Can’t open apps on pc and get a spinning blue circle

[grizzled silo]

This just happened I turn on my ox and try to open apps but then I get this blue spinning circle. It won’t go away and I restarted my pc. I need help I don’t know what to do.

[grim nebula]

can you share a picture even if from your phone?

[grizzled silo]

I can’t open anything

[grim nebula]

ah. how old is the computer?

[grizzled silo]

I bought it used a week ago and I reinstalled windows

[grim nebula]

Typically seeing that means an application or process is loading. Seeing it and not having items open indicate the system is throttling.

Ah. Did you have this issue before reinstalling?

[grizzled silo]

No, I reinstalled a week ago and this just started happening

Today

[grim nebula]

ok. Right click the taskbar on the bottom of your desktop, in a blank space. Select Task Manager from the menu. Send a pic from that

It'll tell us if your system is bogged down with proccesses or not.

[grizzled silo]

Doesn’t do anything

Then if I try to open something I get the blue wheel

[grim nebula]

hmm very interesting

and you dont have a 2nd monitor?

[dawn cliff]

Can you do Ctrl-Alt-Delete, and pull up Task Manager that way?

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

can you do the shortcut "windows + R"?

or "Windows + I"

[grizzled silo]

That?

[grim nebula]

thats I as in indigo

yeah try Windows + I now

[grizzled silo]

Should I close that thing?

[grim nebula]

sure. I just want to see if anything will open

[grizzled silo]

It doesn’t do anything

[grim nebula]

the i key right? not L

[grizzled silo]

Yes

[grim nebula]

very interesting. can you do Windows + R again? then type in explorer.exe and hit enter

[limber ginkgo]

Sorry to interrupt, but quick question @grizzled silo Are you running windows off of a hard disk drive or an SSD?

[grim nebula]

The other thing we could do is SFC and DSIM to find and repair currupted windows files

[grim nebula]

it still wouldnt explain why task manager wont launch

[grizzled silo]

Ssd

[grim nebula]

or now explorer....

[limber ginkgo]

It would if the HDD was on the way out, but that's not the issue here. Thanks rockysky

[grizzled silo]

Sorry idk why the quality so bad

[grim nebula]

nah all good. Ok I found a few windows support articles pointing to doing SFC and DISM. lets try that

[grizzled silo]

How do I do that?

[grim nebula]

ok so do Windows + R again

type in cmd and hit enter

will that launch?

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

Ok. Plan B then. In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, and right-click Command Prompt (Desktop app) from the list of results. Select Run as administrator, and then selectYes.

[grizzled silo]

Can’t search

[grim nebula]

try pressing the windows key on your keyboard

then start typing

[grizzled silo]

Windows key does nothing

[grim nebula]

hmmm

have you installed anything recently?

[grizzled silo]

Not today

[grim nebula]

or very recently?

[grizzled silo]

Yesterday I installed steam

Or maybe 2 days ago

But that’s the most recent

[grim nebula]

ok. Visit any dodgy sites today/recently?

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

got it. Worth checking! Lets do this. Power down the PC and unplug it from the wall. Let it sit for a few minutes then power back on

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

give it maybe 3-5 minutes. Hopefully this will help it vs. a possible soft restart

[grizzled silo]

Ok

I’ll message back in 5 min

[grim nebula]

you mentioned you bought it used. do you know what parts it has?

just generally

[grizzled silo]

7800xt 5600g 32GB ram 3600 2tbssd

[grim nebula]

haha wow we are very similar builds!

so I'm guessing its not a performance issue here...

[grizzled silo]

Booted it up

What should I do?

[grim nebula]

will anything launch?

[grizzled silo]

I’ll try edge

I have the blue circle

[grim nebula]

can you right click the task bar and launch task manager?

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

Does Windows + i keyboard shortcut work?

