Why does my system lock up and now have to frequently restart to clear.?

Answer 1

You might have a virus or your computer might almost be filled up with files... try to delete unused and unwanted things. Games take up a lot of space.

Answer 2

One likely possibility is a corrupted file. It could be a data file or a program, but the end result is that it can cause the program (and your pc) to hang up. This has happened to me with a couple of programs.

I have Win98 SE (an older operating system), but most Windows programs should work similarly.

First, try a scandisk. Click on 'start', select 'programs', 'accessories', 'system tools', and 'scan disk'. When scan disk opens, ensure the box 'fix problems' is checked and run scan disk over your 'C' partition (as a minimum - you may wish to check your whole hard drive).

After running scan disk, you may be fine. This will fix many problems (but not corrupted files).

If problems remain, you will want to select 'start', 'programs', 'accessories', 'system tools', and clicking 'system information'. In system information, click 'tools' and then click 'system file checker'. You may need your installation cd as system file checker may wish to replace a file.

New operating systems may be different; in this case select 'start', 'help', type in 'file', and browse for repairing lost/damaged files. This will tell you how to start the repair process.

Also, I hope you have an active, up-to-date antivirus and firewall on your system. You need these. Also, you should have some sort of anti-spamware running. Some of those nasties can slow a machine down to a crawl. It might be possible that your problem is related to a virus (but I suspect a damaged or corrupted file).

If you have a number of frequent computer problems/questions, you may wish to search for a yahoo computer group to join. There are many groups, some specializing in Linux (Unix), others for Apple, many for Windows, and so on.

Good luck!


Best regards,
Jim

Answer 3

Run your computer in safe mode.
Look in your help index to learn what and how to do this if you don't already know.
Go to my computer, c-drive (or whichever is main drive) go to properties and hit disk clean up and delete all the trash and temp here.
Then go to your explore program and the temp internet folders and delete everything that didn't erase.
Then scan disk and then defrag and then reboot.
If this doesn't work post another question or get back to me
Jeff

Answer 4

A good idea would be to invest in some anti-spyware software. There are some free trials on different sites, two of which I would recommend would be Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE and Spyware Doctor.

Answer 5

It can be many reason. If you never opened you computer box. Chances are software conflicts that you have installed. If problems still persist even after fresh OS install, I suspect you either have heating problem or power supply is dying.

Answer 6

We need more details to anwser your question, namely:

Your OS
Computer Brand/Model
CPU Speed
Memory
HDD size/space available

When did the problem first happen?

Do you use any antivirus or other system protection software?

Any other details or error messages?

Answer 7

your question is to vague. most likely it could be a fan inside your computer, corrupted operating system, bad cd rom/dvd drive. you need to give more details like:
operating system
when did it start
anything changed
etc.

Answer 8

If you have installed a new bit of hardware or software recently, try removing it and see if that solves the problem.

Answer 9

You may not have enough processing power. Press Alt+Ctrl+Delete and click on the performance tab. If there is a Red bar on the CPU Usage graph, then there is not enough processing power to do what you want or need to do. If this is the case, then there is a way to make Windows run faster by editing something in the registry. To do this follow the instructions below.
1. Click Start, select Run, and type Regedit.
2. From File menu, click Export file.
3. Select "All" option to take a complete backup of the registry.
4. Enter "regback" as the file name and save it on the desktop.
This is if you accidentally mess something up.

After taking a backup of the registry, change the "DisablePagingExecutive" option to "1" by following these steps:

1. Click Start, select Run, and type regedit.
2. Click the plus (+) sign beside HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
3. Click the plus (+) sign beside System.
4. Click the plus (+) sign beside CurrentControlSet.
5. Click the plus (+) sign beside Control.
6. Click the plus (+) sign beside Session Manager.
7. Click Memory Management.
8. Locate and right-click the "DisablePagingExecutive" option on the right pane.
9. Select Modify.
10. Change the value to "1".
11. From the Registry menu, click Exit.
12. Restart your computer.

If this is not the case, then follow the instructions below.
Remove the Spyware
If the PC is performing very slowly after connecting to the Internet, the PC may have adware or spyware programs installed.

Spyware and adware software programs use the Internet to download and upload information in the background. Some of this information may be sensitive or unwanted advertising.

Spyware and adware can be very difficult to remove. Programs like Windows Defender remove Spyware and Adware, you can donwload it form the link below.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=90&p=&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d&u=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownload%2fe%2fd%2f0%2fed099d5e-dc60-4740-8747-1c72f053b800%2fWindowsDefender.msi

Next, Close all open programs not being used.
Only use programs that are necessary. Minimizing a programs window may not stop that program from using the computer's processor and memory. Being connected to the Internet, listening to music, and running virus scans are all ways to use a lot of system resources. Try running virus scans and other system tools while no one is using the PC or when away from the desk. Work offline when convenient. Closing programs that are not necessary helps Windows perform more efficiently.

