Troubleshoot Computer freezing issue in Windows
One of the most common issues I encounter in forums is Computer freezing. There are two types of freezes in computers. First is, the computer stops responding for a while and eventually comes back. This is mostly a Software error. The second one and the common one is the computer stops responding and locks up in such a way that you have to restart the computer. I would discuss how to resolve the second one in detail. The first one would be covered in a later article.
Symptoms
The Symptom’s of this issue is something like that you are working on your computer and all of a sudden the PC stops responding. Depending upon the intensity of the issue, the freeze or the lockup can be frequent.
Remedy
There can be many reasons for computer freezing. Most of the time hardware is involved. Let us discuss them one by one:
Undo any recent hardware changes
From a new RAM Stick to a graphics card installed recently, a newer hardware most commonly can cause Computer freezing. If you have recently installed or connected hardware, try disconnecting/removing it and check. New hardware can be defective as well. Skip this if you haven’t added new hardware.
Physically inspect motherboard and reseat everything
If the computer freezing or lockups have started suddenly, you can try physically inspecting the motherboard for a burnt IC or a leaking capacitor. Not commonly possible for laptops as it requires technical skills, but can be definitely for a PC. Running a hardware diagnostic on the motherboard in a is our recommended course of action in a laptop.
Overheating
Overheating is usually a cause if you are doing a resource-hungry work and the computer freezes or unexpected reboots show up then. In that case, regularly monitor the temperatures and see if they are not going above 60C in normal use and 80 under extensive. If that is the case, you might have to clear out the dust and clean the fan and check. A noisy fan is also a symptom of this. Use Hwinfo or SpeedFan to get temperature values. For PCs, you can consider removing the case and then using the PC to check.
[PC only] Power Supply Fault
Most commonly, unexpected reboots and computer freezes are caused by a faulty power supply unit. Either the PSU is defective or is not able to supply adequate voltage. A standard gaming PC can require up to 700W of PSU. Technically there is no way to check Power supply defect, the only thing through which it can be checked is a voltmeter or testing it on another computer. Hwinfo can provide +3V, 5V, and +12V values, so if they are not around probably the PSU has a problem.
[Advanced]
You can get help from Tech support forums or us for troubleshooting as well for the computer freezes. Shoot us the link of the logs or ask a question at Microsoft Answers.
Alternatively, You can also show this to your nearest Technician as well if nothing helps as a last resort.
Miscellaneous.
The following miscellaneous things can also be used while troubleshooting:
- Undo any driver updates recently especially Chipset.
- Check for BIOS updates.
- Check for faulty memory using Memory Test.