Computer Freezes

Computer Hard Drive

Troubleshooting a computer that is randomly freezing or locking up is not an easy task. It can cause one to quickly start pulling their hair out trying. The reason why this problem is so hard to troubleshoot is because there are so many factors that could be contributing to the computer freezes.

Let’s take a look at one small piece of this troubleshooting pie and find out how a hard drive that is going bad can cause major problems and what symptoms you should be looking for to find out if this is the case or not.

Symptom  – Your PC has started running extremely slow.

If a hard drive is potentially going bad on a computer or if it has bad sectors on it, it can sometimes cause a computer to run really slow. This won’t be a typical slowdown. You will notice that it will take minutes to do stuff like opening a program rather than seconds. If this happens to your computer, the quickest and most effective way to diagnose the hard drive problem is to check your System Event log and look for any recent entries that have a Source of Disk. Typically, there will be many Disk events in your logs stating that you have bad sectors on your hard drive.

You can access your Windows System Event Log by going to:

Start > Run(XP) or Search(Vista/Win7) and type eventvwr. Press the enter key.

You want to highlight the Windows System Event Log and scroll down through to look for Disk events.

Recommended Solution – Run a Check Disk

Check Disk is a powerful tool that Microsoft has built in to all of its operating systems. It can isolate bad sectors on a hard drive and a lot of the time it can stop computer freezes or fix a computer that is locking up. The overall time it takes to run a check disk can very. Most hard drives out there today are hundreds of gigabytes in size, so this has a big effect on how long a check disk will take. It’s safe to say it will be done in less than an hour on most machines.

To run a check disk on your system, follow these steps:

• Go to your Start Menu
• Select My Computer or Computer
• Right-click on your C: drive and select Properties
• Select the Tools tab
• In the Error-checking box, select Check Now
• In the little window that pops up, check both boxes
• Click Start
• You will be prompted to schedule the Check Disk on your Next reboot
• Click Schedule Check Disk or Yes
• Reboot your computer

A hard drive that is going bad or has bad sectors on it can cause major slowdowns on a computer, computer freezes or your computer may just lock up from time to time. The key is to keep yourself tuned to what your machine is doing and use the steps provided above to possibly fix you computer problems.

Learn more about Computer Freezes.
photo credit: Simbe90

How To Stop Computer From Freezing

Having worked with computer for the better half of my life, I can still say to this day that I learn something new about them every single day. The same can go for learning how to stop computer from freezing. There are almost an infinite number of reasons that may cause your computer to freeze. The trick to fixing this problem is to have a good troubleshooting technique that will help you narrow down your options.

If your reading this post, then most likely you are having some issues with your computer and you want to know how to stop computer from freezing. Your computer may be freezing up randomly or you may be experiencing some other problems that are cause for concern. I would like to take you through the first 5 steps I would take if I were to encounter a computer that was randomly freezing up or having similar problems.

Step #1

I would first look at the computer itself  and where it is actually sitting. Is it on the floor underneath a desk or maybe inside an enclosed area? Does there seem to be a lot of dust around? This is very important because both dust and heat will bring a computer to its knees quicker than you can snap your fingers. It doesn’t hurt to crack open the case and make sure there is a pile of dust built up inside the computer. You should also verify that all the of fans are functional and that the computer is getting proper air flow. I have personally fixed many computer for this exact reason.

Step #2

The next direction I would take would be to ask the user (you) if you had installed any new hardware components to your computer. Having a piece of hardware that is not to exact specifications for your computer can cause major headaches. The problems may not be consistent, but will only occur when that new piece of hardware is used directly. Always make sure that before buying any kind of hardware for your computer that your PC meets the minimum requirements. Obviously, if you have installed any new hardware recently, it would be a good idea to remove it and see if that solves the computer freezing problems.

Step #3

Next, if you have not installed any physical components to your computer, then I would look to see if there were any recent driver updates installed. 3rd party drivers are constantly being updated and keeping them up to date is definitely a good habit to have, but they can cause problems. Another problem I see frequently is that Microsoft will include driver updates within their Automatic Updates. These can be downloaded and installed and you don’t even know it. I typically like to stick to the most recent manufacturer drivers. Keeping these drivers up to day can be tough. I would highly recommend a program such as Driver Scanner from Uniblue. They provide a Microsoft Gold Certified Driver Scanner that will keep your drivers up to date for you.

Step #4

This point can sometimes depend on the actually age of the computer. To be more specific, it deals directly with how long has the current installation of the Operating System been installed. I typically see computers with an OS install of at least 2 years old are very cluttered and normally have had no maintenance performed on them. It’s hard to get people to go change the oil in their car, let alone take care of their computer by keeping their OS cleaned up. Over the course of that two years, it is a safe bet that a lot of programs have been installed and uninstalled. This results in a bloated computer registry that will definitely cause computer freezes, errors and a whole other host of problems. No matter how old your machine is, you need to start taking proper care of the computer registry. It is the brains behind everything on your computer. I would highly recommend a Microsoft Gold Certified program such as Registry Booster 2010 from Uniblue. This is the program I use and have used it for a number of years. The program works great and their support is bar none.

I have covered just 4 initial troubleshooting steps I would try that answer the question of how to stop computer from freezing. These steps by no means are the answer to all computer freezes problems, but it is most certainly a good start. photo credit: Ian Muttoo

Protection Against Computer Freezes

Having worked in the IT field for over 15 years, I have seen first hand how computer freezes can cause an abrupt halt to productivity. I have worked both in the consulting and corporate lines of work, so I have been in many different situations.

The same goes for home computers as well. More and more people today are working from home and rely solely on their home computers for many things such as paying bills online, keeping track of their finances or even printing out checks or invoices.

If you are not taking the proper precautions and doing regular preventative maintenance on your computer, then you will eventually have a problem and put yourself in a bind. The result could mean spending several hundred dollars because you didn’t know some basics steps for preventing computer freezes.

The first and most important thing you can do to guard against computer failure is to make sure your data is being backed up. There are a few great online backup services you can use that are pretty inexpensive. I personally prefer Mozy Pro. For less than $5 a month you can back up as much data as your computer will hold. Click here to try Mozy for FREE! That is a small price to pay when you have thousands of family photos on your computer. I highly recommend Mozy. You can sign up for free and backup up to 2gb of data for free.

Another super quick and really effective tool is System Restore. Microsoft finally did win me over as a fan of this tool beginning with Windows XP. This feature also works great in Vista and Windows 7. Make sure that System Restore is turned on and that it is making regular restore points. You can access System Restore settings by going into your Control Panel and then selecting System. Here you will be able to see if System Restore is turned on or off.

Don’t be afraid to use this powerful tool. If you install a program or maybe a new piece of hardware and things just don’t seem right with your computer, you can run a system restore back to the previous day and all will be just like it was! photo credit: NightRPStar