There is nothing more frustrating to a PC user than watching their computer frequently lock up. Fortunately, there may be an easy solution to your problem. Here are some of the most common causes of PC freezes, along with their solutions.
Ctrl+Alt+Delete
Whenever your computer locks up, this is the first step that you need to take. Pressing these three buttons simultaneously opens the task bar, in which you can close down the program that is freezing your computer. While it doesn’t work for all freezes, it’s nevertheless an effective way of solving many common computer problems.
Too many applications with not enough power
Sometimes, your computer will freeze while running a bunch of applications. If you have word documents, a music player, an internet browser, and a video game open, your computer may not have sufficient RAM and processing power to deal with all of that information. In some cases, this will cause it to freeze.
Overheating
Sometimes, a computer will freeze due to excess heat. In this case, you will need to take steps to increase its cooling capacity. Try cleaning some of the dust out of the case, or replacing a bad fan. If you use your PC to play games, then video cards may overheat after prolonged use in a warm environment. Sometimes, overheating components are accompanied by a Blue Screen of Death error; other times, the computer simply freezes without warning.
Eliminate viruses and spyware
If your computer seems to lock up no matter what you do with it, it could be a particularly persistent virus. Sometimes, these viruses will steal your resources, causing your computer to lock up under the increased load. Other times, they deliberately freeze your computer in order to trick you into buying an expensive piece of removal software. Obviously, if you have any sort of malware on your computer, then you need to find a good anti-virus program.
Run various housekeeping tasks on your computer
There are certain things which should be done regularly to your PC in order to keep it in optimum shape. Things like defragmenting your disk, running a disk check, and clearing your browser’s cache and cookies can all fix common PC problems. If your computer is frequently freezing, then running these applications may eliminate the problem.
Run your computer in safe mode
If you run Windows on your PC, you can enter safe mode by pressing F8 during start-up. Safe mode disables all but the most essential tasks, which fixes many of the problems you may be experiencing. In general, Windows is fairly stable; problems arise when you start to add programs and hardware onto the system. So, by using Safe Mode, you’re vastly reducing your chance of a system freeze.