MATLAB is running, but the user interface is not responding to clicks

The last time I used MATLAB was around two weeks ago. Today I wanted to use it again and MATLAB starts up without any error messages, but the GUI is completely frozen. If I hover over buttons with the mouse, the appearance of the buttons does not change. If I click a button, nothing happens. I cannot create a new script or type something into the command window. If I resize the MATLAB window with the button in the top right, some of the window content gets black. If I try to close MATLAB with the X-button in the top right corner, MATLAB is not responding. I have to kill the process using Task-Manager in order to close MATLAB.

The only thing that changed in my configuration in the past two weeks was the installation of Rainmeter. I uninstalled Rainmeter and deleted all of the files associated with it, but that did not fix the problem. I also tried starting MATLAB with the -softwareopengl parameter, but the problem still persists.

I checked Windows update and it turns out that a driver update (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. - System - 8.0.0.14) and several of the usual windows updates were installed in the past two weeks. I tried uninstalling the driver update, but Windows tells me that I cannot uninstall this update.

System Configuration:

• AMD Ryzen 5 6600U with Radeon Graphics
• 16 GB RAM
• Windows 11 64-Bit 22H2

Are there any logfiles which I can check to find the cause of the problem?

Any help or ideas to fix the problem would be appreciated. I attached a .zip-file with a short video which showcases the problem.

Answer 1

[Bala Tripura Bodapati]

Hi Beerwema

It is my understanding that on launching MATLAB the User Interface is unresponsive and is freezing in both MATLAB R2022a and R2022b versions.

MATLAB freezing upon launch could be due to a number of issues. The first step I would suggest is clearing the preferences directory. Once you regenerate preferences, try launching MATLAB.

Refer the How do I regenerate my MATLAB preferences? answer for regenerating the preferences.

If this does not resolve the issue, I would suggest trying the troubleshooting steps outlined below:

Why will MATLAB not start up properly on my Windows based system?

If the above troubleshooting steps does not resolve the issue, try the troubleshooting steps outlined below:

Why does MATLAB get stuck in the "Initializing" or "Busy" state or take a long time to start?

[N/A]

Dear Bala Tripura Bodapati,

thank you so much for your answer! Step 1 (Clearing preferences) fixed my problem and now MATLAB R2022b is back up and running. I uninstalled R2022a because I do not need both versions.

Again, thank you for your advice and have a great day.

Best Regards

[N/A]

Update:

Sadly, regenerating the preferences only had a temporary effect. Everything worked fine yesterday, but today the issue came back. I was able to start MATLAB, but the GUI was again frozen and I could not use it.

After checking out the other links above and doing some more research, I realized that MATLAB was starting up properly as soon as I disconnected my computer from the Internet. This lead me to believe that there was a licensing issue since I am using an academic license provided by my university.

I was able to solve the problem by the following steps:

1. Open "Deactivate MATLAB R2022b" from the start menu and deactivate the currently used license.
2. Delete the system environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE.
3. Open C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB and rename the folder "R2022b_licenses" to "R2022b_licenses_old".
4. Once you start MATLAB, you are prompted to login to your MathWorks account and provide a license. Follow the steps until the process is complete.
5. Now, MATLAB should be working properly.

I hope that this solved the problem once and for all. :D otherwise, I will post another update.

Regards

Answer 2

[N/A]

Well, after writing the last post I decided to install R2022a to rule out that the new update to R2022b is causing issues.

After installing R2022a, I was relieved to see that R2022a worked after opening it. Everythink was functional and I could use MATLAB without any problems. But after closing R2022a and reopening it, it now also does not work and is frozen after startup. So now I am back at step 1 :-/.

If you have any advice, please tell me. Are there any logfiles which I can check to find out what is causing the issue?

Answer 3

[N/A]

I went ahead and completely uninstalled MATLAB and all Toolboxes. Aftwerards, I reinstalled them with the newest version of the installer. Sadly, this did not solve the problem. If I start MATLAB, it still does not respond to clicks and the complete UI is frozen as described in the original question.

Is it possible that the Update 2 for R2022b is the issue? The update was released on 11/11/2022, so this would correlate to the time frame since I started having problems. Does MATLAB automatically install updates?