GameInput service reconfigures & causes total system lock up.

Question

GameInput service reconfigures & causes total system lock up.

Lane Mohr 20

I got a laptop 2 years ago, it’s worked perfectly up until 2 weeks ago where for no reason and only playing a few games (mainly Roblox but also affecting a few others) from what I can causing Microsoft GameInput to reconfigure & cause the system to lock up requiring a manual power cycle. I didn’t install any updates or anything just before the start of the problem. I’ve reinstalled my latest compatible drivers and nothing. I want to know what I can do now before I pick the nuclear option of wiping the drive and getting a fresh install.

Muhammad Fahmi Bin Azemi 145 Reputation points

2026-04-19T16:14:22.18+00:00
Hi Lane, I understand how frustrating it is to deal with hard lock-ups, especially when you are trying to enjoy your games. Since you mentioned the issues started recently without major software changes, it is very likely that the Gaming Services/GameInput package has become corrupted or is conflicting with a specific driver update or peripheral input.

Before resorting to a full system reset, please try these steps in order to isolate and fix the service.

1. Check Event Viewer for the "Smoking Gun"

Before changing settings, let's see exactly what is crashing.

Right-click the Start button and select Event Viewer.

Navigate to Windows Logs > System.

Look for "Error" or "Critical" events marked at the exact time of the lock-up.

Specifically, look for sources like Service Control Manager or DistributedCOM referencing GameInput Service.

If you can copy the specific "Event ID" or error description here, I can provide a more tailored fix.

2. Repair and Reset "Gaming Services"

Windows 11 often runs into issues where the Gaming Services app gets stuck.

Go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.

Search for Gaming Services.

Click the three dots ... and select Advanced options.

Click Repair. If that doesn't work, click Reset.

Restart your computer and test if the issue persists.

3. Clean Reinstall of Gaming Services

If resetting doesn't work, we need to force a clean slate for the GameInput service.

Open PowerShell as Administrator.

Run these commands one by one to remove and reinstall the service:

PowerShell

get-appxpackage

Restart your computer.

Once rebooted, open the Xbox App or the Microsoft Store. It should prompt you to reinstall "Gaming Services." Allow it to install.

4. Check for Peripheral Conflicts

The GameInput service is specifically designed to handle controllers, steering wheels, and joysticks.

If you have any game controllers, flight sticks, or racing wheels plugged in, unplug them all and test the game.

If the issue stops, one of your input devices has a driver that is conflicting with the GameInput service update. You would then need to update the firmware/drivers for that specific device via the manufacturer's website.

Please check the Event Viewer logs as mentioned in Step 1. If you find an error code (like 0x800...), please paste it in your reply. This will help us confirm if it's a permission issue, a driver crash, or a file corruption issue.
Lane Mohr 20 Reputation points

2026-04-20T00:32:28.27+00:00

In reliability history I’ve checked and the only things that are present after the manual power cycles are is the “Game Input reconfigured” and “Windows hasn’t shut down properly”, In event Veiwer the only errors that occurred are service Error for Service Control Manger code 7023, 7031, 7023, 7031. Warning for DistributedCOM code 10016 10016 (in order of events see bottom for full error messages), during these crashes I was only using Keyboard, Mouse and wireless headphones plugged in. I tried to repair Gaming Services via settings and it said “We couldn’t repair this app, try again in a bit.”Full Error Message’s in order:

SCM 7023: The windows search service terminated with following error:

A specified login session doesn’t exist. It may already be terminated.

SCM7031: The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s). The following corrective action will be taken in 30000ms: Restart the service.

SCM 7023: The windows search service terminated with following error:

A specified login session doesn’t exist. It may already be terminated.

SCM7031: The Windows Search service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 2 time(s). The following corrective action will be taken in 30000ms: Restart the service.

DistCOM 10016: The application-specific permission do not grant local activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {6B3B8D23-FA8D-8DBD-B950333E2C52} and APPID {4839DDB7-58C2-48F5-E1D1807D0D7D}

DistCOM 10016: The application-specific permission do not grant local activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {6B3B8D23-FA8D-8DBD-B950333E2C52} and APPID {4839DDB7-58C2-48F5-E1D1807D0D7D}