Windows 11 Opera question on Microsoft Windows 11 Pro

[NGDRB]

Hey everyone, quick question about the Opera browser on my Windows 11 Pro PC. I’ve been using it for years without any issues, but today it suddenly froze up, and nothing I do seems to fix it. I’ve run malware scans and tried a bunch of different things, but no luck. I’m stumped. Does anyone have any ideas what’s going on? I really appreciate any help you can provide.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi NGDRB — sorry Opera’s giving you trouble. A few quick questions first so I can target the advice:

• Does Opera freeze the whole PC or just the browser window/tab(s)?
• Does it hang on startup or after some time/use (e.g., when you open a site, play video, or a particular extension runs)?
• Which Opera build are you using (Regular, GX) and approx. version (Settings → About Opera) if you can check?
• Did anything change recently (Windows update, GPU driver, new extension, new antivirus)?
• Did you try attaching logs or a screenshot? I don’t see any attachments — nothing came through. If you tried to upload, please try again.

While you answer, try these steps (ordered from easiest → more advanced). I include why each step helps and how to undo anything risky.
Quick checks (fast, low risk)

1. Restart Opera and Windows
   • Close Opera, use Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) → Processes → End task on any opera.exe. Then start Opera again.
   • Why: kills hung processes and frees locked resources.
2. Test whether the problem is Opera-specific
   • Open another browser (Edge/Chrome). If they also hang, it may be system/driver issue. If only Opera, continue below.
3. Start Opera without extensions
   • Open a Run box (Win+R) and run:
     "C:\Program Files\Opera\launcher.exe" --disable-extensions
   • Or open Opera in private/incognito mode (Ctrl+Shift+N) which disables most extensions.
   • Why: a bad extension often causes freezes. If Opera works, disable extensions one-by-one via opera://extensions to find the culprit.
4. Disable hardware acceleration
   • If you can open Opera: go to Settings → Advanced → System → turn off "Use hardware acceleration when available", then restart Opera.
   • If Opera won’t open: run with flags: launcher.exe --disable-gpu --disable-software-rasterizer
   • Why: GPU driver or acceleration bugs frequently lead to hangs.

Medium steps (profile/cache / settings)

1. Clear cache and cookies for a quick test
   • Settings → Privacy & security → Clear browsing data → select Cached images and files (you can try only cache first).
   • Why: corrupted cache can freeze rendering.
2. Try a fresh profile (safe, reversible)
   • Close Opera. Press Win+R, paste %APPDATA%\Opera Software\ and rename the "Opera Stable" folder to Opera Stable.old (or similar).
   • Start Opera — it will create a clean profile. Check if it still freezes.
   • Undo: close Opera and rename the folders back to restore your original profile.
   • Warning: If you haven’t exported bookmarks or aren’t signed into Opera Sync, back them up first (Bookmarks → Export bookmarks) before doing profile surgery.
3. Check Opera’s Task Manager and logs
   • Opera internal task manager: Shift+Esc to see which tab/extension uses CPU/memory.
   • Windows Event Viewer: Windows Logs → Application — look for errors around the time Opera froze (source: Application Error, svchost, or opera.exe). That helps identify crashes/hangs.

Reinstall / update (if steps above don’t help)

1. Update Opera & GPU drivers
   • In Opera: Settings → About Opera to force an update.
   • Update your GPU drivers from Device Manager or the GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel).
   • Why: driver incompatibilities often cause browser hangs.
2. Reinstall Opera (preserve bookmarks)
   • Export bookmarks first (Bookmarks → Export bookmarks), or sign in to Opera Sync.
   • Uninstall Opera (Control Panel → Apps), then reinstall the latest Opera from the official site.
   • After reinstall, import bookmarks if needed.

System-level checks (if browser still unstable)

1. Run system file checks (Windows)
   • Open an elevated Command Prompt (Admin) and run:
     sfc /scannow
     DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   • Why: fixes Windows file corruption that can affect apps.
2. Test in a new Windows user account
   • Create a new local user account and run Opera there. If Opera is fine in the new account, the issue is in your profile or user-specific settings.
3. Collect evidence if you need to escalate
   • Save Event Viewer entries (right-click → Save Selected Events) and note time stamps. If you want, post the specific error lines here (or attach the exported event file) and I’ll interpret them.
   • If Opera produces crash reports, note the time and any crash IDs in Opera’s About or Help → Report a Problem.

What I’d try first (my recommendation)

• Step 1 → Step 3 (disable extensions) → Step 4 (hardware acceleration) → Step 6 (fresh profile). These usually find or temporarily fix the majority of freezes.

If you try those and it’s still freezing, tell me:

• Results of steps you ran and which step changed behavior (if any).
• Any error messages from Event Viewer or Opera (copy/paste text).
• Which Opera version and Windows 11 build (Win+R → winver).

I can then give exact commands and, if needed, walk you through exporting logs and doing a clean reinstall safely.