Office Apps Freezing

How to Fix OneNote Draw Tool Freezing on Windows 10

Maira Mehtab Oct 20, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user experiences a complete system freeze when attempting to use the Draw tool in OneNote, requiring a sleep and wake cycle to regain responsiveness.

How to Fix OneNote Draw Tool Freezing on Windows 10

Product: Microsoft OneNote
Device & OS: Windows 10 Home
Scenario: Drawing or annotating notes using the Draw tool in either the desktop version of OneNote or OneNote for Windows 10.
Observed behavior: The computer screen becomes completely unresponsive after using the Draw tool several times. The issue persists until the laptop is put to sleep and awakened.

Before you start

Please save all your unsaved work in other applications before proceeding, as several of these troubleshooting steps will require you to restart your computer.

Solution 1Recommended

Repair Microsoft 365 and Run System File Checker

Run built-in repair tools to fix corrupted Microsoft 365 installations or damaged Windows system files that cause application freezes.

System file corruption or broken Office installations are common culprits behind unexplained screen freezing when using specific app features.

Open Programs and Features

Press the Windows Key + R, type 'appwiz.cpl' into the Run dialog, and press Enter to open your installed programs list.

Run Office Online Repair

Locate Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office in the list, right-click it, and select 'Change'. Choose 'Online Repair' and follow the on-screen prompts.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator

Click the Windows Start button, type 'cmd', right-click 'Command Prompt' from the search results, and select 'Run as administrator'.

Execute the SFC Scan

Type 'sfc /scannow' in the command window and press Enter. Wait for the verification to reach 100%, then restart your computer to apply all fixes.

Repair Microsoft 365 and Run System File Checker

System Reboot Required: Restarting the device is essential after running the System File Checker to ensure replaced files are successfully loaded into memory.

Solution 2

Disable OneNote Add-ins

Deactivate third-party extensions that might be conflicting with the Draw tool and causing OneNote to lock up.

Solution 3

Update Windows and Microsoft 365

Install the latest version updates to patch known bugs related to OneNote drawing features.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Switch to WPS Office for a Stable, Lightweight Experience

If Microsoft 365 apps like OneNote continue to freeze your system or cause performance lag, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a highly compatible, resource-efficient alternative to Microsoft Office, ensuring smooth document creation and editing without taxing your device's hardware.

1. Download and Install: Visit the official WPS website to download the free installation package and follow the quick setup guide.
2. Open Your Existing Files: Launch WPS Office and directly open your existing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with zero formatting loss.
3. Use Built-in Drawing Tools: Navigate to the Draw or Insert tabs within WPS applications to easily annotate your documents without experiencing system freezes.

Highly compatible with all major Microsoft Office document formatsLightweight software architecture prevents system freezes and hardware lagFree to use with a familiar, user-friendly interface requiring no learning curveIncludes reliable built-in tools for annotating documents and PDFs

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the OneNote Draw tool freeze my entire Windows 10 screen?

This is often caused by a conflict between OneNote's hardware acceleration and your graphics drivers, corrupted Microsoft 365 system files, or problematic third-party add-ins.

Will reinstalling OneNote completely fix the drawing tool freeze?

Reinstalling can help if the core application files are severely corrupted. However, running an Online Repair through the Windows Control Panel is usually faster, resolves most corruption issues, and preserves your custom settings.

How do I turn off hardware acceleration in OneNote?

In older desktop versions of OneNote, you can go to File > Options > Advanced, scroll down to the Display section, and check the box for 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration'. Note that newer versions of Office may have removed this specific toggle.

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