Frequently Asked Question
My computer is completely frozen or working very slowly
Last Updated 6 years ago
Symptoms:
Your computer is completely frozen and you can't do anything, or your computer is moving very slowly.
Causes:
There are actually many reasons a computer could be freezing up or bogging down. Power fluctuations, program bugs, driver bugs, hardware issues, website issues, malware, etc. It's extremely unlikely that anything you did caused this to happen, but always be cautious when using the internet to avoid getting any malware on your computer. Restarting your computer down at least once a week can prevent issues by flushing your RAM on a weekly basis.
Fix:
Slow but responsive:
If not completely frozen you can try restarting the computer. There should be an icon with two blue arrows making a circle on your desktop. Double click this icon to reboot your computer. This is always the safest way to restart, so if you can do this always try this first.
Completely Frozen:
If a computer is completely frozen the only option you usually have is a cold restart. There are two ways to do this.
Option 1:
1. Hold down the power button on the front your your tower, not your monitor's power button, for up to 8 seconds.
2. Eventually the screen will go black, and, after waiting a few seconds, you can turn the computer back on.
Option 2:
1. Unplug the power cord from your computer, wait a few seconds, plug it back in.
2. Press the power button to turn your computer back on.
Results:
99% of the time a simple restart will resolve most issues. Cutting the power clears out the RAM on your computer, which resets any bugs that may have been causing the issue. The computer should boot back up and work normally if the issue isn't something serious like failing hardware or Windows being damaged. If you continue to have trouble please create an IT Support ticket for further assistance.
Your computer is completely frozen and you can't do anything, or your computer is moving very slowly.
Causes:
There are actually many reasons a computer could be freezing up or bogging down. Power fluctuations, program bugs, driver bugs, hardware issues, website issues, malware, etc. It's extremely unlikely that anything you did caused this to happen, but always be cautious when using the internet to avoid getting any malware on your computer. Restarting your computer down at least once a week can prevent issues by flushing your RAM on a weekly basis.
Fix:
Slow but responsive:
If not completely frozen you can try restarting the computer. There should be an icon with two blue arrows making a circle on your desktop. Double click this icon to reboot your computer. This is always the safest way to restart, so if you can do this always try this first.
Completely Frozen:
If a computer is completely frozen the only option you usually have is a cold restart. There are two ways to do this.
Option 1:
1. Hold down the power button on the front your your tower, not your monitor's power button, for up to 8 seconds.
2. Eventually the screen will go black, and, after waiting a few seconds, you can turn the computer back on.
Option 2:
1. Unplug the power cord from your computer, wait a few seconds, plug it back in.
2. Press the power button to turn your computer back on.
Results:
99% of the time a simple restart will resolve most issues. Cutting the power clears out the RAM on your computer, which resets any bugs that may have been causing the issue. The computer should boot back up and work normally if the issue isn't something serious like failing hardware or Windows being damaged. If you continue to have trouble please create an IT Support ticket for further assistance.