This article details a checklist of PC maintenance tasks I run through whenever my computer keeps freezing. They are listed according to priority with the checks for hardware faults coming first.
Before troubleshooting why the computer freezes, backup all your personal data just in case hardware has a fatal fault, as trying to retrieve data after a hard disk crash is costly.
If there are scratching or clicking noises coming from the hard drive then this may indicate the drive has been damaged, so contact a PC technician to examine and make the repairs straightaway. You can also review the CPU temperatures in the BIOS menu to make sure the computer is not overheating. If the temperatures are high then make sure air inlets are clear of dust, the fans are undamaged and the CPU heat sink and fan filters are in good condition.
You can now proceed to check software and operating system files. If my computer keeps freezing after copying/downloading large files to the disk then this can often indicate the hard drive is running out of space for virtual memory. Microsoft recommend keeping 10% of the disk drive empty for this purpose. You can clear out extra space by removing programs you don’t use or transferring larger files to CD or and external storage system.
Next, try checking hard drive for signs of any viruses, malware applications are hardware. These can corrupt the operating system and lead to computer freezes. Update your anti virus software first before running a scan.
Many computer faults relate directly to the Windows registry file being damaged or corrupted and this includes computer hangs/freezes. Install a good quality registry cleaner and scan this critical system file for signs of any faults or damage.
Finally, you may have simply got too many applications running at once so try shutting down some of your background applications or services to free up some much-needed RAM memory.
No comments yet.