We haven’t run into many people who have been able to say that they have never experienced a computer freeze up on them. So why do computers lock up?

A computer freezes when certain hardware components fail to function properly or if an application you were using, stops responding. Most software manufacturers extensively test their applications in a number of different environments to ensure it functions properly but if a bad version of an application is released it can frequently cause your PC to lock up. Your PC will also experience slow operating speeds and will occasionally freeze up if the resources of you PC are being completely consumed.

So what do I do?

If your computer keeps freezing, you will need some patience to wait it out and see if things return to normal. Applications may act up when your system is low on resources or not compatible with your operating system but usually reverts back to normal.

An indication to find out if you computer has actually locked up and will not return to normal, is by seeing if you can still use your keyboard. Use the Num/Caps key on your keyboard to see if it causes the respective LED light to turn Off/On. If it works, you simply have to give the unresponsive application, some time to recover as the system is still functioning.

You can always force the unresponsive or troublesome application to close by doing the following:

Hold down Ctrl + Alt+ Del on your keyboard, then select ‘Show Task Manager’ and it should bring up the Windows Task Manager shown below:

The status of the unresponsive application should show up as “Not Responding” under Status. Simply select the application and click on End Task. A few seconds later, you will see the application close.

Close the Task Manger and you can get back to whatever you were doing. Please note that you will lose any unsaved work and data in the application you are quitting. If an application continues to remain unresponsive after subsequent restarts, it is best you report it to the developer and get a stable/compatible version of the same or a possible solution.

Still isn’t responding, what should I do?

When the above remedy doesn’t help, your computer is obviously unable to recover from the problem and you will need to manually power off your system.

In such cases, even the Reset button on your PC will fail to function, instead you will need to Press & Hold the Power button on your computer for a few seconds, you should hear and see the computer power down. Give it a minute before you power up your system again.

NOTE: Manually powering off your system will lead to immediate closure of the applications (data) you were working on and loss of unsaved data.

If your system is completely unresponsive after subsequent system restarts, it can also be a hardware component at fault, so do get it checked. Updating you PC drivers may also help you solve this problem.

One way to prevent your PC from freezing up it so maintain a clean and optimized Windows Registry.

The above tips will always come in handy when you are having trouble with a PC.

The ReviverSoft Team