[grizzled silo]

One sec I gotta do something need like 2 min

[grim nebula]

if the keyboard shortcut doesnt work. Power down the PC again. Then turn it back on. When it starts turning back on start hitting the F8 key until you see a blue "Advanced Options" window

[grizzled silo]

Doesn’t work

[grizzled silo]

Ok

I just booted into windows

Like normal

[grim nebula]

hmmm

[grizzled silo]

Could it be a different key?

[grim nebula]

it might. When the PC boots you see a logo on screen right?

Like ASUS, MSI, etc

below that there should be text saying what button to mash to go into different boot options

[grizzled silo]

I thinks it’s f11

Right?

[grim nebula]

try that. I'm trying to get you into safe mode

[grizzled silo]

Is this right?

[grim nebula]

do enter setup

[grizzled silo]

I’m in bios

[grim nebula]

send pic, not familiar w/ MSI bios

[grim nebula]

navigate over to that boot section

[grizzled silo]

What should I do here?

[grim nebula]

checking

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

Since your BIOS doesnt have an option to boot into safe mode try this now:

"Windows 11 require you to manually shut down the Windows during booting for 3 times before it can get into the Safe Mode."

so while its booting with the msi logo and spinning white circle, shut off the pc

[grizzled silo]

Is it this?

[grim nebula]

no thats secure boot, a saftey measure to prevent tampering

[grizzled silo]

What do I do after?

[grim nebula]

or after shutting the PC down hold the shift key the entire time

try that first ^

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

so shutdown, hold shift, start the PC, keep holding shift

[grizzled silo]

Got it

[grim nebula]

Safe mode is typcially very easy to get into but only if your apps open haha or the start menu opens

[grizzled silo]

It didn’t work

It booted normally

[grim nebula]

ah ok stay on the desktop

Windows + R

type in msconfig

hoping this opens

[grizzled silo]

Did I type it correctly?

[grim nebula]

no

msconfig

[grizzled silo]

Oh

[grim nebula]

you did misconfig

[grizzled silo]

Doesn’t open

[grim nebula]

does the windows key on your keyboard open the start menu?

[grizzled silo]

It pops something up in the middle

[grim nebula]

YAY

hold shift, click the power button, click restart. DONT stop holding shift haha

left shift

idk if that matters tbh

[grizzled silo]

It doesn’t restart

[grim nebula]

...

[grizzled silo]

Umm

Windows key stopped working

[grim nebula]

ok im thinking one sec

[dawn cliff]

I believe MSI is F3 to get into safe mode while booting... Hope that helps. This is a crazy one

[grizzled silo]

@grim nebula should I try that?

What even is safe mode?

[grim nebula]

yeah try F3

safe mode boots into just what windows deems essential, nothing extra launches

its a way to help troubleshoot further since clearly somethings odd about this

and when your booting like keep clicking it like crazy

[grim nebula]

glad im not going crazy haha

[grizzled silo]

So I turn it off and turn it back on and while it’s turning on I click f3?

[grim nebula]

yes

spam it

full send

[grizzled silo]

I have 60% keyboard so I would have to click fn and 3 right?

[grim nebula]

yes?

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

yeah hold Fn and spam 3

I've never used a 60%. Either it has a numpad or I'm not buying haha. I'm weird

[grizzled silo]

I booted normally

[grim nebula]

ok plan 600

Press the power button and force to shutdown when display shows up the Windows 11 logo.

so when you see the MSI screen plus circle turn the PC off

Do it 3 times

[quick ginkgo]

hmm... maybe try linux?

[grizzled silo]

So when I turn it off I turn it back on and turn it off over and over?

[grim nebula]

thats plan 666

[grim nebula]

yeah

[quick ginkgo]

lol

[grim nebula]

we have a ways to go but its nearing the horizon

[grizzled silo]

I tried turning it off while booting and it just brought me normally

[grim nebula]

you did it multiple times?

[grizzled silo]

And I supposed to click it multiple times?

I’m kinda confused

[grim nebula]

basically you want to turn on and off the PC 3 times

but when it shows the MSI logo not on the desktop

[grizzled silo]

I tried but it booted anyway

[grim nebula]

so in the photo above you'd have the MSI logo vs. windows

3 times?

