Why Does My
Computer Freeze?
It can be extremely frustrating when your computer freezes up
for no apparent reason. Usually, the only way out of this is to
restart. If you are in the middle of a game, you have lost your
place and if you are working, you may have lost a significant
amount of work, not to mention your train of thought. If this
is a common occurrence, you will be wondering, why does my
computer freeze so much. There are two main possibilities.
Firstly, the system is possibly being forced to use too much
RAM. Secondly, the system is unable to process the combination
of different programs you are running at the same time. There
is also the possibility of
overheating.
Overheating
Overheating can occur when the computer fan is not working
properly. The most common approach to solving this problem is
to buy a new fan in the hope that there will be improved
airflow. Installing a new fan is not too hard but get help if
you really don't know what you are doing. The jumble of wires
inside the computer can also get in the way of good airflow. It
is best if these wires are taped together where possible and
kept as out of the way as is practical. If you are poking about
inside a PC, make sure your body is earthed so as not to damage
the components with static charge from your hands. Most people
do this by holding a radiator pipe with one
hand.
Not Enough RAM
When a computer does not have enough RAM (Random Access Memory)
for the tasks it is trying to perform, it normally causes the
processes to run extremely slowly and it can cause the computer
to freeze. It is definitely worth buying some more RAM to
improve the performance.
Too Many Applications
Running
If too many applications are running for the computer to
handle, the system can freeze. This is also related to the
amount of RAM and a computer with more RAM will be able to run
more applications at the same time. Some programs will take up
large resources because they are large programs. Others will
use a lot of resources due to having very intensive graphics,
such as games. If you are trying to play games while downloads
are occurring and wondering why does my computer freeze when I
do this? It is because downloading files from the web can be
intensive. The solution is to improve the spec of the computer
or to run less programs simultaneously. Shut down unwanted
programs before you start up a large application. Look out for
programs that are running on start-up, which you don't need.
You can see what is taking up the resources in the task
manager, look at applications and processes and get rid of
unnecessary drains on the computer
resources.
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