i seriously need help with pc crashing/freezing?

Question

my computer freezes alot, i dunno why and everytime it does i have to unsafely reset my pc

i got lucky recently ... it said something about a boot disk and wouldnt start up ... but it did just now (after a few days) i feel like im slowly messing up my pc

i believe that prevention is better than cure so can someone please tell me ways to prevent a crash/freeze for free ... rather than me having to buy a vista boot disk?

Answer 1

When I'm called to work on a slow computer, here are the steps I take (and in this order):

1 - Delete all cookies, temp files and temporary internet files and reboot the computer. Watch for unusualy messages as the computer boots up. Ccleaner is GREAT for doing this so much better than Windows Disk Clean up. Ccleaner can be downloaded from www.filehippo.com If you prefer the built in Disk Cleanup, open My Computer, right-click on the the C: drive, choose Properties. On the first tab is a button labeled DISK CLEANUP.

2a - Check the main hard drive free space - it must be 25% free or it will slow your computer down.

2b - If 25% or under free space, move less needed files to a CD (make 2 separate copies!) and delete from hard drive. Also uninstall programs no longer needed, via Add/Remove programs

3a - Check what is running in your Systray (by the clock). Use MSCONFIG to turn off all programs NOT needed to run all the time. For example, you don't need your CD burning software to run *until* you need to burn a CD - at which time the software will start by itself. Ditto for Adobe Acrobat! Then re-boot the computer for the changes to take effect.

3b - Some of this can also be accomplished using Task Manager. Right after a reboot, open Task Manager and check for all running processes. Make a list of them! You should have less than 40 running at startup for efficient operations. At 40 and over you can have significant slowdown. Google all you are unfamiliar with and keep notes for yourself. When you find the computer slowing again, you can compare your new list of running processes to the original list and go from there.

4 - Update and run your Anti-virus program. Ditto for anti-spyware and anti-adware programs. Google the programs you are currently using for mal-ware protection to ensure they, themselves are NOT mal-ware!!! FYI - I like to use "Ad-Aware" and "Spybot, Search & Destroy", both of which are FREE and can be downloaded from www.download.com Be careful of "look-alike" programs, with similar names to known good programs. If you need a good FREE anti-virus program, I prefer AVG, also available from www.download.com For all of these programs you will need to download, install, update and scan, one at a time.

5 - Get rid of all unneeded programs via Add/Remove programs. ONLY remove programs you have installed yourself that you KNOW are not needed for Windows to run. It is better to be less aggressive with this, than more! Always reboot your computer after deleting several programs.

6 - Last, run Error-checking THEN Defrag. DO NOT RUN DEFRAG WITHOUT RUNNING ERROR-CHECKING FIRST! If you have a bad hard drive sector, you can hose your computer!! You can find both of these programs by opening My Computer, right-click on the the C: drive, choose Properties. On the TOOLS tab is are two buttons, one for each program. When you run Error-checking, make sure you check both boxes to automatically fix file system error AND scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

HTH : )

Answer 2

I have just 'fixed' a similar PC.

But you haven't given a lot of information... What is the specification on this computer?

How much RAM do you have in this PC? It will need a minimum of 1GB (2GB is better) for Vista.

What speed is the processor? Vista runs best with Dual-Core processors. If you have an old computer, it is probably too much.

- - - - -

If it freezes or resets, it's probably a heating problem. Open the case and look inside, can you see the fans? make a note of them all, including the power supply unit.

Now switch on and make sure that all the fans start up.

If not, change the fan or replace the Power Supply Unit.

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If not heat related:

Download and run Ad-Aware and CCleaner from www.download.com and www.filehippo.com. Make sure you get the latest definitions files.

Get rid of the spy ware, the bots and the other things that are crippling your system.

- - - - -

Download and run AVG (Free) and scan for viruses.

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Download and run PerfectDisk 8.0 (free 30 day trial) and defragment your hard drive.

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Now see the difference.

You should have a recovery disk or Vista disk if you bought the computer with it. How old is this computer?

Answer 3

Crashing and freezing is one of the hardest things to troubleshoot. It could be hardware or software related. If you can, find a diagnostic disk and run a check on the hardware. If your computer is new, it's unlikely that it's a hardware issue. It is possible. To troubleshoot a software issue, you will need to find out if it happens with a certain program. It could be spyware or a virus. Download spybot or ad-aware to search for spyware. You should be running an anti-virus program, update it and run a scan.

If the computer is asking for a boot disk, it's possible that you have some major Operating system errors. Sometimes you can repair Windows, but if the damage is too extensive, you may need to reload windows. Depending on your PC, you may just be able to restore windows from a recovery partition. If you are running Vista, the computer is probably still under warranty and there should be so support from the manufacturer.

Answer 4

Old Jasper Carrot sketch. Only one way to get rid of a mole....blow it's bloody head off!

In computer terms, save all your work to a CD or USB pen and re-install windows after formatting the drive. It's the sledgehammer to a nut approach, but it will tell you if you have hardware problems.

Running all the fancy utility will be for nothing if you have a hardware issue. Equally of a core file is damaged they won't help

Answer 5

Sounds like you have either a virus or a lot of spyware. If you surf a lot without protection... that's your problem. If not, then your registry might be hosed. If you don't have the OEM software that came with the computer, you are probably going to be in for bad luck. If you do, though, then you can try to restore from that.

Answer 6

Static Electricity + Magnets

Answer 7

Its probably a virus, so first back up your data on another drive, and then reinstall vista

Answer 8

on a freeze try
ctrl+alt +del
it works fine for me.

Answer 9

From your description, I can only point it to a hard drive awaiting to fail.

Better backup your important data

Answer 10

scan your pc with antivirus, then backup it or create an image (e.g. use Acronis True Image), reinstall os.