It’s happened to all of us at least once: our computer just suddenly ‘locks down’ and won’t perform any action. You click, type, and move the mouse, all to no avail. You try to restart, but surprise surprise, you can’t even access the menu.
What causes computers to freeze, anyway, and what do you do when it happens? Read this simple article (we promise to simplify all the geek speak) so when your computer freezes, you won’t.
What happened?
Your computer can freeze at any point between the time you switch on the power button, and when you shut it down: when the system’s booting up, when you’re actually working, or in the middle of closing all the programs.
The problem can be caused by a number of reasons. There could be conflicts in your software or hardware, a problem with your driver, registry errors. Maybe you loaded too many programs at the same time, or your computer has overheated. Malware infections can also cause your computer to go haywire.
Do you have too many startup programs?
If your computer froze shortly after you turned it on, you may have too many programs going on during the startup process. We’re pretty sure you don’t need all of them run automatically. So, filter out the unnecessary programs. You can do this by going to the Start > All Programs > Startup folder. Remove all unnecessary programs by right-clicking them and then pressing delete. But that’s not all. Go to the System Configuration utility (go to Start > Run) . You will see a list of programs with checkboxes. Uncheck anything that you don’t want to run during startup. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘Okay.’ Now restart your computer. Booting up will be faster and easier.
Is it overheating?
If your computer froze while you were surfing the Internet or using a program, then you may have overheated computer parts or conflicting devices. Shut down the computer and allow it to cool down for at least 45 minutes. Invest in cooling pads for laptops or add more fans to your hard drive to prevent this problem.
is there a conflict in hardware?
However, if you see an error message, then the problem is conflicting hardware devices. This typically happens when you plug in too many devices to your computer, which competes for the system’s resources. Or, another possible cause is that one of the devices you use has a defective driver. You can check this by going to Device Manager (Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager.)
Is there a problem with the BIOS?
BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. If your computer freezes while you are shutting it down, then it may be a BIOS problem. Try updating your BIOS (check the website of the company that makes your motherboard) .
Another thing you can do is to tweak your computer’s Power Options. Go to Control Panel and check Power Schemes. Switch this to ‘Always On’ and set the other settings to ‘Never.’
Do you have conflicting software?
Another possible cause for freezing is software error. You can remedy this by going to Task Manager ( (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and removing anything that is using a lot of your computer’s system resources.
Does your drive need decluttering?
This may be a good time to purge your computer of unused programs. And, to complete your hard-drive spring cleaning, get a registry cleaner utility that can sweep your computer of obsolete information. Defrag your drive regularly to help keep it running efficiently.
Do you have spyware?
Check your PC for any malware, spyware or viruses that could have messed up your computer system. And, it goes without saying that you need anti virus and anti-spyware software.
Photo from www-computer.org