Power BI Desktop Locking up

Hi LindseyT,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Thank you rohit1991, for your inputs on this issue.

After reviewing the details you provided, I have identified few workarounds that may help resolve the issue. Please follow these steps:

It seems your issue stems from a combination of system resource overload and background processes in Power BI, like the WebView2 engine and Power Query evaluator, getting stuck. Too many WebView2 processes or complex queries can cause performance issues or freezes. Other factors might include autosave, preview features, or a corrupt PBIX file.

To uninstall WebView2 Runtime: Navigate to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features and uninstall Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime. For a fresh installation of WebView2: Download the latest Evergreen Standalone Installer from Microsoft, install it, and reboot your system.

To disable Preview Features in Power BI Desktop: Open Power BI Desktop. Go to File > Options and settings > Options. Under Preview features, uncheck all options and restart Power BI Desktop.

To adjust Power BI Memory & Background Settings: In Options > Data Load, uncheck Enable parallel loading of tables and enable Auto date/time only if necessary. In Options > Diagnostics, disable Allow crash dumps to be collected (optional). In Options > Current File > Data Load, uncheck Background data preview and temporarily disable Auto recovery.

For Environment Variable Fix: Open System Properties > Environment Variables. Under System variables, click New and set Name: DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT and Value: 1. Click OK and reboot.

To test for Clean PBIX and File Corruption: Open a blank Power BI file, manually add one table from a small Excel/CSV file, and test applying Power Query changes and saving. If no issues arise, the original PBIX file may be too large, contain problematic M queries, or have embedded visuals causing the crash. Suggestion: Open the problematic PBIX with Performance Analyzer turned on to analyse queries. Remove all non-Microsoft certified visuals from the problematic PBIX and test again.

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