[grizzled silo]

No when I turned it off on the Msi screen it didn’t turn off and went to the normal boot thing

[grim nebula]

ah ok. Are you familar with where your PSU is?

[grizzled silo]

Yes

[grim nebula]

Do you see the switch next to your cable?

[grizzled silo]

Yes

[grim nebula]

ok. Flip that switch when you see the MSI logo like above pic. Then repeat 3 times

[grizzled silo]

Ok

Will entering safe mode keep my games and apps?

[grim nebula]

so turn it on, msi logo, flip switch. then turn switch back on, power up, msi logo, etc

[grim nebula]

yes

[grizzled silo]

Ok

So how is it different than normal?

[grim nebula]

it only launches essential windows processes. From there we can try and rebuild any curropt files

I want to get you into command prompt

but the other ways arent working

Thats assuming you have a currupt windows file... But this is the least destructive method we have rn

[grizzled silo]

Is this it?

[grim nebula]

YAY

hoping it kicks you into the startup repair menu now

mate you making me work for this

im sweating here

(not really, figure of speech)

[grim nebula]

YAYAYAYAYAYAYA

[grizzled silo]

This better work bro

[grim nebula]

Click advanced options

then troubleshoot

[grizzled silo]

I’ve had many issues

[grim nebula]

troubleshoot

then next option select command prompt

[grizzled silo]

Which 1?

[grim nebula]

advanced options

[grizzled silo]

Then command prompt?

[grim nebula]

yeah

what do you see?

[grizzled silo]

Sending pic

[grim nebula]

YES! Type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth (note the space before each "/"), and then press Enter. (Note: This step may take a few minutes to start and complete.)

After that tell me when you see a message that says "The operation completed successfully"

[grizzled silo]

What happeneds if I type it incorrectly?

[grim nebula]

it blows up

jk

you can do it multiple times

[grizzled silo]

Do capitals matter?

[grim nebula]

uh probably

maybe not

lemme try

I copied the above command from the windows support article

so type it exactly tbh

[grizzled silo]

Is there a space between the - and image?

[grim nebula]

no

feel free to send a pic of the command when your done typing

[grizzled silo]

Ok

Do u usually help ppl in tech support?

[grim nebula]

yeah

looks good. click enter

hopefully it doesnt error

[grizzled silo]

It did

[grim nebula]

it errored?

or its running?

[grim nebula]

prob needs an uppercase C, my bad. Click your up arrow

that should bring the command back up

Then use the arrow key to navigate and delete/replace the C

[grizzled silo]

Same thing

[grim nebula]

checking

alrightly plan 605

sfc /scannow

type that in and full send

[grizzled silo]

U sure there’s no space between the - and image

[grim nebula]

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

[grizzled silo]

Oh

[grim nebula]

Thats a straight copy/paste from the help article

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

haha yeah I just googled it again and found another article putting it this way

[grizzled silo]

So what should I do

[grim nebula]

type in sfc /scannow

and hit enter

[grizzled silo]

This is good right?

[grim nebula]

yup

it'll take some time

[grizzled silo]

It’s done

[grim nebula]

ah love SSDs. back in the hard drive days this would take forever

now hit your up arrow twice and run the DISM command

[grizzled silo]

Same thing

[grim nebula]

cool. click the X on the cmd window

[grizzled silo]

The red at the top right?

[grim nebula]

we done what we can now lets see if it worked

yup

[grizzled silo]

Which 1

[grim nebula]

troubleshoot

[grizzled silo]

Reset or advanced?

[grim nebula]

advanced

send pic of the options you have

[grim nebula]

before we leave this menu lets double check we cant utilize anything else since its a pain to get into it

[grizzled silo]

So what should I do?

[grim nebula]

startup settings

[grizzled silo]

Startup settings?

