Let’s be honest! We all have faced one of the most annoying issues with computers where we are in the middle of something important and the computer freezes. Your PC renders useless at the time you need it the most and you lose all the work progress.
Don’t worry, this is a rather common issue and is easy to fix as well. In this article, we’ll guide you through all the methods you can try to get your computer to unfreeze and run again.
Is The Computer Dead-Locked?
If your computer has frozen suddenly, you should give it some time to catch up and recover on its own. For a couple of minutes, check if the computer is capable of resolving the issue automatically. If not and if the computer continues to remain frozen, check if the following things are also happening to conclude if it’s a deadlock or not:
- Try moving the mouse cursor on the screen. If it doesn’t move even after waiting for a couple of minutes, you probably are dealing with a deadlock.
- Hit the Caps Lock button located on the keyboard. If it is working, then it probably is a software problem and you can resolve the issue using the Windows task manager. In case the Caps lock does not light up, it is likely to be a deadlock.
If you suspect that your computer is deadlocked, try out the following solutions to fix it:
- Activate Task Manager:
The easiest way to unfreeze your system is by activating the task manager. Follow the steps given below to do so:
Step 1. Press the Ctrl key + Alt + Del to open a menu. Select task manager from the list.
Step 2. Now, choose the program that has been unresponsive and then, select End Task.
Step 3. Wait for about 30 seconds for the process to finish.
- Reboot your system
If you can’t access the Task Manager or it isn’t working, consider rebooting the computer. Press and hold the power button until the computer turns off. After waiting for a minimum of 30 seconds, turn the computer back on.
Why Does Your Computer Keep Freezing?
Identifying the cause behind the problem can help you fix it quickly. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top causes behind the issue at hand. Given below are the top possible reasons why your computer keeps freezing randomly:
- Lot of open programs
- Faulty or outdated drivers
- Overheating
- Not enough RAM
- Modifications to BIOS settings
- Faulty USB/external hardware
- Virus or malware
- Corrupt or missing system files
- Software issues
How To Fix Computer Keeps Freezing Error?
If your computer freezes at random and quite often, then you need to try out the solutions given below. There are a number of ways to fix the computer freezing problem. Find them listed below:
- Check External Devices Like Mouse and Keyboard
- End Processes Via Task Manager
- Get Rid Of The Temp Files
- Take Your Computer To a Cooler Place
- Update The Outdated Drivers
- Run A Memory Check
- Run The SFC Scan
- Run System Restore
- Check For RAM Issues
- Check The Reliability Monitor
Fix 1: Check External Devices Like Mouse and Keyboard
Your mouse and your keyboard should be properly connected. If not, your computer could suffer from issues like freezing repeatedly. Try reconnecting the mouse and keyboard tightly and check if the freezing issue is gone.
Fix 2: End Processes Via Task Manager
The programs in your computer need a specific amount of internal and external resources to work properly. If you launch many programs simultaneously, your computer can start working slowly and freeze due to a shortage of memory. To get rid of this issue, you need to kill a couple of program processes. Follow the steps given below to do so:
Step 1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
Step 2. Next, right-click on the programs that are marked as “not responding.” Then, click on End task. Now, check if the computer’s freezing issue is gone or not.
Fix 3: Get Rid Of The Temp Files
If there are a lot of temp files stored in your computer’s local disk, that can consume your system’s storage. And when the storage is almost full, your computer might start to hang. In that case, you need to delete some temporary files to free some space.
Step 1. Press the Windows + R key at the same time and type “temp.” Click on OK.
Step 2. Press the Ctrl key and A to select all the temporary files. Then, click on Del to delete the files. Check if your computer is running fine now or not.
Fix 4: Take Your Computer To a Cooler Place
While the computer can work all day long, sometimes we forget that it also gets overheated. Excessive heating can slow down your computer and lead it to freeze. High temperatures can also damage the integrated circuit of your system’s processor.
So, if your computer gets overheated, take your computer to a cooler place and make sure that the cooling vents are not blocked. Also, ensure that the computer is vented properly to avoid the problem of overheating.
Fix 5: Update The Outdated Drivers
If your graphics driver is outdated, you need to update it. Other faulty drivers like those of the USB, keyboard, or other external devices can also lead to your computer hanging or freezing.
To find out which external device is causing the problem, you can try connecting one external device at a time and investigating if that is causing the computer to freeze.
