Here is why your computer keep freezing up and What you should do.
PC/Laptop computer freezes for many reasons. One case can be a problem, but repeated freezes indicate a problem you want to fix. Here, let’s find out why about it.
Why does the laptop freeze up sometimes?
Each laptop/PC is used for different purposes and in different environments. Especially different errors can represent the same problem.
Therefore, it is difficult to find the cause of the problem if you are not a tech-savvy person or computer.
Freezing is a common phenomenon for many problems, from hardware to software, here are some reason why your computer keep freezing up:
- OS error
- Hardware problem
- StartupStartup interruption
- Software error
- Too many open programs
- Driver related problem
- Heat-related problem
OS error
If your laptop runs through Power-On Self-Test (POST) but then freezes on a black screen, you may think the laptop is having a problem with the operating system.
System files may have been corrupted due to malware or user error. You could try accessing your laptop’s system partition during boot, allowing you to repair and reinstall your system.
This depends on your laptop manufacturer, e.g., on some computers, you press the “Del” key to execute a specific setup command, while others use F10 or F2.
Windows may be corrupted if you have tried all of the above suggestions and the computer continues to lock frequently.
Try going through the fundamental troubleshooting procedures for your Windows version. If these extra steps don’t help, we advise you to back up all of your important data, remove Windows, and then reinstall it.
Hardware problem
Freezing during booting can be a sign that your hardware is having problems. Hard drive failure can corrupt data and prevent your operating system from booting.
RAM is a frequent offender that can lead to booting issues. Like hard drives, RAM can be damaged by malware or malfunction with age.
The longer the machine is used, the more the risks to the hardware will gradually increase. To check your RAM, use memory diagnostic software.
In addition, freezing can also be caused by the motherboard overheating due to insufficient power or even a damaged CPU.
To diagnose faulty hardware, you may need professional help. We recommend you go to reputable laptop repair facilities to fix the repair at a reasonable cost and save you time.
Hardware problems or misconfigurations can cause the computer to lock. Remove any new hardware you’ve recently added to your computer for a short while to make sure it isn’t the root of the issue.
Before removing any hardware, ensure the computer does not have conflicts in Device Manager.
If you haven’t installed any new hardware, the next best solution is to remove them one by one. For example, you can remove the modem, network card, sound card, or any other expansion cards because they are not necessary for the computer to work.
Start the computer without these cards to see if they cause your problem. You should also try unplugging any (plugged in) peripherals one at a time to see if they’re causing your problems.
If your computer shuts down abnormally during or after installing your operating system, the hardware components inside your computer may be damaged. If so, the faulty hardware could be RAM, CPU, Motherboard, or Power (in that order).
If you access the parts from another computer known to be working, try swapping out the parts to isolate the faulty hardware. If not, you will need a serving computer.
StartupStartup interruption
Laptops can be designed to boot from a CD. With the advent of ultrabooks without optical drives, most BIOS settings can also be configured to boot from a USB drive.
Your laptop may hang on a black screen while it searches for the boot files on a CD or USB drive that doesn’t contain an operating system. In this case, you need to remove the CD and USB drives from the machine and reboot.
Software error
If you are performing the boot process but the laptop freezes when switching to the Desktop, the problem may be with the programs launched when the laptop boots.
It is possible that programs activated at startup are using too much memory, or you may have malware running simultaneously.
You can try shutting down the computer and starting it in Safe Mode by pressing and holding the F8 key until the Advanced Boot options appear.
While in Safe Mode, you can manage what runs at startup by opening “MSConfig” and going to the startup tab.
Software-related problems usually cause computer locking or freezing. Ensure all the programs currently running on your computer have the most recent updates installed if you’re experiencing issues with a specific program not opening. The software publisher or developer can provide you with the most recent updates for your software.
Tip: If the computer has malware, viruses, or other malicious software, it can cause many problems. Make sure your computer is clean.
Too many open programs
Every program or window you open on your computer takes up some computing resources to keep it running.
If too many programs open simultaneously, your computer may be low on resources and freeze. Try running only one program simultaneously to ensure your freezer is not caused by multiple programs running simultaneously.
Driver related problem
Outdated or corrupted drivers can also cause a computer lockout. For example, if something goes wrong with your video adapter drivers, your computer may lock while playing a game or watching a movie.