Now, you need to prevent background programs from loading.
As software programs load, the small icons on the system tray increase (usually these icons are in the lower-right corner, next to the time). Each of these small pictures represents a program running in the background, and each one removes valuable system resources. Move the mouse pointer over each small picture to find what software it is. Common programs that load and run in the background are virus scanners, display settings, and multimedia programs. Increase system resources by stopping these tasks from loading, or by changing their settings. This can be achieved in a number of ways since these programs often start from various places. In, Windows XP, Select Start, and then Run. In the Open field type the following: msconfig. The System Configuration Utility window appears. Select the General tab and make sure Selective Startup is selected. Select the Startup tab and remove the checks from any tasks that do not contribute to the system and are unwanted. If unsure about a task, write the name down and research it on the Internet later. Do not remove a check mark if you do not know what the task is. Click OK to accept the changes. Restart the computer. After Windows starts, a System Configuration window appears. Place a check mark in the do not show this message again checkbox and click OK. If Windows or other software stops working after a check mark is removed from a task you were unsure about, restart the computer and reverse these procedures to replace the checkmark. Press F8 (after the computer has been turned on) to get into Safe mode.

Next, empty the Recycle Bin.
From the Windows desktop, double-click Recycle Bin. Restore any mistakenly deleted items by highlighting each file, then selecting File and Restore. Select File and Empty Recycle Bin. Windows will remove the contents of the Recycle Bin from the hard disk (C: is most common). Select Yes to confirm. Close the Recycle Bin.

Now, delete temporary files and directories.
This step increases hard disk space and reduces the time Windows takes to access the hard drive. It also resolves problems associated with spooling print jobs. Windows uses a TEMP directory to temporarily store files intended only for temporary use. Over time, these files can build up and cause problems. Close all open software. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then Disk Cleanup. Place a check next to the types of files you want the Disk Cleanup utility to delete. Temporary files are safe to delete. Select OK.

Next, ScanDisk and Defragment the hard drive.
The program Scandisk checks a hard drive for errors. The program Disk Defragmenter takes all of the scattered bits of program data and groups them together in more efficient areas of the drive. Run ScanDisk before running the Defragmenter. Click Start, then open My Computer. Right-click on the hard drive's icon (usually C:\). Click Properties, and then click the Tools tab. Click Check Now. Place check marks in all check boxes. Click OK, and then click Yes to schedule a full disk scan when the computer is restarted. Restart the computer. The disk scan can take a very long time to complete. Now, Defragment, all versions of Windows. Close all programs that are running. This includes background programs such as scanners. Click Start, Programs or All Programs, Accessories, then System Tools. Click Disk Defragmenter and follow the onscreen instructions. If Disk Defragmenter repeatedly starts, then a hidden background program is still accessing the hard drive. Restart the computer in Safe mode and try again.

Now, you need to prevent memory leaks.
A memory leak is unused memory that Windows thinks is still valid. Over time, unused memory can build up, causing Windows to slow down and use the hard drive more. Memory leaks are probably occurring if the PC runs well when first turned on, but performs noticeably slower after several programs are opened and closed.

Memory leaks can occur if software is closed before it has fully opened. Always allow programs to load completely. As a rule, wait 10 to 20 seconds after a program starts before closing it again, even if the program was opened unintentionally.

To immediately fix memory leaks, restart the computer. For a permanent fix, isolate the program causing the leaks. Start with a fresh session of Windows by shutting down, then turning on the computer. Press Ctrl+ Alt + Delete. Click on the Performance Tab. The total available physical memory is in the Physical Memory box next to available. Next, open a program suspected of causing the computer to run more slowly. View the amount of available physical memory again and write it down. Close and re-open a suspected program repeatedly, comparing this number to the one recorded. Each time, wait about 10 seconds before opening again. If the available physical memory continues to decrease, then a memory leak is occurring. Contact the program's vendor for available patches or fixes. If the available physical memory comes back near to the same numbers each time, then the suspected program is probably not creating a memory leak.

Now, you need to free up space on your hard drive.
Windows uses this space for different types of operations such as caching and virtual memory. The computer may not run reliably if the free disk space drops below five percent of the total disk space.

To see how much space remains on the hard drive, double-click My Computer, located on the desktop. Right-click the hard drive (C: is most common), and select Properties. Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel. Open Add/Remove Programs. Click the Install/Uninstall tab. Select programs that are no longer used and will not be used. Highlight the program name, and then click the Add/Remove or Change/Remove button and OK. When done, a prompt may appear to restart Windows. Wait until completely removing the unwanted programs; then restart Windows.

Next, you need to Adjust system restore settings.
System Restore is a feature of Windows that can revert system software and settings back to a particular date. System Restore does this by saving the changes made to system files in a restore point. These restore points use a lot of hard space. System Restore can fill twelve percent of the hard drive with restore points if left unadjusted, regardless of the entire size of the hard drive. Click Start, and right-click My Computer. Select Properties. Click the System Restore tab. Select the (C:) drive and click the Settings button. Adjust the Disk space to use slider to a lower setting. A lower setting will save disk space but will reduce how many restore points you can select from when restoring in the future. On a 120 gigabyte hard drive, a setting of one percent saves over 11 gigabytes of future disk space and still provides enough room for several restore points. Click OK to save the settings.

Now, you need to update all of your software.
You can update Microsoft software by running Microsoft Update. You can go to the websties of the the other softwares to download updates.