What To Do When . . .Your PC Freezes

Take These Steps To Defrost Your PC
You're merrily plugging away at your computer when suddenly everything stops. Your system freezes in its tracks and, try as you might, you can't get it to respond. You have no choice but to shut down the system, which means you'll lose all your unsaved data. This is a vexing and all-toocommon computer problem. Nearly every system will lock up now and again, but if your system freezes on a regular basis, you need to pinpoint the cause. This is usually easier said than done because there are so many potential sources of PC freezes. The freezes could be the result of either a hardware or software problem, or possibly a combination of the two. But with a little perseverance and patience (and perhaps a lot of experimentation), you should be able to determine what's causing your system to misbehave. We'll show you how. The first thing you should do when your system freezes is restart it and see what happens next. Almost no PC is immune to the occasional lockup, so it's entirely possible that a particular occurrence may be the exception rather than the rule. If you restart your system and suffer no further freezes or ill effects, chalk it up to an unusual glitch, count your blessings, and don't worry about it. If your system suffers from PC freezes on a regular basis, even after you reboot your system, clearly there's something going on inside your PC. If the freezes appear to occur randomly and do not seem to be associated with a particular program, chances are your PC's hardware is the source of the problem. Hardware Troubles. There are several ways your system's hardware can contribute to or cause PC freezes, so let's look at some likely possibilities and ways to resolve them. Feeling the heat. Most users don't think about the amount of heat their PCs generate. Processors and other components continue to get smaller, and smaller chips generate more heat. The heat from your PC's internal components builds up inside your system's case, and if it gets too warm in there, your PC can freeze up. Your system's internal components may even become damaged if they're exposed to too much heat for too long. You can combat excessive heat problems by making sure your PC is properly ventilated. Make sure your system is not pressed against a wall or a desk, as this can stifle airflow from the case. Every PC case should have at least one exhaust fan, or barring that, a few exhaust holes in the case that hot air can pass through. One of the easiest ways to reduce heat inside your PC's case is to replace the system's IDE (Integrated Device Elec-tronics) and floppy diskette drive ribbon cables with rounded cables. Rounded cables usually cost no more than $10 apiece and are easy to install. Simply remove the ribbon cables from your hard drive, floppy diskette drive, and optical drive (or drives, as the case may be) and plug in the rounded cables. Rounded cables allow for much better airflow inside the case, which will help keep your components cool. You also can add a couple of fans to your system's case, which will draw in more cool air and help expel hot air. Case fans, like rounded cables, are inexpensive. Although a case fan is a little more difficult to install than rounded IDE cables, it's not beyond the ability of most users. Check your drives. If your system is cool and well ventilated, you can assume that excess heat is not at fault for your system's freezes. Old drivers can be the source of many PC problems, including PC freezes, so it's a good idea to update hardware drivers on a regular basis. Windows users can use the Windows Update feature to check for new hardware drivers. You should also go to the support Web page for your PC manufacturer to check for driver updates. If you've built your own system, you should stop by the Web site of each manufacturer of the major components (including the motherboard, video card, and sound card, if applicable) in your system to check for updates. Maybe it's the memory. Your system's memory is another usual suspect when PC freezes occur, so we'll check that next. If you have two memory modules installed in your system, remove one of them and see if your system continues to freeze up. If it does, replace the memory module currently in use with the one you removed earlier and try again. If your system starts working properly, you know that the memory module you removed is at fault and should be replaced. If you still experience PC freezes after using both memory modules independently, the freezes are probably the result of another problem. It's very unlikely that both memory modules are defective. If you only have one memory module installed in your system, you'll have to secure a second one to determine if the module you're using is defective. There's also a possibility that you're simply not using enough memory. If your system only uses 64MB of RAM, and you like to run a lot of programs at once, you should expand your memory to at least 128MB. In the best-case scenario, you'll have a spare memory module or a second PC that uses the same type of memory as the system you're troubleshooting (for example, PC2700 DDRSDRAM as opposed to PC133 memory), but that isn't always the case. Try to borrow a compatible memory module if possible, but if that's not an option, you may have to buy another memory module and replace the one your system is currently using. Check your power supply. We'll suggest one more hardware-based fix for PC freeze-up problems. An inadequate power supply is an oft-overlooked source of PC frustrations. Most manufacturers outfit their systems with relatively inexpensive OEM power supplies that may have enough juice to power your system when they ship it to you, but may not provide enough power when you add more components to your system. Underpowering leads to system instability. You can buy a beefier, high-quality power supply for about $60 to $90. A 350watt power supply should be adequate for most home users, and a 450-watt power supply should provide more than enough energy even for extreme computing needs. Software On Ice. Software problems are pretty common events, but most software issues usually result in an error message that provides some clue as to the nature of the problem. You won't have that advantage when your PC freezes, but with a little detective work you can usually pinpoint the software issue that's causing your system to lock up. For example, if you notice that your PC freezes whenever you use a specific application and doesn't freeze when you're not using that application, it's pretty clear where the problem lies. The program may have a conflict with another program you're running in the background, or it may have a conflict with one of your system's hardware components. When you narrow down freeze-ups to a particular program, you should go to the software manufacturer's Web site and download the latest program updates and patches for the software. The company's support Web page may also have some specific information regarding the program and PC freezes and tips for how to resolve the problem. You may also want to shut down programs that are running in the background. Programs running in the background can occasionally interfere with a program you're currently using. Close any programs you're not using and see if your system remains stable. If it does, you may have to update the programs you frequently run in the background, as well as the program that seems to be the source of the PC freezes. There are times when a particular program simply does not get along with a specific brand of hardware. As we mentioned earlier, you should update your hardware drivers regularly. Hardware and software manufacturers usually have information on their support Web pages regarding conflicts between specific hardware components and programs and will either provide a downloadable patch or step-by-step instructions to resolve those problems. Keep Your PC Freeze-Free. We've mentioned a couple of maintenance tips that may help you resolve PC freezes, namely keeping your hardware drivers and software updated. If you do this on a regular basis, you can prevent some PC freezes from occurring in the first place. You should also update Windows regularly to keep your system in top shape. Go to http://www.microsoft.com and click Windows Update on the Microsoft home page. Microsoft will scan your system and provide a list of updates you can download for your version of Windows. You should also defragment your PC on a regular basis. Whenever you use your PC, your system moves files from place to place on your hard drive. After awhile, the files can become so scattered across your hard drive that your PC's performance will suffer. Defrag-menting your PC will fix that problem by realigning your system's files in a neat and orderly fashion. However, if you use Windows XP, your system may, ironically enough, freeze up when you run the OS's disk defragmenter utility. If you experience this problem, restart your system in safe mode and then run the defragmenter utility. It seems as though there are nearly limit-less potential causes for PC freezes, which is why troubleshooting this problem can make you pull your hair out.Unlike many PC issues, either hardware or software (or a combination of the two) can result in a freeze. But you can thaw out PC freezes if you follow our tips.