What to do When Your Computer Freezes:
A blog about different causes of computer freezes along with preventive measures you can take to guard yourself against future problems.
There are many reasons your computer could become frozen. It could be that you are simply out of disk space and the system is having trouble writing to the hard disk, or it could be a problem with the operating system — perhaps a virus infection. Whatever the case may be, there are some simple steps you can take to prevent your computer from freezing again in the future.
1. Upgrade your operating system if necessary.
If you are running an older version of Windows, upgrading to a newer operating system might help resolve the issue. Newer versions of Windows tend to have better drivers that improve performance and make sure your hardware runs at its best. You’ll also get new features that can make your computer more reliable and efficient. If you don’t want to pay for an upgrade, consider switching to a third-party operating system such as Linux, which has drivers that work exceptionally well on most hardware systems.
2. Defragment your hard drive on a regular basis.
Hard drives tend to fill up over time with files that aren’t being used anymore, or fragmented files that were not written in
When your computer freezes, you need to know the steps to take to prevent future problems. Below, find out what you can do when your computer freezes:
1) Save your work before shutting down. When a computer freezes up, the easiest thing to do is hit the restart button. Before you do that, make sure you close any programs or files you’re working on. You’ll want to save anything you’re working on before closing it.
2) Wait for a few minutes before restarting. If your computer freezes and you’ve waited a few moments and it still won’t respond, go ahead and restart by pressing the start button on your desktop and then click restart. This should cause your computer to reboot and then you can open up any applications or files that were open when it froze.
3) Prevent future problems by updating virus protection software every month. Make sure that all of the software installed on your computer is updated at least once per month (including virus protection software). This will ensure that your computer has the latest patches in place and will be less likely to encounter problems moving forward.
4) Check the hard drive after a crash. A hard drive that’s damaged can cause slow performance or freezing issues, which makes it necessary to check them after a
1. Save your work.
Your first task, should your computer freeze up, is to save any work you may have open. Pressing the keyboard combination CTRL+ALT+DEL will bring up a Windows Task Manager window. In the Applications tab, click “New Task” and type in “explorer.” This should bring up Windows Explorer, allowing you to save your work before restarting your computer or shutting down.
2. Check for Viruses/Malware.
If you haven’t been vigilant about keeping your computer virus-free it can cause freezing as well as many other problems. If you have anti-virus software installed, check for updates and run a scan of your system’s files to see if any malware has infected it. If you don’t have an anti-virus program, download one from the internet–there are free options available such as AVG Free or Avast Home Edition (links in Resources).
3. Registry Errors
If antivirus software doesn’t solve the problem and your system continues to freeze, open the Start Menu and type “regedit” into the search box (without quotes). This will open the Registry Editor utility where you can edit your computer’s registry settings manually. Navigate through the folders until you
Have you ever been in the middle of a great project on your computer, when all of a sudden, it freezes? It is infuriating, especially if you haven’t saved your work. What do you do? First, don’t panic! There are some things you can try before you give up and take it to the nearest computer store.
There are several reasons why your computer could freeze up. It could be a virus. Often times people inadvertently download viruses by clicking on an email attachment or downloading something on a website that has been infected with a virus. Anti-virus software can help protect your computer from viruses and should be installed prior to going online. However, the best way to avoid viruses is not to click on links or open attachments unless you trust the source and know what they are.
Your hard drive could also be full, which would cause your machine to slow down and freeze. As a general rule of thumb, you should have about 10% of your hard drive free at all times for optimum performance.
If neither of those things is causing problems for your computer, it might be that a registry file has become corrupt. This can happen if something gets installed incorrectly or if an installation doesn’t complete properly. Running a registry cleaner will scan through all
Your computer just freezes. You can’t move the mouse, you can’t click on anything, and you can’t even shut down your computer properly. This is a common problem that almost every computer user will experience at one time or another. The good news is that there are a lot of things you can try before calling out the professionals and spending hundreds of dollars getting it repaired.
First ask yourself if your computer is up to date. This means making sure that the operating system has all of the latest updates and security patches installed. It also means that you should check for any new drivers for your hardware, such as graphics card and motherboard updates. Updates exist for a reason: to fix bugs and improve performance. If you aren’t receiving updates from the manufacturer, then you’re probably missing out on key fixes! If your computer is updated but still freezing, it may be time to consider running a virus scan on your machine. Viruses are one of the most common causes of freezing in Windows computers, so eliminating this as a possibility may save you some trouble in the long run.
There are many different ways to go about doing this which we’ll discuss later, but first turn off your antivirus software temporarily to see if this might be what’s causing your problems. If
If your computer freezes, and you are unable to do anything, don’t panic. It’s not uncommon for computers to freeze, and it’s usually not a big deal. Here are some of the most common things that could be going wrong.
1. Restart your computer
2. Check your memory
3. Update your software
4. Run a virus scan
5. Change the settings of your desktop manager
6. Update the driver of your video card
7. Turn off power saving options in BIOS (see page 36)
8. Remove unnecessary hardware devices
9. Check for overheating problems
10. Check for compatibility issues between hardware components and programs