[grim nebula]

yeah srry

[grizzled silo]

Ur good

[grim nebula]

full send

click restart

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

this gets up into safe mode

your applications or desktop picture might not load. This is normal and expected

your stuff is still there

[grim nebula]

6

[grizzled silo]

Ok

I’m back to the normal area?

Is that good?

[grim nebula]

haha goodbye

im dying sorry

so your on desktop?

[grim nebula]

yeah once it logs in try opening applications

[grizzled silo]

Nvm this not normal

[grim nebula]

no red X on top right?

[grizzled silo]

So I click x?

[grim nebula]

yeah

[grizzled silo]

It’s black screen

[grim nebula]

task bar?

[grim nebula]

haha ok just reboot its fine

[grizzled silo]

Thisbetter work

I’m so tired

[grim nebula]

i hope so

i mean your next option after this is reinstalling windows

which is a pain but tbh would fix it

[grizzled silo]

I already did that

[grim nebula]

wait

[grizzled silo]

When I bought it

[grim nebula]

you had this issue before reinstalling?

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

oh

[grizzled silo]

Bad news

[grim nebula]

yeah so TBH I think you either visited a bad site or downloaded somethin funky. This is a super weird issue. The other item could be the parts in your PC arent what you described

[grizzled silo]

I got the thing

[grim nebula]

😦

still??

[grizzled silo]

The blue circle

[grizzled silo]

I checked in task manager

[grim nebula]

ah ok

[grizzled silo]

What should we do?

[grim nebula]

honestly? build a fire and burn it

jk jk

[grizzled silo]

What

[grim nebula]

reinstall windows

[grizzled silo]

Will that get rid of all my games and stuff?

[grim nebula]

I know it sucks but we could troubleshoot for the next few days and not get far. It's hard cause we cant launch literally anything

yeah you'd lose current data

unless its backed up

lemme think before we go down that path...

[grizzled silo]

I don’t have anything backed up

If we do that it would have to be tmr

I’m getting tired and I have to get up early tmr

[grim nebula]

yeah np. Did you change any hardware between not having the issue and now?

new keyboard, monitor ,etc

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

What I'm trying to think is what changed. Like one minute it was fine but now its not...

[grizzled silo]

It was when I powered it on

When I reinstalled windows someone in a different server helped me

[grim nebula]

this probably sounds accository but for real you didnt download or visit anything dodgy?

[grizzled silo]

And something came up that said it wasn’t compatible with windows 11 or something so I have to type these things in the thing we were in for it to work

[grizzled silo]

No actually didn’t

[grim nebula]

hmmm

[grizzled silo]

Just steam epic games valorant

And yt

[grim nebula]

wait what did you type?

[grizzled silo]

I forgot

[grim nebula]

what wasnt compatible with windows? just random pop up or when you were installing somethin

[grizzled silo]

The pc came with windows 11 and when I redownloaded it apparently it wasn’t compatible I think so I had to type these things in there for windows 11 or work

I think

[grim nebula]

the pic? of the corvette?

[grizzled silo]

What about it

[grim nebula]

nah when you reference "pic came with windows 11" what picture?

[grizzled silo]

Oh no pc

My bad

[grim nebula]

oh oh

wait a sec

what was your processor?

5600G?

[grizzled silo]

It was someone in the gamer tech Toronto server

Yeah

[grim nebula]

but that processor is compatible with windows 11

[grizzled silo]

Could it be the mobo?

[grim nebula]

oh

whats the model?

[grizzled silo]

Idek

I think b450 or something

[grim nebula]

can you send a pic of the tower?

yeah it would have to be b450

[grizzled silo]

Does that work on windows 11?

[grim nebula]

does it say tomahawk on the top left?

[grizzled silo]

No

[grim nebula]

red accents?

[grizzled silo]

Sorry about the glare

[grim nebula]

I'm digging through google pics rn

[grizzled silo]

Google says b450 works with windows 11

[grim nebula]

yeah but i want to double check in case for some radom reason you dont have a TPM chip

while that wouldnt rule out your issue it helps explain what you had to type in when you installed

[grizzled silo]

Idk

Would I have to type those things again if we reinstalled?

