Occasional computer freezes?

Question

Well, when I'm using Firefox, sometimes every minute or so, the whole screen freezes including the other icons and stuff for like 5 seconds and nothing moves. It's really annoying >_>

Answer 1

Freezes and Crashes

All computer users must deal with the occasional aggravating freeze or crash. A freeze is a totally unresponsive computer. With a freeze, nothing responds, including the mouse. A crash occurs when a hard drive stops operating and the computer shuts down. Sometimes a crash causes a spontaneous reboot. These problems can be triggered by malfunctions such as resource conflicts, power glitches, hardware problems, software conflicts, and outdated or buggy drivers for various devices that are installed on the computer system.

Troubleshooting Freezes and Crashes Checklist

When a freeze or crash occurs, on a PC, hit the keystroke combination Ctrl + Alt + Delete. If a dialog box appears, select Task Manager and then End Task for the application that is not responding. (On a Macintosh, hit the keystroke combination Ctrl + Command + Esc to force quit the application that is not responding.)
If Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't work, restart the computer. Use the reset button to do this, if the computer has one, or the power switch if it doesn't.
If the mouse responds when it is moved, minimize a window or select the application on the task bar. The computer is not frozen, it is not responding to the selected application. In this case either End Task on a PC or Force Quit on a Macintosh.
If the computer is frozen, restart the computer to see if that will solve the problem.
Run a virus check on the computer to look for a possible virus.
Possible Causes and Fixes for Freezes and Crashes

Freezes and crashes are generally caused by some sort of instability in the computer system. The following is a list of specific problems that can cause instability along with what to check when troubleshooting each.

Viruses can cause instability.
Run a virus check on the computer to look for a possible virus.
Conflicts can cause instability.
Check the Windows Device Manager to see if there are any yellow exclamation marks or red Xs beside the listings for device classifications. If there are, contact Tech Support.
Buggy or damaged software applications can cause instability.
If the system is less stable when certain software programs are running, shut down those programs and see if the problem continues to occur. If the problems stop, chances are that those software programs are causing the problems.
Buggy, outdated, or conflicting drivers can cause instability.
Check manufacturer web sites for updated device drivers for the various devices installed on the computer system, such as: printer drivers, modem drivers, video drivers, sound drivers, USB device drivers, etc.
Update one driver at a time and see if the system stabilizes. If this doesn't work, it may be a hardware problem, so contact Tech Support.
AC problems can cause instability.
Check to see if the computer system is plugged into an overloaded outlet.
Make sure the computer system is plugged into a surge suppressor.
The installation of new devices can cause instability.
There are three typical symptoms that point to this problem:
The computer system fails to boot, freezes during a boot, or freezes during an operation for no apparent reason.
The system fails to recognize the newly installed device.
One or more software applications fail to function as expected after an upgrade.
Some Tips for Dealing with Freezes and Crashes

Keep track of the hardware and software that is added to a computer. The addition of new hardware and software can often cause problems to occur.
Research the compatibility of new hardware and software with the existing computer system before purchase and installation.
The older a PC, the more likely it is to crash.
When a computer freezes or crashes, chances are that changes made after the last save and when the freeze or crash occurred will be lost.

Answer 2

Probly were given a virus... decrease back up your human being information on an exterior problematical force or flash force and sparkling the force manually in residing house windows this can make your device reboot. be confident to have your residing house windows disk accessible cuz that is necessary to reinstall it.

Answer 3

If your computer is not working properly while you are working on it, it could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software.
Detailed instructions at http://tinyurl.com/yk5zpr

Answer 4

try some of the steps below
http://yanswers.blogspot.com/2006/10/pc-running-slow.html