What to do if my laptop freezes | Computing Australia

5 Minute HelpDesk – What to Do If Your Laptop Freezes?

What to do if my laptop freezes | Computing Australia

5 Minute HelpDesk – What to Do If Your Laptop Freezes?

5 Minute HelpDesk – What to Do If Your Laptop Freezes?

You were happily working away at your laptop, and – it suddenly froze you out? Our helpdesk in Perth gets panicked calls from customers who think that they may be witnessing a cyberattack. A freeze can be a symptom of any issues – software issues, a hardware problem, insufficient memory, or a malware attack. So, what do you do when your laptop freezes? First, let go of the panic button. Next, try out the following tips from our IT pros.

What to do if my laptop freezes?

Wait and restart

This is the first and easiest step to take. If you have been working for long hours, there are chances that the processor has heated up and it takes some time for the system to catch up with your current requests. Wait for a few minutes, allow the system to cool down and then try rebooting. The RAM gets cleared by restarting the laptop. Make sure not to press random keys when your system is frozen, as this puts extra load on the CPU and will worsen the problem.

Close the unresponsive program

The Task Manager shows the currently running programs. To open, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys. If it doesn’t work, press Ctrl+Alt+Del and then choose “Start Task Manager”. In the list of programs, find the one that’s causing the real issue and using lots of memory. Choose the “End Task” button to stop running that program. If the system is still frozen, just restart it. Press and hold down the power button till the system turns off. Restart the laptop; most laptop frozen issues resolve with a restart.

Check for any new updates

There are chances that you might have missed any system updates and it’s still pending. Open the taskbar and check “Show hidden icons”. Often such updates will appear here. Run those updates, install them completely and be sure to restart your system.

Scan for malware

Scan for malware - The CAG

Most good antivirus run auto-scans in the background. If you are still suspicious of an attack, run a scan for the entire system. Malware can use processor power and slow or freeze your system.

Do a Disk Cleanup

Check your RAM

If your laptop RAM is faulty, it can cause your laptop to freeze. Open Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool from the Start menu. Run the tool – it will reboot your computer, test the memory and notify you if it detects any problem.

Jargon Buster

RAM – Random-access memory (RAM) is your system’s short-term memory where data is temporarily stored. This data is erased once the system is turned off. 
Malware – refers to malicious software that is intentionally created to cause damage to a computer, laptop, server or computer network.
Hardware driver – or device driver is a set of files that enables system hardware to communicate with the operating system of a device.

Peter Machalski | Blog author | Computing Australia

Peter

Peter is the Systems Operations Manager at The Computing Australia Group, he is responsible for managing and maintaining uptime for thousands of client servers. It is a busy portfolio with a lot of responsibility because clients depend on their systems being accessible practically 24 hours a day. It is a far cry from when he started in the industry when most people just worked Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 and we had plenty of time to maintain systems after hours. He also works across other portfolios at The CAG, including projects and service delivery.

Peter Machalski | Blog author | Computing Australia

Peter Machalski

Peter is the Systems Operations Manager at The Computing Australia Group, he is responsible for managing and maintaining uptime for thousands of client servers. It is a busy portfolio with a lot of responsibility because clients depend on their systems being accessible practically 24 hours a day. It is a far cry from when he started in the industry when most people just worked Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 and we had plenty of time to maintain systems after hours. He also works across other portfolios at The CAG, including projects and service delivery.