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Support > System hanging
The are several reasons for a computer system to hang:
Normally an hardware failure will cause the system to hang in different places and not at the same place like maybe when you run a particular application.
Common causes of system hanging due to hardware failure are:
Motherboard / memory chips faulty
( possibly a black screen )
Faulty power supply
Faulty or underrated fan on CPU ( processor
get too hot ) Hard drive with physical bad blocks ( scratches on the surface )
Sometimes also a faulty video card
Memory modules of different speed, type and make could create system lockout as the timing is different from module to module. Try whenever possible to use a single module or perfectly matching memory modules.
Many times, by lifting the cover of the computer and having a look at the fan on the CPU, and maybe ( with the pc just switched off ) touching the side of the fan, a non-spinning or slow spinning fan could be the cause of the freezing, the CPU overheats and becomes non functional, a slowness in the system could also be a clue. Replace the fan at once.
If the problem also occur randomly could be a Windows system file missing or corrupted, which in Windows 98,
XP and newer can be fixed by going to Start > Run > type "sfc" (sfc=System File Check) and click OK (in Windows XP use : "sfc /scannow"). If any files are missing or corrupted Windows will ask for the Original CD and replace the files. For Windows 95 (which doesn't have sfc), a fresh installation could fix the problem.
Do you really still want to use Win 95?
A regular maintenance like the use of Scandisk or Defragmenter can go a long way to ensure a smooth running of the system and avoid systems hangs up.
If problems of hangs up occur during the running of a particular applications, we suggest to first uninstall the application using the uninstall program that came with it or to use the Add/Remove programs utility in the Control Panel.
After the un-installation process, restart the computer and try to re-install the application from the original disks.
Also try to remove/disable your screensaver and power management (in the control panel), they are candidates for making hang a pc.
Particular care should be given to virus detection, as many virus
and spyware (malware) attack system files changing their characteristics and bringing instability to the system. Never exclude the possibility that a virus is the cause of your computer troubles. Keep your antivirus up to date always.
Another suspect to hang the system, is a software driver, normally a video driver that is not totally compatible with the Operative System, in that case is worth to connect to the Internet and get the latest driver from the manufacturer of the card. Windows 98 and Trident cards were famous for hanging for no apparent reasons, an upgrade of the video driver fixes the problem immediately.
As far the video drivers are concerned, I found that a great deal of freezes are due to the video card acceleration. To fix it do the following:
Right click on desktop > click on "Properties" > click on "Settings" tab > "Advanced" > "Performance" > the slide of the "Hardware acceleration" is on the right ( Full ) slide it completely to the left > click "Apply" > "Ok" and reboot the system. If this fix the problem, repeat the above moving the slide to the right one notch at the time to find the position where you get max acceleration but without freezing. If that was not the reason bring back the slide to the right and re-apply the changes.
You can also try this:
- Press and hold
down Alt, then Ctrl, then Delete keys. When you have
them all held down at once, release them.
- Click Task
Manager.
- Often one program
is highlighted and listed as Not Responding. If not,
select the program that was active when the screen
froze.
- Click End Task in
the dialog box.
- If another dialog
box appears, click End Task again.
- If this solves the
problem, you're done. Save any work in other open
applications.
- If this doesn't
solve the problem, repeat the process, closing down
programs one by one.
If the above process
doesn't work, press Ctrl, Alt, Del as described above
and then repeat the process. This reboots or restarts
the computer. (This is sometimes called a warm boot.)
Windows may start Disk Scan when it restarts; let is go
through the process.
If you can't do a warm boot, try a "cold boot", which
simply means turning the computer off for a minute and
then turning it back on.
In all cases, try to remember what you were doing when
the screen froze. See if the same thing happens when you
do the same thing again. This will help you troubleshoot
the cause of the problem.
Support > System hanging
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