Computer Freezing

For millions, this situation will sound very familiar. You are working diligently on the computer, enjoying that exceptional performance you are accustom to. All of a sudden your computer starts freezing or even worse, completely crashes and shuts down. These annoying errors are all too common and can be very frustrating. However, there are remedies that will help you combat computer freezing and restore the machine's optimal performance.

Check for Recent Software or Hardware Installations

The cause behind computer freezing could be something as simple as a new hardware device or software application installed on the system. It may not be the actual program or device, yet the driver used to help it function. Try uninstalling the driver and see if the problem persists.

Use Your Anti-virus Software

If your computer starts freezing, one of the first things you should do is power on your anti-virus scanner. It just may be a malicious code that's causing your system to freeze. Be sure that your program is configured to receive automatic updates and files for the latest virus definitions. This is a must if you want your anti-virus software to be of any use. An outdated program is equivalent to no protection at all.

Use a Reliable Spyware Removal Tool

Even if your anti-virus scanner doesn't detect any genuine viral codes, your system may still be infected with harmful items. These could be programs known as spyware or adware. An efficient spyware tool will remove both of these items and other forms of malware as well.

Check Your Disk Capacity

If it is evident that viruses or spyware aren't causing your computer to crash, you should look into how much free space is available on your hard drive. Anything less than 20% often leads to random freezes and crashing. If you are lacking in overall hard disk capacity, try to free up space by deleting programs and files that are rarely used.

Look for Signs of Other Hardware Issues

Hardware issues can also be diagnosed by using software. Ultimate Boot CD is one program that works well at identifying problems. You should take extreme caution when using such programs as they are very thorough and could easily wipe your hard disk clean.

Frequent Updates

Unnecessary or outdated software components may also lead to computer freezing. This could be caused by software applications installed on the machine or even the operating system itself. You can eliminate lockups by updating your Windows system from the Microsoft website and updating other software as updates are made available.

Use a Registry Cleaner

The best defense against freezing is to make frequent use of a registry cleaner. Over time, the registry of your computer will become overloaded with entries from uninstalled files, failed installations and other debris. This type of software works similar to anti-virus solutions by scanning your Windows registry. Instead of looking for viral code, it seeks out errors and unwanted entries.

Conclusion

These steps should help you properly diagnose and eliminate the common causes of computer freezing. There are several other methods that can be applied. The solution for you mainly depends on your system configurations and how frequent these errors occur.

 

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You can protect your computer from viruses without expensive software. Instead, follow these simple tips:

Stay up-to-date on all system updates.

Don't download any email attachments you weren't expecting.

Avoid freeware and peer-to-peer sharing sites.

Use alternative web browsers and email software.