Freeze on BIOS load animation and on Restart/Shut Down from Windows

[al.poplavsk15a602e5]

Dear all

This is my first desktop PC that I set up on my own.

System:
MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi (MS-7D75)
Ryzen 7 9800X3D
TR Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Viper Venom 2x16 GB DDR5 6000
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB
be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 750W
Windows 11 Home 24H2 (build 26200)

Issue:
My PC is fully stable during normal Windows use and AAA gaming, but it consistently has problems only during startup/shutdown/restart transitions:

• Cold boot: the first boot always freezes on the MSI motherboard logo / spinning loading animation
• Windows restart/shutdown: Windows closes apps, reaches the very late stage of restart/shutdown, then freezes hard with the hardware still powered on
• Pressing the Reset button makes the next boot succeed
• I have also had USB-related oddities, including:
  • wireless mouse lag
  • freezes when trying to change USB power settings
  • freezes in the same style when interacting with a USB device in Device Manager

So the system is stable under load, but unstable during boot / restart / shutdown / device-power transitions.

What has already been tested:

• Windows Memory Diagnostic: no errors
• EXPO: disabled
• Fast Startup: disabled
• Hibernation: disabled
• SFC /scannow: clean
• DISM /RestoreHealth: clean
• Pagefile: enabled, system managed
• No BSOD, BugcheckCode = 0
• Kernel-Power 41 appears, but only as a consequence of forced reset
• WHEA-Logger gave no useful clue
• DCOM 10010 traced to Microsoft.WidgetsPlatformRuntime, likely unrelated
• Safe Mode: boot/restart works normally
• Clean boot: did not help
• Moved keyboard/mouse from USB receiver to Bluetooth: no change
• Disabled Memory Integrity / Core Isolation for testing: no change
• Updated to the latest stable MSI BIOS (March 2026): no change
• Disconnected front USB-C and front USB 3.x headers from the motherboard: no change
• Tested with one RAM stick only in the correct slot: no change

At this point I suspect something around: USB/Device Manager motherboard power management issues, motherboard / chipset / USB controller / ACPI-power path

• or less likely, some physical build/mounting issue as this was my first - I also had issues installing CPU fan screwing the bolts causing it to move above the CPU marked with thermal paste a lot, but again - I believe this would have popped up during intensive AAA gaming - and it had not - games are smooth as hell

Has anyone seen this behavior specifically on B650 Tomahawk + Ryzen 9000 / 9800X3D, where first cold boot freezes but reset makes the next boot work, and Windows restart/shutdown freezes at the very end?

 

[citay]

Components look pretty well-matched, common, and high-quality. What external devices are connected? You should try with just keyboard and mouse, nothing else. If you can borrow a wired KB/mouse, that might also be a good idea.

Check in the BIOS if you have a setting "ErP Ready" and enable that for a test.

 

[al.poplavsk15a602e5]

Did not help. I can also add that my USB devices are experiencing low power/voltage - gamepad gives like 1 out of 100% vibration. USB Pad not recognized.

 

[citay]

That is odd. Going back to this then:

or less likely, some physical build/mounting issue as this was my first - I also had issues installing CPU fan screwing the bolts causing it to move above the CPU marked with thermal paste a lot, but again - I believe this would have popped up during intensive AAA gaming - and it had not - games are smooth as hell

I would test this board open-bench, outside of the case, on a non-conductive surface like a wooden table. You can keep the PSU in the case if the cables are long enough, but it's possible that there is some kind of short between the board and the case.

As for the CPU cooler, yes, sometimes it's a struggle getting the screws to line up and getting them to catch, and then while you are struggling, the cooler moves around a bit on the CPU. Usually not a big deal in the end, unless the cooler is at an angle and gets scratched a lot by the edge of the CPU's heatspreader. But there should be no weird issues from this like you are describing.

 

[zerijelly]

Has the maiboard's BIOS updated to the latest BIOS 7D75v1R2 to check?
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B650-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/support

 

[Alan J T]

Has anyone seen this behavior

Yes it can be caused by a faulty SATA III drive or a failing or faulty, though still working correctly, USB device connected to the PC

Start by unplugging all USB devices but the KB, and see if the problem persists. If it does, unplug the KB and just try with the mouse only.

If the problem goes away with USB devices unplugged, add them back one at a time till you find the one causing the fault


Same goes for if you have any SATA III drives connected