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Computer Freeze - Computer Lockup:
Freezing - Time To Warm Up Your PC
By Deborah Anderson
Freezing is also known as crashing or hanging. It's frustrating. The
computer locks up and the mouse and keyboard do not respond. You may lose
data and you certainly lose time and patience. Typically, you need to press Ctrl+Alt+Del to see the programs that are running and to try to close the
program that is not responding, or you need to force a restart. So why does
your computer freeze up?
Common causes of freezing:
►Low memory
►Low disk space
►Fragmented disk
►Too many programs open simultaneously
►Low CPU speed
►Corrupt files
►Software bugs
►Overheating - random lockups that start several minutes after you start up
the PC are often the result of the processor cooling fan not working
properly
►Some non-standard applications are suspect with freezing problems
►Memory chip problems
►Virus
Registry Cleaner Product
- Check your registry for corruption. Free registry scan.
Anti-Spyware Product
Steps you can take to minimize freezing:
There are many things that you can do to help your computer do what you want
without testing your patience...
►Do a disk cleanup (cache, temp files,
old or unused files, recycle bin).
►Do not run any more applications at one time than you need to.
►If the freezing happens consistently with one application, uninstall and
reinstall it - files associated with the application may have become
corrupted. Always use Control Panel/ Add Remove programs, or the uninstall
program belonging to the program to uninstall a program.
►If the freezing has been occurring since you installed a new program,
uninstall it.
►Uninstall any programs that you may have downloaded and installed in the
past, but no longer use.
►Get the latest Windows update at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
►Get any available patches for your software - go to the manufacturer's
websites to check for patches or updates to your programs.
►Free up resources - click on Run and type "msconfig" in the dialog box.
Next, click on the "Startup" tab. All the programs listed here with check
marks are running in the system memory. To free resources Windows 98 users
may uncheck everything except "System Tray" . Windows ME users can uncheck
everything except ScanRegistry, PCHealth, *StateMgr and System Tray. Leave
your anti-virus software in the startup as well. You must restart the
computer for these changes to take effect.
►Run ScanDisk (or Check Disk in Windows XP)
►Defragment your disk. Click here for instructions.
►If you have an older computer and are trying to run multiple applications,
you may need to upgrade your computer... check the system specifications
recommended for the applications you are running to see if your system is
capable of doing what you are asking.
►Obtain the latest drivers for your hardware - go to the web sites of the
hardware manufacturers and get the latest drivers for your video card, sound
card etc
►Redetect your devices - remove the components from the Control Panel,
System, Device Management screen. Reboot the system and let Windows redetect
and add only those devices which are actually on your system.
►Make sure that you have anti-virus software installed. Set it to
automatically update virus definitions, to scan all incoming files, and to
do a full system check at regular intervals.
Disk Cleanup:
For Windows 98 & 2000
You have probably been downloading programs, creating and deleting files,
and installing new software without thinking about the effect this has on
your disk space. It's probably time to have a clean-up. Windows 98 and 2000
have a feature that cleans up your disks for you. It removes temporary
files, the recycle bin and other files - giving you the option to delete or
not to delete. It is simple to run.
Do this clean-up as follows:
Start: Programs: Accessories: System Tools: Disk Clean Up
When it opens up, select the C: Drive and start it. It will pop up and show
you about four types of files, each with a check box. Check the boxes for
files you would like deleted and proceed. It should run through pretty
quickly and then you will have more space on your computer.
For Win 95
Windows Temporary Files
►Firstly, get rid of your Windows Temporary files.
Go to Start> Find> Files & Folders. Then search for "*.tmp" (minus the
quotes). The * allows you to look for any file that has a temporary file
type. If you have done it right, only files that have a .tmp after them
should appear in the search results. Now just click on the first one, hold
shift, use the scroll bar to go all the way to the bottom, then click on the
last one, and press delete.
►Secondly, get rid of your Temporary Internet files
Go to the Temporary Internet Files folder in the Windows directory. It
should be next to the Temp folder. There shouldn't be anything in here that
can't be deleted, so you can go ahead and delete the files in this folder.
►Thirdly, empty your recycle bin. Right click on the Recycle Bin icon, select
Empty Recycle Bin. Many people have hundreds of files they "deleted" but
they are still taking up space in the Recycle Bin.
Run the Disk Defragmenter
Editing and deleting files as you work leaves gaps on data storage media.
Instead of each file being stored in one continuous block, it ends up in
several locations, resulting in inefficient retrieval of your data. As you
add more data to your hard drive, the gaps left by previous deletions are
filled. Your file becomes split, or fragmented. This will slow down your
system – when you try to retrieve a file, the process is slower than if it
was stored in one block. To make your disk storage more efficient, a process
called "defragmenting" is used.
Windows has a built in defragmenter, which is located at:
Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter
It is a good idea to run this program once a month. When you run the
defragmenter, close all programs including your screensaver. If programs are
running it can cause data on your hard drive to be changed which makes the
defragmenter start from the beginning... and never finish!
The more frequently you use defrag, the faster it will become.
About the Author:
Deborah Anderson is a computer consultant who offers free email based
computer troubleshooting through her website at
http://www.it-solve.com. To
benefit from information, advice and tips on using your computer, get a free
subscription to SolveIT's newsletter today. To subscribe, send a blank email
to subscribe@it-solve.com.
SolveIT - Solving Your Computer Problems
deborah@it-solve.com
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