First, make sure no errors exist in Windows Device Manager by opening Device Manager and verifying that there are no “Other Devices” listed.
Additionally, see if any devices on the list have a red X or a yellow exclamation point next to them. If so, you’ll want to visit our page on identifying problems in Windows Device Manager.
Next, ensure you have the latest drivers for all the major devices on your computer (video, audio, modem, and network)—a list of related Driver pages.
Heat-related problem
If the computer processor is becoming too hot, it can cause the computer to freeze. If you’ve heard any unusual noises from your computer lately, such as a high-pitched squeal, it could signify a failing fan.
You can start by verifying that the failed fans on the power supply are working by checking the back of the computer and seeing if the failed fans are moving and moving smoothly.
For other fans on your computer, you have a few options. You can either open the computer and do a physical check or if the computer monitors the fan RPM, enter the CMOS settings and make sure the BIOS doesn’t report any errors.
Note: To determine whether or not their laptop has a thermal issue, users may also want to try turning it on while holding a book or notepad so that air can reach the bottom of the device.
Users can also determine how hot the computer is using the onboard thermal sensors. If your computer is equipped with these sensors, ensure your CPU is not running too hot.
How to free a Frozen Windows Computer
Depending on what caused the issue, you can recover your frozen computer in several ways. The PC might hang while performing some work and shut down a few seconds later, so occasionally you have to wait.
Suppose a game or other full-screen application freezes and won’t let you close it; press Alt + F4. If the app is frozen completely, this won’t work, but it will close the app if the game only has graphic problems.
You can access Task Manager (and end any running programs) from this screen, log out, or restart your computer. If this screen doesn’t appear, it’s possible that you won’t be able to restore your PC without restarting it.
You can get out of the freeze if you can access Task Manager. (You can also launch Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.)
If you don’t see the “Processes” tab, click “More details.” Find any CPU-intensive processes by sorting the list by CPU usage by clicking the “CPU” column header, which will place the most CPU-intensive processes at the top.
To force the program to end, click “End task” after selecting a process. If the program crashes or uses a lot of CPU, you will lose any unsaved work in it, and there may be no way to recover your unsaved data.
The taskbar and Start menu on your Windows desktop can occasionally become frozen. Sometimes restarting Windows Explorer will solve these issues. To do this, locate “Windows Explorer” in the list of running processes, click to select it, then click “Restart.”
If you have no unsaved work, click the power button in the bottom right corner of the screen, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, and select “Restart.” Your computer should generally function after rebooting as this resolves many system issues.
To lock the screen and return to the login screen, try pressing Windows + L. You can also restart your PC from there. However, if Ctrl + Alt + Delete doesn’t work, this method won’t either.
Suppose none of the previous steps were successful; on your keyboard, press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B. This secret hotkey combination restarts the graphics driver on your computer. This may free up your system if they are the cause of the issue.
There is only one way to fix this if none of these solutions work and your computer won’t respond to anything: shutting down.
Locate your computer’s power button, then press and hold it for 10 seconds. Your computer will be forced to shut down. Wait a few seconds, then reboot by pressing the power button usually.
This is not the cleanest, safest way to shut down your PC. You should use the methods to turn off the screen, but if it is unresponsive, there is no other way to fix it.
This is the only way to fix a blue screen on your computer. If your Windows computer experiences a blue screen of death (BSOD) and won’t restart, you may have accidentally turned off autostart functionality once more. After noting the error message, press and hold the power button to shut down or restart the device.
How to avoid having your computer freeze in the future
The advice above can assist your PC in recovering from crashes and returning to regular operation. Don’t worry about it too much if it’s just one freeze. Computers sometimes have problems like this. There may be a bug in the computer’s hardware driver or other software.
However, if freezes occur frequently, your PC is at fault. A hardware or software issue might be the cause. You can get directions from Reliability Monitor and BlueScreenView.
If the freeze started recently and you recently updated your PC or installed new software, try running System Restore. This will reset your PC software to a known good state. On Windows 10, navigate to Control Panel > System and Security > System > System Protection > System Restore to find this option.
We advise running an anti-malware scan to ensure the malware isn’t harming your system. You can use the free Malwarebytes scan and the built-in Defender antivirus on Windows 10. You can also test out additional anti-malware programs to get a second (or third) opinion.