Follow the steps given below to update your device drivers:
Step 1. Right-click on This PC (if you use Windows 10/8) or My Computer ( in the case of Windows 7). Click on Manage, and then on Device Manager.
Step 2. Next, click on the category that needs its drivers updated.
Step 3. Now, right-click on the name of the hardware and select Update Driver Software (for Windows 10/8 users).
If your device has Windows 7, right-click on the hardware’s name and select Properties. Then, click on the Update Driver button located underneath the Driver tab.
After that, you just need to follow the on-screen instructions to update the drivers.
Fix 6: Run A Memory Check
If your memory card is corrupted, that could be the reason why your computer keeps freezing. So, you need to run a memory check on your system that will identify and fix the issue:
Step 1. Press the Windows key + R on the keyboard. This opens the Run utility. Type msdsched.exe and click the OK button.
Step 2. At this point, you need to make sure your work is saved. The Windows Memory Diagnostic tool will open up. Now, click on Restart now and check for problems (recommended).
Step 3. Now, wait for the test to be finished.
Now, your system will restart and you will get the test results. If it detects no problems with the memory card, then something else is the cause.
Fix 7: Run The SFC Scan
Sometimes, missing or faulty system files could also lead to a frozen computer. To tackle this, you can use the System File Checker (SFC) tool of Microsoft. This will scan your system files and repair the ones that are missing or corrupted. Follow the steps given below to run the SFC scan:
Step 1. Go to the Windows search bar and type cmd. From the search results, click on Command Prompt and click on Run as administrator.
Step 2. Now, click on Yes when prompted to confirm.
Step 3. Type sfc /scannow in the command prompt window and press the Enter key.
The SFC tool will take up some time to detect and replace the corrupt system files if found.
Step 4. Next, restart your system to allow the changes to take effect. Now, see if the computer’s freezing problem is resolved or not.
Fix 8: Run System Restore
Sometimes, introducing something new to your computer can also cause several unexplainable issues with the system. For example, you can start encountering the computer freezing problem after modifying the BIOS settings. You can always take your system back to a point when everything was fine with it. Follow the steps given below to do so:
Step 1. Go to the Windows search box and type in restore. Click on the search result that says Create a restore point.
Step 2. Click on System Restore and then on Next
Step 3. Now, select the most recent time when the computer was working fine. Then, click on Next.
Step 4. Save your computer’s data and hit the Finish button. Then, click on Yes.
Step 5. Wait till the restoration gets completed. When the system restarts, check if the freezing problem was fixed or not.
Fix 9: Check For RAM Issues
If your computer freezes quite often and regularly, that’s possible because there is insufficient RAM. You can try upgrading the RAM or reinstalling your OS to fix this. Given below are the steps to upgrade your RAM:
Step 1. Open the Start menu and type in Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool in the search box.
Step 2. Click on it. This will reboot your system and check out your memory. It will also notify you if it finds any problems.
If the tool does not detect any problems, possibly, your system needs more RAM. To detect the same, follow the steps given below:
Step 1. Press Ctrl + Esc to open the Task Manager.
Step 2. Click on the Performance Tab. If you see that the memory is maxed out, you need to upgrade the RAM.
Step 3. Google your laptop’s model to find the kind of RAM it is suited for.
Also, search for the instructions to replace the RAM. The lightweight laptops usually come soldered onto the motherboard. In that case, you need to buy a new laptop.
Fix 10: Check The Reliability Monitor
If you can’t track the issue behind your computer’s freezing issue, take a couple of extra steps. In this case, you can resort to Windows 10 Reliability Monitor. To access it, follow the steps given below:
Step 1. Open the Control Panel followed by System and Security. Then, click on Security and Maintenance and finally select Reliability Monitor.
Step 2. The Reliability tool will show you a graph of your system’s reliability over time.
Here, you can check out when the crash logs happened and updates were made. Moreover, you’ll also find the time of installing new applications along with issues with the computer.
Look for an error that occurred around the same time when your computer freezing problem started. For this, you might need to check out some technical details or the Microsoft database.
Step 3. If you find an error code coinciding with the time your computer froze, Google the error code and look for ways to resolve it. Else, if the graph suggests that a system update caused it, you can resort to System Restore to fix the problem.
Final Words
Now you know why your computer keeps freezing randomly and the ways to fix that. If none of the above solutions helped you fix the computer freezing issue, your computer may have a hardware issue that needs further investigation. In this case, you can contact your system manufacturer to check it out and replace the faulty parts for free if the computer is under warranty.
