nitrosense without any freezing problem along with Advance Optimus benefits you have to stick with old nvidia driver provided by Acer Support. YOU DONT HAVE ANY OTHER OPTION AT ALL. What a disappointment for almost recently released gaming laptop. Congratulation Acer!!!!!