Why is my laptop freezing?

Question

Hi, I have been using the laptop for quite some time but for the last 2 weeks at a certian time it totally freezez/hangs. The only way to get my laptop back to work is to restart the laptop from the power button.

I have not installed a program or driver that would make my laptop crash because I have checked what the last program I have installed and it was long time ago. Also, I have not plugged in any hardware either.

Can the problem be from overheating? I have been checking the vents from the back of my laptop and the heat was quite normal so I don't know exactly what the problem might be.

These are my specs:

Ram - 2GB

OS- Windows Vista

VGA - Nvidia 8600

Cpu- Intel core 2 duo

What can I do to check the problem? Thank you

Answer 1

**************COMPUTER FREEZING********************************...

There a several reasons why your computer is freezing. First question is when was the last time you cleaned your registry. Having a corrupted registry can cause a whole host of errors and problems. Freezing up is one of them. If you have a lot of unnecessary registry keys that are hogging up your computer resources. Your computer is bound to choke. Scan your registry with a good registry cleaner. If you pull up more than 20 errors or duplication, clean your registry.

2. Depending on your RAM specs and your computer usage. This could also be a the issue. Having an insufficient amount of free space does not allow your RAM to function properly. If you are using a lot of RAM by net surfing or other activities without enough empty space your will get freezes. You don't need to buy new RAM but you should increase your free space by removing unnecessary data and perhaps increasing your virtual memory. The below link will show you how.

3. Spyware could be the culprit, so do a scan and see if your computer is infected.  

4. That last area is a hardware drivers. This could be the problem if new hardware has been added to the system. So, the drivers should still be up to date. So try the first two suggestion and see if you can get your computer to stop freezing.

Check your drivers. Hope this helps.

http://www.delete-computer-history.com/f...

Answer 2

Get a mac.

Problem solved.

Answer 3

Try taking programs off of startup, also try scanning your computer with an anti-virus.

Answer 4

If you have pics or videos there maybe so many that its jamming the system or if you have a game it may need more space. Sorry I can't be alot of help.

Answer 5

There is many possible ways how old is your laptop?how much software do you have in your hard-drive do you run alot of processes

here are the solutions

1.go to your local computer store and ask if they can clean your laptop inside

2.get a ram upgrade(3gb should be fine)

3.install windows xp home or professional it is much more stable and use's about half the RAM that vista use's

Answer 6

Just a note before I answer, I'm going to be babying you when I answer this, giving details on how to do things and explaining things you may already know, just because I don't know how knowledgeable you are about computers. If you know what to do, don't be offended.

One thing that can help is turning off programs you don't need at startup.

Go to Start < Run and type in "msconfig.exe" without the quotes in the box. Once there, go to the Startup tab. Next to every program that runs on startup, there will be a checkbox. If you know that you don't need to run that when windows starts up, uncheck it. It will help prevent Windows from working too fast on startup and then staying slow.

Also, every so often, check to make sure you're not running something you don't need. Do this by doing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and opening the task manager. From there, you can end any processes that you don't need right away. If you're using a large program, try turning things off that you don't really need, such as the internet or instant messagers.

Another thing that's good is to delete things from the Recycling Bin. The file isn't totally deleted when it's put there. It simply reminds you that you have to get rid of it.

If you don't do a lot of searching for things on files, un-indexing them will save on your computer's resources. Do this by Right-clicking on  C an hitting "Properties." From there, uncheck "Index this drive for faster searching."

Running a disk cleanup is also good to do every so often, which can be found at Start < Programs < Accessories < System Tools < Disk Cleanup. It removes things such as temporary internet files and other things that may not be as easy to delete.

Finally, running a Disk Defragmenter will help organize your files. I personally don't like the one that comes with Vista, as you have no idea how long it will take, how fragmented it was or if it could use another one.  (It's found at Start < Programs < Accessories < System Tools < Disk Defragmenter if you should want it). I personally find AusLogics Disk Defrag works much better (Found here http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag), is safe and free. It really helps your computer run faster. At the very least, it helps explain more what disk defragging is and why you need it.

If none of this works at all, you may want to either restore or reformat your hard drive. Here's more information on how to do that here: http://www.cyberwalker.com/article/723/4...

EDIT: Forgot to mention, if you happen to have a large volume  of music, videos or other large files, you may want to either put them on an external hard drive to save space and only use it when you need it, delete what you don't need and/or get an upgrade of more RAM to make up for it.

Answer 7

Make sure that there is not an ongoing program running in the background, something that it is trying ti install itself or something that is trying to update itself like a virus protector. If you have a cam, we can cam to cam and I can see all your specs.  

Answer 8

Could be overheating.  Dont use your laptop on a soft surface.  I have a pice of wood I use fro air flow.

Depending on teh make ther may be an issue with wnhen it gets warm the logic board may have a micro fracture in it that will expand causing the laptop to freese.

another option is contact the manufacute.  I do know Toshiba have a lot of recalls fro units freesing.  

Take an air compressor and blow out the air vents of the laptop. this will clear alot of dust (Gas stations are good place to do it...)

Answer 9

one thing you can do is check the process tab in the task manager any programs you dont need running at the time you can right click and choose end process tree. you can do all at once to see if this will fix the problem. if it does then restart the computer and try one by one until you find the problem service. then go to the run menu type msconfig click the startup tab and disable the problem program.