Hardware problems are much harder to fix. Many things can fail. For example, your computer may be overheating or may have faulty RAM. However, if your computer frequently crashes while playing PC games, this could suggest a problem with your PC’s graphics processing unit (GPU) (or, again, overheating.) However, many other components of your PC can fail.
Ensure your PC has been cleaned and cooled appropriately, and then check its RAM. Diagnosing hardware problems is difficult.
Usually, to test correctly, you have to swap out one component for another and see if that fixes the problem.
Consider letting the manufacturer resolve the issue if your PC is still under warranty. After all, it’s part of what you paid (or are paying) for them.
To eliminate the risk of software errors, you should reinstall Windows. On Windows 10, you can use the “Recovery” feature to return your PC to a like-new state.
The installed programs will all be removed, so bear that in mind. You can also try “fresh start,” which gives you a new Windows 10 system without the PC manufacturer’s pre-installed utilities.
You can also try restoring your system if you just installed a major Windows update within the last ten days.
Fix frozen windows 10 by freeing up more space
Not all cases run the operating system on a low-capacity HDD. Usually, the capacity of windows is still much more significant than other operating systems, so paying attention to the amount of space consumed is something to be concerned about. In this case, you have several options:
Clean temporary files: At the windows ten start menu, click the Run option (if there are too many applications, type Run in the search engine), then type %temp% and press enter. You will now see a long list of temporary files in there. To delete everything, press Ctrl + A and then delete.
Run windows 10 Disk cleanup: In the windows 10 Cortana Search box, type disk cleanup, and select disk cleanup to display the most relevant results. Confirm the system partition in the small pop-up window, and click OK to continue.
This tool will need a few minutes to calculate the total space available on the system partition. After seeing the following interface, check the file types you want to delete and click OK.
Extend system partition: Adding space to the Windows 10 installation drive can eliminate crashes or freezes for use.
Tuning virtual memory
The term “virtual memory” refers to a combination of RAM and hard drive space. It is mainly used to expand the physical memory of the computer. Windows uses virtual memory for temporary storage when your computer runs out of RAM.
Step 1: Right-click on “This PC,” select “Properties,” and select advanced system settings.
Step 2: In system properties, select Advanced and click settings…
Step 3: Click on the program in the advanced tab and then choose change keep going
Step 4: Check the box automatically manage paging file size for all drivers, then fill in the custom size field and select Set -> OK
Turn off fast startup.
Press the key combination Windows + R to call up the RUN dialog box, type powercfg.cpl, and press OK.
Select the line and choose what the power button does in the left window
Click on the words change plan settings
To alter settings that are not currently available, click on
Uncheck the line, turn on fast startup (recommended), and click save changes.
Check hard Drive status.
There are many cases where the computer is slow and crashes because the hard drive is wrong, the head is damaged, or even a virus. So checking the hard drive status is an indispensable step.
We recommend using CrystalDiskInfo software, rated as fast and easy to use. After the installation, with just one click, you already know the status of your hard drive.
If the hard drive appears in yellow and red, it is failing. This is also the cause of the hard drive freezing. The solution is to copy the data and replace the new hard drive.
Handling frozen windows ten by updating the driver
When a specific driver is missing or outdated, the computer will also fall into a state of abnormal operation. You can apply the simple steps below:
- Click on the windows ten start menu, type Run, and then type devmgmt.MSC and press enter
- Expand the categories to find the device name, right-click, and select update driver software…
- Select “Search automatically for updated driver software in the pop-up window.” In this step, you need to make sure the internet is stable.
- Repeat to complete the missing drivers
Use antivirus software
When installing antivirus software, the computer will be heavier, but in return, it prevents many risks of data loss. So you need to choose the correct version.
The virus is the cause of the slowness of the computer because of its encryption algorithms on the data.
Final Thoughts
After applying all the solutions to handle windows ten freezing on, the computer still regularly falls into a state of freezing, freezing; think about the HDD has reached the end of its life.
Replacing a new hard drive is the necessary solution at this time. If your PC hangs during Reset, try creating Windows 10 installation media on another computer.
Insert that into the frozen PC, boot from the installation media, and then reinstall Windows. If your computer crashes when installing Windows (or after), you’ll almost certainly know you’re having a hardware problem.
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