My Computer Freezes! What Can I do?

by Sue
(East of the Mississippi)

Help Diagnose Computer Freezes Please!

My computer hates me some days! My computer freezes just to torture me right when I'm in the middle of a project. What is the best way to prevent this from happening?

What causes the computer to freeze up? When the computer does freeze, how can I "unfreeze" it quickly and easily? The only way I know of is to press the control/Alt/delete keys all together. Most times that does NOT work! Why?

I try going to the start menu and restarting but that is usually a no go too. What I end up doing is having to push the power button to shut the entire computer off for a minute or two, then turn it on again! It stinks!

Do you have a magic solution to prevent and cure computer freezes?

Many thanks,

Sue
Skin Care Resource Center

Answer

Computer freezing, is right up there with BSOD, or Blue Screen Of Death. You will probably lose whatever you were working on, and have lost time, and got frustrated in the process.

Unlike the BSOD, the odds are more likely it is a software issue, which sounds like it is easier to fix. Although most of the time it is, sometimes this can really be a pain.

Where to start. First thing, backup your work. Help for that is available here. Then run your favorite virus scanner to check for problems.

Once that is finished running, update Windows. Make sure when you do this, follow the custom step, if it has new drivers available, get them, this could likely be the fix.

If you are overclocking your computer. Turn back the settings to their defaults.

Has it been longer than 6 months since your last computer cleaning? If so, head here next.

Now, you have a solid base line. You should hopefully have narrowed the problem down or already fixed it. Keep note which program you are working in if it freezes again.

If your computer freezes when you are running a graphic heavy application, like a game, or video editor, head over to the manufacturers website of your video card, and get an updated driver. You can find the model number by right clicking on My Computer, then go to Manage, when the next dialog pops up, select device manager. Here, click on display adapters to get the make and model of your video card.

If their is no consistency with a program you run when the crashing occurs, check to see if you are using 75% or more of your system RAM. This is easily done by hitting CTRL+ALT+Delete and opening up the task manager. On the bottom of the window that pops up, you will see how much physical memory is used. If it stays at over 75% for 30 seconds or more, a RAM upgrade may be the problem.

If you have done any changes recently to your system that started the problem. Try and think back to what you changed and undo it.

If this still does not fix the problem, pass some more information. Is this a desktop or laptop? What programs give you the most freezing? How much RAM do you have? What version of Windows are you running? What is the model of your Video Card?

Hope the common steps above get you going.

Dave