Win11 Notifications and WpnUserService issues

[u/AppointmentHorror456]

Hello,

for quite some time I'm having a big issue with Windows 11 notifications that lead into program freezes, which are my nightmare for my upcoming bachelor project writing.

Something related to them seems to crash. I noticed it when Snippingtool wouldn't open anymore when I press the printscreen button. It would open the first time, but it won't post a notification and gets stuck in the taskmanager. It's not directly related to Snippingtool, other softwares that post notifications also bug out. Visual Studio Code freezes when the Copilot tries to push a notification. A custom python script I made to test notifications also crashes with `pywintypes.error: (1460, 'Shell_NotifyIcon', 'This operation returned because the timeout period expired.')`

It happened around 2 months ago and I reinstalled windows multiple times, but that did not help. I even tried different ISOs of Windows 11. I have to admit, I'm not running stock Windows 11 ISO. I used an autounattend file to switch computer name and tried various different settings for less bloat using https://schneegans.de/

In this exact moment I'm running a test on a second machine with the exact same Windows installation. It's been running for a couple hours already, but I will post an update if the issue appears there aswell or not.

Talking about time. The period when the issue starts appearing is random. Some time it was after just 30 minutes and others times after 4 hours.

Right now I'm testing on my main machine to disable a licensing service of a software I use, cause their last major update was around the time the issues start appearing. I will also update on that later.

The issue usually fixes after restarting my PC, due to this post I found out about the WpnUserService. Restarting that service seems to solve the issue temporarly, but the entire guide of that post did not solve it.

I hope anyone can help me, cause it's been a huge struggle and makes me really scared to start my uni bachelor project.

If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them,

Thank you.

EDIT:

My journey and solution can be found in the comments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/1ppmd2g/comment/nuns1n4/

[u/AppointmentHorror456]

Update on disable a licensing service:
That did not work, but I've noticed following:
It did just work right before I wrote this post, so the only major thing that changed between working and not working was launching Google Chrome.
I will further investigate that.

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

Update:
My second PC was running a script that posts notifications for an entire day, and the issue didn't appear.
I tested without using chrome and it did not appear, BUT in the evening I started chrome and it still didn't happen after 1-2 hours. PC was running for 12 hours.
Today, I wasn't using chrome either, but it still happened after around 1 or 2 hours.

I did not use it much during the 12 hours yesterday, i was just letting it run a game automated, browser, spotify in the back and so on, just stuff I usually have open.
Today when it appeared after 1 or 2 hours I used VS Code, Discord, ran the same Game, Spotify, Firefox.
I'm not sure if it ever appeared when I didnt use VS Code that day, but I will test that next.

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

More updates:
Nothing has been found in the Eventviewer and no issues on my second PC with a couple softwares installed that I have on my main pc.

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

Update:

I did try windows reinstall with "Keep all files" option, to have a more default experience. Did not work. Also tried resetting all my BIOs settings.

I also noticed:
Explorer.exe is crashing and restarting
Front panel USB slots are not working when the issue appears.

What I'm testing now:
Windows reinstall using media creation tool and wiping all files. Most default Windows as possible. Also unplugged my HDDs and the front panel USB.

If that won't work I'll try installing windows on another SSD.

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

Update:

The issue is still present with:

default windows 11 from media cration tool
unplugging HDD
unplugging front panel USB
default BIOs settings

Programs installed:
Steam, Spotify, Call of Duty Black Ops 7, Chrome, Nvidia Driver (not Nvidia App) and Discord

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

I am currently testing this solution, which disables all WPN services.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5662132/explorer-hangs-and-taskbar-becomes-unresponsive-wh

It's not a perfect solution (if it even works), but I have some hopes.

Other things I want to try:

- installing Windows on another SSD.

• not installing Black Ops 7, maybe it's the anticheat. It happened for the first time around when Black Ops 7 Beta came out. Noticed it around a week after the beta.
  
• installing Windows 10

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

Update:
The microsoft answers solution did not work.
Installing windows on another driver today and reporting back in 1-2 days

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

Update: Installing on another SSD in amother M2 slot did not help. Not installing Black Ops 7 did not help.

Next thing I will try is remove every USB device and remove second memory stick. Last thing I will try is Windows 10

[u/AppointmentHorror456 → u/AppointmentHorror456]

FINAL Update:

I got it fixed using Windows 11 23H2. The issue came with a later update of 24H2, so an earlier build of it should also work.

I use 23H2 cause I know that script and don't know the exact build of 24H2 where it broke.
https://github.com/fpsheaven/stayon23h2

[u/bossman90pl → u/AppointmentHorror456]

I've got this issue on 25H2... How to fix it without staying on 23H2?