Question PC display freezes when NOT playing a game

[danh8808]

Yesterday I ran battlefield 2042 for the first time and it prompted me to update to a newer graphics driver. I went to nvdias website and downloaded the latest driver for my 1070. I was then able to run battlefield and everything normally. After closing the game within a few minutes my screen froze instantly. My PC is still runs but there is no audio or new display.

Now when I start my pc, I can run a game for hours and everything is normal. If I don’t run a game and sit at my desktop, then like clockwork within a few minutes it freezes.

Things I’ve tried:
•updating all major drives through windows
•restarting and not logging in
•opening task manager performance tab to check for any usage spikes before freeze
•uninstalling graphics driver and reinstalling with windows device manager
•updating windows

its also worth noting that I can run normally in safe mode (no internet connection)

PC specs:
intel i5-9600kf
gtx 1070
16gb ddr4 ram
msi 360m bazooka motherboard
windows installed on 200gb ssd

any help is greatly appreciated
EDIT:
I reverted to a previous install of windows and that fixed it. Was able to update my driver afterwards and it has been working fine. Didn’t have to delete anything

 

[danh8808]

Update: I can run an older game (total war napoleon) minimized while browsing the web and doing other things just fine. As soon as I close the game…Frozen again. Mind boggling