Windows 7 Freezes When Exiting Certain Programs

Since about a week ago, Windows 7 (64 Bit Pro) has frozen on me quite frequently when I exit out of certain programs. Some of the programs that have caused this: Avidemux, VLC, Dreamweaver (when closing many windows at the same time), and more. There have been no major software changes on the computer in this time aside from updating my DisplayLink drivers soon after the problem began (I thought this may have been an issue) and regular Windows Updates yesterday.

There are no errors posted in the event log after this happens. Hardware has not been updated recently though I did upgrade RAM about half a year ago. Windows Memory Diagnostics reported no issues.

Any idea what is causing Windows to lock? It's a total freeze, mind you. No errors and no BSOD; close a program such as any one listed above and instantly the OS is frozen. I first thought it may have been an RAM issue but since no errors are returned and closing other 'big' programs such as Opera which was using 1GB did not result in a freeze...yet.

I also thought this may be an overheating issue since it's summer but neither the CPU/Harddisk/Mobo rise above 55'ish Celsius even when under load.

SeaTools also reports no errors on the disk.

I also ran SFC /scannow with no issues found.

*I just want to clarify that Windows doesn't freeze each and every time I close one of the above-mentioned programs. I'd say it's 70/30 in favor of freezing. Sometimes I get 'lucky'.

if this only happens for certain programs, then it may just be the issues of those programs and you can try updating them to the latest versions. it may also be registry problems so try troubleshoot with maintenance programs like ccleaner to fix registries.