Windows 7 Freezes

Windows 7 freezes will still happen especially since this is a new OS from developer Microsoft. Windows 7 is quickly being adopted by the computer world. To be honest, this might be Microsoft’s best job at an Operating System release as it is doing much better than the failed release of Windows Vista. Let’s keep in mind though that this is still a Microsoft product. This means you will still have the same old problems to deal with, especially Windows 7 Freezes.

In the short time I have used Windows 7, the biggest things I have noticed are it’s ability to react and run very quickly on just 2GB of RAM. Granted, you shouldn’t have a computer today that has Windows 7 on it that is not a 64-bit machine. The overall speed of Windows 7 blows Vista out of the water.

#1 Tip For Fixing Windows 7 Freezes – Drivers Will Cause Headaches

Like with any new operating system, there are going to be bugs and issues that will need to be worked out. And as always, there will be a ton of windows updates to download as these problems get resolved. But the number 1 reason that will cause Windows 7 freezes initially will be drivers. Every single manufacturer that makes an installable component such as motherboads, video cards, audio cards and network cards will have to have a new set of Windows 7 drivers programmed up to run on the new OS. This transition can sometimes be a very bumpy ride. I would recommend getting yourself a Microsoft Certified Driver Checker if you are having any types of these problems. You will save yourself hours and hours of time and frustration.

#2 Tip For Fixing Windows 7 Freezes – Make Sure YOur Programs Are Compatible

Software developers face huge obstacles when a new operating system is released. Let’s just say the programmers get plenty of overtime! Adjustments in the programs have to be made so that they will work with Windows 7 and let’s not forget that they also have to deal with 32 and 64 bit infrastructures.

WARNING: To all of you thinking about upgrading from Windows Vista. You need to absolutely make %100 sure that all of your programs and hardware is compatible with Windows 7. I would recommend running with Windows 7 Upgrade Adviser. This won’t be full-proof, but it will give you great feedback on your current system. Uninstall the software that may be incompatible with Win 7. After doing so, I would run a Certified Registry Cleaner to make sure all remnants are removed before performing the upgrade.

For now, Windows 7 seems to be a pretty good OS that has a lot of promise. You will still need to make sure you stay on top of the best ways to get the best performance out of it and know how to stop Windows 7 freezes.

photo credit: OiMax

The internet and specifically Google is a place where almost any question can be answered. Google is a huge resource and a big part of why I can do my job well, but one has to be constantly aware that there are websites out there just waiting to install a trojan horse and cause computer freezes.

It seems that I am dealing with computers that have been infected by a trojan at least twice a week. It really doesn’t matter how well your computer is protected or what kind of computer security software you are using, there are still flavors of these trojans that can be installed and bring a computer to its knees.

I have found over the last few years that the best piece of software for trojan horse removal is by far Malwarebytes. I can remember when Spybot was the talk of the town, but in my opinion, Malwarebytes blows it out of the water. I don’t want to give Spybot a bad image because it still is a great program but it seems to take forever to scan a machine with it. Malwarebytes is lightweight and a scan usually takes no more than 5 minutes.

I digress. The real reason you are reading this post is to find out my proven method to get rid of spyware and malware 99% of the time.

I use this method when a machine has been severely infected and pretty much is unusable.

I am not going to go into great detail, so if you have a question, just leave a comment and I can elaborate.

My Proven Technique

1. Shutdown your computer completely.
2. Boot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking. Do this by hitting F8 as soon as you boot your computer. Select Safe Mode with Networking.
3. As soon as your desktop loads, go to Start > Run and type msconfig then hit enter. This will load the System Configuration window. Select the Startup Tab and click the Disable all button. Click OK a few times and restart your machine when prompted.
4. Access Safe Mode with Networking again by hitting F8 as soon as your machine reboots.
5. When the desktop loads, you should proceed to do a System Restore. Just pick a day far enough back when you know your computer wasn’t having issues. System Restore can be accessed by going to Start > Help and Support.
6. System Restore will reboot your machine. More than likely, you can just let your machine boot into normal mode and it should work well enough to do the rest of our tasks, but if not, reboot again into Safe Mode with Networking.
7. Download and install Malwarebytes. Be sure on the last screen to have it launch and update the program.
8. Run a Quick Scan with Malwarebytes and remove everything it finds. It will probably ask you to reboot your machine. Go ahead and do that. After it reboots, your machine should be running pretty well, and should be free of computer freezes and spyware/malware. However, I usually do a few additional things.
9. Delete all files at this location: c:windowsprefetch. You may need to unhide system files in order to see this folder.
10. Download and install Spybot. Be sure to update it first before running it. Remove everything it finds.
11. After Spybot is done running, go ahead and go back to Start > Run and type msconfig.
12. Go to the Startup Tab and only put a check next to the programs you know you want to run at startup.
13. Click OK and reboot when prompted.

This method works for me about 99% of the time. There have been a few cases though where a machine is just too infected and needs to be completely rebuilt. Always remember that with a program like Malwarebytes or Spybot to always update it before running it.

~Cheers

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