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Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team
Troubleshooting a slow or freezing Windows computer can be frustrating, but it's essential for maintaining optimal performance. Below is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you identify and resolve common issues causing slowdowns or freezes on your Windows PC:
Update your antivirus software to the latest definitions.
Perform a full system scan to identify and remove malware or viruses.
Open the "Disk Cleanup" tool by typing "Disk Cleanup" into the Windows search bar and selecting it from the results.
Select your system drive (usually C:) and click "OK."
Check the items you want to delete (temporary files, cache, etc.) and click "OK."
Open the "Control Panel" by typing "Control Panel" into the Windows search bar and selecting it.
Click on "Uninstall a program" under the "Programs" section.
Review the list of installed programs and uninstall any you no longer need.
Press "Ctrl + Shift + Esc" or "Ctrl + Alt + Delete" and select "Task Manager."
Go to the "Startup" tab.
Disable unnecessary startup programs by right-clicking and selecting "Disable."
Open the "Device Manager" by typing "Device Manager" into the Windows search bar and selecting it.
Right-click on each device and select "Update driver."
Follow the on-screen instructions to search for and install updated drivers.
Open "Settings" by pressing "Windows + I."
Go to "Update & Security" > "Windows Update."
Click "Check for updates" and install any available updates.
Open "Control Panel" and search for "Performance" or "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows."
Under the "Visual Effects" tab, select "Adjust for best performance" or customize which effects to keep.
Ensure your computer is adequately ventilated and free of dust.
Use monitoring software to check CPU and GPU temperatures.
Clean your computer's fans and cooling system if necessary.
Open the Command Prompt as an administrator by typing "cmd" into the Windows search bar, right-clicking "Command Prompt," and selecting "Run as administrator."
Type "chkdsk /f" and press Enter.
Follow any prompts to schedule a disk check on the next system restart.
Open "Control Panel" and search for "Power Options."
Select a power plan that balances performance and energy efficiency, such as "Balanced" or "High Performance."
Run Windows Memory Diagnostic:
Type "Windows Memory Diagnostic" into the Windows search bar.
Select "Restart now and check for problems."
Let the tool check for memory issues during the reboot.
If the issues persist, consider performing a Windows System Restore to a point when your PC was working correctly. To do this:
Type "Create a restore point" into the Windows search bar.
In the "System Properties" window, under the "System Restore" section, click "Open."
Follow the on-screen instructions to restore your system to a previous state.
As a last resort, if none of the above steps work, consider performing a clean installation of Windows. Ensure you back up your important data before proceeding.
By following these steps, you should be able to troubleshoot and resolve slow or freezing issues on your Windows computer. Start with the initial steps and work your way down the list until you find the solution that works for your specific situation.
If you are still having trouble, refer to the Step-By-Step Guide below, or Contact Support.Com for Personalized Assistance.
Computers can freeze or "hang" for a variety of reasons. Sometimes freezing can be caused by a simple software issue, and can be easily resolved. Unfortunately, freezing can also be caused by much more serious issues such as Operating System failure, hardware failure, or insufficient cooling.
While diagnosing a hardware issue is very difficult to do without a professional taking a look at your machine, resolving a software issue is far easier to do and does not require a professional, so long as your machine cooperates.
In this guide, we'll help you figure out how to get your machine unfrozen. From there, we'll help to get your machine optimized to prevent it from freezing again.
Tools You'll Need:
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Before You Begin:
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As stated above, there are a number of reasons why your computer might freeze or "hang" during operation.
Most commonly in older machines, system resources could simply be depleted. Meaning, your computer is being asked to do more things at a given than it has the resources to accommodate. Most times, slow computer operation or freezing is due to the machine trying to juggle all of these requests at once. When this is taking place, your computer will appear to be completely unusable. Sometimes the machine will recover and allow you to resume use, but other times it may remain unresponsive altogether. This is typically when further action must be taken.
Bugs or incompatibilities of software is another common reason that a computer can "hang" up. A program that is incompatible with your machine's version of Windows, or a program that can't coexist on your machine with another particular program can cause major issues. It doesn't always have to be software you've voluntarily installed, either. Sometimes, Windows updates that introduce new drivers can cause this sort of issue as well.
Hardware complications are another possibility. These are far more difficult to diagnose without getting a professional involved. If there is a fan issue, or the CPU (central processing unit) is getting too hot, your machine may lock up or become unresponsive. Other hardware such as a bad stick of RAM, or a hard drive that's beginning to fail can also cause your machine to freeze or "hang" during normal operation.
If your computer freezes repeatedly even after following this guide's instructions, we recommend getting your machine properly diagnosed by a professional to determine the source of the issues.
In order to proceed properly, we need to determine is if your machine is actually frozen, or just being inundated with too many tasks, making it unresponsive. The easiest way to do this is by using the CTRL + ALT + DEL method. If your machine is responsive, this key combination will trigger the Windows Security screen to appear. If nothing happens when this key combination is pressed, your machine is frozen and must be rebooted.
Using the Task Manager, we can identify what programs or processes are slowing your machine down to a crawl, and terminate them. Terminating these problematic programs or processes immediately frees up the resources your machine needs to function, much like unkinking a water hose immediately allows water to flow freely through it.
Following these steps should help your computer become usable again for the time being. However, optimizing your computer is necessary, as the next time it boots up, it will attempt to run all the same processes that were causing it to perform poorly in the first place.
Optimize your computer for better performance.
If your computer continues to freeze or lock up during this process, we recommend that you have a professional take a look at your computer to properly diagnose it. There may be more than a simple optimization issue causing problems.
If your computer did not respond to the CTRL + ALT + DEL method, it is well and truly frozen. To un-freeze your machine, it must be hard rebooted.
Hard rebooting a computer works nearly the same on any modern Windows machine. The only difference is the location of the power button. This will vary depending on the brand and model of your computer, and whether you're working with a desktop or a laptop.
If your computer continues to freeze or lock up, we recommend that you have a professional properly diagnose it. There may be something serious happening that optimization will not solve. However, if the computer is responsive, we recommend that you attempt to optimize it. If software is the only issue, this can get your computer back to operating normally once again.
Optimize your computer for better performance.
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