topic Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

WendiAdrian — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 06:20:51 GMT

Hi there,

does anyone have experience with Windows freezing when you are running ArcGIS Pro? I was using ArcGIS Pro v3.5.2 in my Windows 11 Pro and experiencing it several times which force me to do hard reset (push and hold power button in my laptop).

I was using intel Core vPro i9 with 64GB RAM and 2TB disk.

Thank you.

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

RTPL_AU — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:13:40 GMT

@WendiAdrian What are you doing when it has a fit?

3.5.2 is one of the worst in my opinion. It has a copy bug which ranges from little freezes to full on Windows crashes for me. It can be triggered by doing any copy operation that is initiated by CTRL-C or Right-click >Copy (i.e. any text, any layer, a layout item, etc.).

Jumping between panes and windows also seem to break it after a while. I now restart Pro for almost every project I open. It runs OK but progressively gets more sluggish after a few hours open. My computer spec is not a factor.

I'm sure others will join in with recommendations for troubleshooting and deep diving into every aspect of your data composition, when last you reloaded Windows, deleting caches, updating drivers, etc.

To check if your hardware has issues throw LM Studio on and run a few models using GPU and CPU respectively. It can expose dodgy RAM, temperature instability, & other performance issues quite quickly.

If you have the, time fall back to 3.2 and see how it goes. 3.3 wasn't too nice for me either and I skipped 3.4 to get away from the license checking bug & pdf issues.

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

DanPatterson — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:25:53 GMT

It has been seen and the usual recommendations are one of...

Troubleshooting Performance Issues in ArcGIS Pro

How To: Perform a Clean Uninstall and Reinstall of ArcGIS Pro

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

RichardDaniels — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 15:54:17 GMT

This is the first I've heard about a CTRL-C or Right-click >Copy Bug in ArcGIS Pro 3.5, is there a Bug # for that one?

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

RTPL_AU — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:12:03 GMT

Not as far as I know - it has been reported in a few sales regions but, in my opinion, is still in the head-in-sand stage.

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

Mondese — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:14:19 GMT

Yes. It's been happening a lot when working/tweaking symbology in layout view. I've gotten several "blackout" screens that required hard reboots. I've even got "blue screens of death". I had my laptop looked at and optimized by my IT department to make sure it wasn't my machine.

Using Intel Xeon Processor, 32 GB RAM & 1TB disk.

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

DanPatterson — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 14:42:48 GMT

You will need to contact Tech Support so that they can examine your workflow with a sample of your data that causes the issue. It is by now obvious that this may not be a generic issue. Good luck

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

RTPL_AU — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 GMT

Hi @DanPatterson
Would you mind upvoting this Idea:
https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/provide-a-tool-to-do-a-clean-re-install-of-pro/idi-p/1638240

As it is now a given that any hiccups in Pro has a first line of defence of a re-install, having Esri make the process efficient would be a win for us all.

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

DanPatterson — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:22:46 GMT

done...

but there is nothing more refreshing than manually purging registry keys etc 😉

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

ShaneONeill_144 — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 15:06:20 GMT

A clean uninstall and reinstall would be a good first step, failing that it would be worth reaching out to your local Esri Distributor for their assistance

Re: Windows Freezing when Running ArcGIS Pro

RTPL_AU — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 22:24:44 GMT

Hi @ShaneONeill_144

Thank you for that.
As mentioned in other threads, many of my issues with 3.5 started on a fresh install on a new machine so a deeper dive at the developer end seems to be required.

We lodged some of the issues with local support but it mostly ends up with a scattergun approach of 'update everything, reinstall everything, create new profiles/accounts for everything' that then creates an unfathomable quagmire of correlation vs causation for our locals to wade through.

I have lodged multiple Ideas for Esri to improve the broken installation or broken profile check/mitigate process as well as for Esri to publish known working configs (driver/OS/dependency lists) along with key performance indicators based on these configs and specified hardware configurations.

Further to this, I have asked our local support to work with the developer/interface team responsible for the specific UI/window/tool in question so they have a input matrix that defines a specific behaviour or error message - this will make it much more efficient to build a test methodology to see what actually influences a specific behaviour. To make this work, Esri will have to change some of their internal business processes.

I am now quite convinced that some issues in Pro are machine-state-change dependant i.e. the fact that something changes in your Windows environment is what fixes or breaks Pro; not the exact version that you update something to.

All this, to me, points to a very fragile application that requires a bit of a different development approach to bring it back to a robust & stable state.

The fact that you have commented with the same advice on 3 posts I am subscribed to, indicates to me that Pro is in serious need of either much more scrutiny before a version is released or a much more improved repair/audit/re-install process to make this common advice much more efficient, especially for those in more constrained corporate environments.
To this point - I have also lodged an Idea on the containerisation of Pro - getting a self-contained package of Pro with all it's dependencies in place, that is easy to swap out for another version, should be a key design goal for Esri. Changing the distribution or deployment of Pro to this paradigm can significantly reduce overall support costs related to the base installation.

Even if you are not directly on a team that has responsibility for these aspects, being an employee sees you much better placed to advocate for improvements, compared to a bloke on the other side of the world with 3 Pro licences.