[grim nebula]

I'm honestly not sure what they had you type in

I suspect its to override TPM

but I cant know without the motherboard spec

are you able to send a closer pic?

or of different angles?

[grizzled silo]

I think it’s the Msi b450 I plus ac

[grim nebula]

agreed

[grizzled silo]

The seller sent a video of how to use the bios and that’s what the vid was called

So does that not support windows 11?

[grim nebula]

nope

it also doesnt look like it supports a 5600G

but I'm still checking

It's possible it does with a BIOS upgrade. a few motherboards did bios updates to support newer ryzen cards

[grizzled silo]

Bro how

If I do bios update will it support windows 11?

[grim nebula]

only if it has a TPM chip but I haven't checked that yet

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

can you boot into the BIOS?

We should be able to confirm the CPU and BIOS board firmware

should've done that instead of google image searching haha

would've been done by now

[grizzled silo]

Yeah

[grim nebula]

duh haha

[grizzled silo]

So u want me to go into the bios?

[grim nebula]

yeah

It should be the first page

it'll list RAM, CPU, BIOS, Temps, etc

[grim nebula]

whats to the right?

[grizzled silo]

Is this it

This is in the advanced

[grim nebula]

it should be on System Status I'd think...

[grizzled silo]

Where’s that

[grim nebula]

that first screen

[dawn cliff]

I will chime in and say this seems like MSI's older bios... Even my MSI from 2017 had a better looking GUI

[grizzled silo]

I’m blind I don’t see it

[grim nebula]

yeah this is a older board from 2/3rd gen ryzen

[grim nebula]

the top left of the screen

[grizzled silo]

Oh

[grim nebula]

It's a Msi b450I plus ac

[grizzled silo]

I don’t see where it say the specs

Is this important?

[grim nebula]

im reading the motherboard manual one sec

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

yeah we that comitted to this now boi

[grim nebula]

are you able to scroll further on this screen?

[grim nebula]

ah

[grizzled silo]

I scrolled to the bottom

[grim nebula]

nah that last photo has the CPU

haha the bios firmware on the site has completely different firmware number format than the one you have

[grizzled silo]

Is that a bad thing?

[grim nebula]

nah jsut weird

[grizzled silo]

Does this bios version matter?

[grim nebula]

ok so everything is pointing to the fact that this board doesnt support windows 11

[grizzled silo]

Uh oh

So even with bios update it won’t work?

[grim nebula]

yeah some boards had bios updates to support win 11

this doesnt appear like it does

[grizzled silo]

So should I just use windows 10?

[grim nebula]

still checking one sec

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

can you navigate to the boot menu on the bios?

[grizzled silo]

I think

[grim nebula]

navigate to the security menu

on the top of the screen

[grim nebula]

you know whats really confusing.. your bios that your sending pics of don't match the pics in the user manual

like at all

[grizzled silo]

And u on the right one

[grim nebula]

https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/E7A40v2.2.pdf

[grizzled silo]

At the top right it says Msi click bios

Hmm

Is it because that’s a updated version and I have an old 1?

[grim nebula]

well it looks like they only made the one

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450I-GAMING-PLUS-AC/Specification

brb 2 min

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

back. sorry dog was going to riot if I didn't let her out

ok lets recap

You can't open literally anything in Windows

it wasnt due to software install or malware

this is semi-fresh install of windows

You are running a higher end m.2 SSD so its not likely a storage issue

[grizzled silo]

Yes

[grim nebula]

its a fairly recent gen Ryzen CPu

[grizzled silo]

Do u want me to do anything else in the bios or can I close it out?

