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Why does my Windows 11 PC keep freezing and showing a black screen after the latest update?
Users operating Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 are reporting a critical stability issue as of late November 2025. The primary symptom involves the operating system freezing completely, often accompanied by a black desktop background. This state renders the machine unresponsive; applications cease to function, and the standard interface becomes inaccessible. Unlike typical crashes that generate specific error codes or “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) dumps, this failure mode leaves the Event Viewer empty and Reliability Monitor data inconclusive. The only recovery method available to the user is a forced hardware shutdown.
Technical Root Cause: SPPSvc Memory Leak
Current analysis identifies the Software Protection Platform Service (SPPSvc) as the specific mechanism causing these crashes. This service, responsible for managing digital licenses and preventing software piracy, exhibits a severe memory leak in the affected builds.
Under normal operation, SPPSvc claims memory to verify licenses and releases it shortly after. However, in this scenario, the service continues to allocate Random Access Memory (RAM) without releasing it. This cumulative consumption eventually drives total system RAM utilization to 99%. Once physical memory is exhausted, the Windows Desktop Manager (DWM) fails, resulting in the black screen and freezing behavior observed by users. Even low-resource background tasks, such as Outlook or Adobe Reader, will crash due to resource starvation.
Correlation with Component Stack Corruption
The behavior of the SPPSvc is likely a symptom of a deeper infrastructure failure rather than an isolated bug. Evidence points to a corrupted Windows component stack, specifically affecting the AppX registry.
This instability traces back to cumulative update KB5062553 (July 2025). Microsoft confirmed in support documentation (KB5072911) that this update introduced corruption into core components during the re-registration of AppX commands. Consequently, the “broken” component stack causes services like SPPSvc to hang or mismanage resources during execution. Because the corruption resides in the core provisioning architecture, standard repair tools like sfc /scannow or DISM generally fail to resolve the issue, as they cannot reconstruct the damaged registry keys effectively.
Advisory on Mitigation Strategies
Professionals attempting to resolve this must understand that no permanent patch currently exists. Rolling back recent updates often fails to revert the registry corruption. Malware scans are unnecessary, as this is a confirmed operating system defect.
Until Microsoft deploys a corrective patch for the AppX registry, the only viable workaround involves manual resource management:
- Monitor RAM Usage: Keep Task Manager open to track the sppsvc.exe process.
- Service Reset: Before memory reaches critical saturation (90%+), restart the service. This clears the accumulated RAM allocation and resets the leak cycle.
This method provides only temporary stability. System administrators should prepare for continued monitoring until a revised cumulative update addresses the underlying component stack failure.