Pressing the Windows Key (Win) while playing Minecraft in Fullscreen mode causes the entire Windows operating system to freeze instantly. The image on the screen just locks up completely. There is no Blue Screen (BSOD), no error message, and no response from the mouse or keyboard. The only way to restore the computer is by forcing a restart via the physical power button.
1. Open Minecraft (Java Edition).
2. Enable Fullscreen mode (Options > Video Settings > Fullscreen: ON).
3. Enable Exclusive Fullscreen mode (Options > Video Settings > Exclusive Fullscreen: ON).
4. Enter any world or server.
5.Press the Windows Key on your keyboard.
System Information (Environment)
OS: Windows 11 / 10 (64-bit)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Core Processor
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 580 Series
VRAM: 8.0 GB Dedicated
RAM: 24.0 GB DDR4
Java Version: Bundled Java Runtime
Update / Root Cause Found:
The crash only occurs when the game is running in Exclusive Fullscreen mode. When pressing the Windows Key, the OS fails to regain display focus from the game, causing the GPU driver to hang and freeze the entire system. Changing the game settings to Windowed or Borderless Windowed mode completely bypasses the bug.
Environment
OS : Windows 11 , Graphic API : Vulkan, RAM : 24GB, GPU : RX 580
Comments 13
Was not able to reproduce on 26.3 Snapshot 3.
Tested on the official vanilla launcher with the Vulkan rendering backend enabled in Fullscreen mode. Pressing the Windows key successfully minimizes the game and returns to the desktop immediately without any system freezing or instability.
System Info: Windows 11, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, 32GB DDR5 RAM, Graphics API: Vulkan
can not reproduce on 26.3 snapshot 3, neither on OpenGL nor on Vulkan
maybe it only affects newer cards or newer drivers? i have an Nvidia GTX 1650 with driver version 31.0.15.3758 (on Windows 11 24H2)
maybe it only affects newer versions of Windows actually
it might be related to AMD GPUs maybe
I have researched and documented it here: MC-311415
I can’t reproduce this on my computer but this seems quite similar to my bug report MC-309174. For me, the game locks up after a windows prompt shows up for a split second, but the computer is still responsive. You should record a video of your issue so they can look into it.