[grim nebula]

but iffy on the motherboard side

yeah close it go back to windows

just try and open something again lol

[grizzled silo]

Ok

[grim nebula]

the only thing I can think of is since you technically are running on unsupported hardware things like this technically could happen

but its so weird

[grizzled silo]

Is it Normal for my mouse to do that when I log in

Yep can’t open anything

[grim nebula]

ok the blue circle will apear all the time in a normal windows install

it indicates its loading

[grizzled silo]

Will this ever load tho?

[grim nebula]

can you do Windows + R abnd type in taskmgr

and click the ok button

[grim nebula]

what its loading we dont know

could be background applications. could be based on your click action

[grizzled silo]

Does nothing

[grim nebula]

ok stay with me on this.

can you record what happens after you click ok on the run dialog?

[grizzled silo]

After I click ok?

[grim nebula]

yeah

for typing in taskmgr

[grizzled silo]

1 sec

[grim nebula]

bottom right corner, can you click on the up arrow

send pic on whats in it

[grim nebula]

can you launch epic games from your desktop shortcut?

[grizzled silo]

How?

[grim nebula]

so on the far left of your screen its the 3rd option down

Recycle Bin > Edge > Epic Games

[grizzled silo]

So I just double click on epic right?

[grim nebula]

yes

[grizzled silo]

Doesn’t do anything

[grim nebula]

you only have one monitor right?

[grizzled silo]

Yes

165 hz 24 in

[grim nebula]

and its plugged into your graphics card?

[grizzled silo]

Yes

The display port is

I heard so many YouTubers saying that

[grim nebula]

ok just checking its not plugged into your integrated gfx

since you have both that and a gpu

[grizzled silo]

Yes

It was working this morning

[grim nebula]

yeah im sure that wouldnt make the difference anyways

[grizzled silo]

And I was getting like 200fps in fort and like 360 in splitgate

[grim nebula]

I think your best course of action is to install windows 10

[grizzled silo]

I have the key

[grim nebula]

yeah it sucks to wait and do the song and dance but at this point idk what else we can do

[grizzled silo]

Someone from the other server told me what to type in the thing and it showed my key

Then when we reinstalled we didn’t get to choose 10 or 11 I think

[grim nebula]

your key is bound to your motherboard. It should auto detect it once you connect to wifi

[grizzled silo]

Or maybe we just put 11 on the usb stick

[grim nebula]

you probably did the usb stick

but I wasnt there haha

[grizzled silo]

Do u put different things on the usb stick for 10 or 11?

[grim nebula]

yup

[grizzled silo]

What time is it for u rn?

[grim nebula]

I'm EST

same as you

[grizzled silo]

Same

Alr

[grim nebula]

wow that sounded creepy

[grizzled silo]

How u know that

[grim nebula]

your pics have the date and time in them

[grizzled silo]

Oh ok

[grim nebula]

yeah srry didnt mean to sound like a creep

[grizzled silo]

Tmr u wanna install windows again?

Wait am I gonna need a different pc to put the windows on the usb stick?

[grim nebula]

Sure. I'm in and out most of the day.

yes

since this PC wont launch anything

[grizzled silo]

Ok

Well cya thanks for the help

[grim nebula]

np

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKMJnlKGPWk
Here is a good vid on the install. When he gets to 1:44 in the video you'll want to hit F11 and then select the USB your using.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
This is to download the Windows 10 installation media. You want to click "Download Now" and follow the instructions from the video. I've also circled the button you want.

I'm in and out tomorrow. @ me if you need me

[grizzled silo]

@grim nebula it lets me open things now and I didn’t do anything

Is there anything we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

[grim nebula]

@grizzled silo I mean your running on unsupported hardware for windows 11. Things like this will happen

[grizzled silo]

Is there any other reasons that could happen

I just left it over night and when I tried this morning it worked and I could play games

[grim nebula]

Nah that’s the beauty of running unsupported stuff. Ain’t no reason it’s just weird

Your system isn’t going to preform the fastest it can also on windows 11. Since your CPU doesn’t support all the new security features it will run 10-30% slower than on windows 10 @grizzled silo

[grizzled silo]

Can you help me get my audio working