Does your computer keep freezing for no reason? Don't worry. This article will show you 6 solutions to stop your computer from freezing all the time. We will also show you how to recover data using the professional data recovery software - MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
About “Computer Keeps Freezing”
Many users complain that their computers keep freezing. Let’s have a look at a real case study from howtogeek.com:
I built my computer a few months ago and now it randomly freezes. Sometimes for 5-10 minutes but other times a hard restart is required. I have disabled some programs from running when the computer boots up such as Skype and that fixed it for about a week but now it is doing it again.
www.howtogeek.com/
So, you may want to know how we can fix a computer that keeps freezing. This post will cover the causes and solutions to this issue, as well as solutions to recover lost data using professional file recovery software.
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Top 10 Reasons for “Computer Keeps Freezing”
It is important to identify the actual causes of a computer that keeps freezing. The 10 most common causes of why Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 7 keeps freezing are shown below.
1. Too many programs opening
Every program in your computer requires a certain amount of both internal and external (hardware) resources to function. If multiple programs are running concurrently, your computer might not have enough memory or computing power to support all of them.
In this situation, you should right-click the Windows logo key and choose Task Manager. Under the Processes tab, find the program that is frozen and click End Task. It is recommended to run programs you need at a time.
2. Driver corruption or errors
Drivers are used for communications between hardware devices and the operating system. Outdated or damaged drivers could be the reason why your Windows keeps freezing. Therefore, you should make sure that your drivers are always updated.
3. Overheating
Excess heat can slow down a computer, eventually causing the computer to freeze. If the temperature is high enough, it can even damage the integrated circuit of your system processor and render it unusable.
To avoid this, please make sure your computer is thoroughly vented. Computer casing should not be used in harsh environments.
4. Insufficient RAM
If your computer freezes frequently and regularly, you might have insufficient RAM. You can consider upgrading the RAM or reinstalling the operating system to solve this issue.
5. BIOS settings are not correct
Modifying BIOS settings may put the system in freeze mode. Resetting the BIOS to default could fix your freezing problem.
6. Faulty external devices
Faulty USB drives or other external devices such as the mouse and keyboard can cause the computer to freeze. You can try connecting one device at a time to investigate the root cause. Also, try updating the USB device drivers to fix the computer keeps freezing problem.
7. Computer viruses
Viruses could also be the main cause of a freezing computer. You should perform an antivirus check regularly.
8. Corrupted or missing System Files
According to our investigations, we found that Windows 10 / Windows 7 keeps freezing due to corrupted or missing system files.
9. C drive is out of space
The OS needs room to run. If the C drive is virtually full, the issue of “Computer keeps freezing” may occur.
10. Software errors
Regardless of the vendor, any third-party software could be freezing your computer.
Some applications may take up a lot of memory, attempting to perform actions or access resources that Windows cannot understand. If your computer isn’t able to handle the strain, it can get hung up and freeze. To fix this issue, you should update all third-party software that is installed on your computer.
In addition to the above-stated reasons, there are other reasons like broken memory cards, low disk space, etc. No matter what the cause is, our main focus is to fix the issue of “Computer keeps freezing” without affecting the original data. Next, let’s see how we can protect our data while solving this issue.
How to Fix Computer Keeps Freezing
Method #1. Free Up Disk Space on the C Drive
If your C drive is running out of space, your Windows 10 or Windows 7 will keep freezing because it is the place where the system files are stored.
Therefore, make sure you have enough free disk space on the C drive. If not, you can try deleting some unwanted data or programs on your C drive. Alternatively, you can directly add more free space to the C drive using MiniTool Partition Wizard.
![How to Extend the System or Data Partition in Windows 11 [5 Ways]](https://images.minitool.com/minitool.com/images/uploads/2022/07/extend-partition-windows-11-thumbnail.png)
Method #2. Update All Device Drivers to the Newest
You can turn to the best driver update software or Windows Update to update your drivers. The steps are as follows:
1) Right-click the Start button in Windows 10/8 or click Start in Windows 7. Then click on Device Manager (You may need to type Device Manager in the search box to access it).
2) Open the category that you think contains the device you want to update its drivers.
3) Right-click the hardware’s name or icon and choose Update driver (You may need to click Update Driver Software in Windows 7).
Method #3. Run Memory Check
If you suspect your computer has memory problems, you can run the Windows Memory Diagnostics utility by completing the following steps:
Step 1: Press Windows + R key combinations and type mdsched.exe in the input box. Then press Enter.
Step 2: Click Restart now and check for problems (recommended) to check for problems immediately (If you want to check later, click Check for problems the next time I start my computer).
Step 3: Windows will restart and you will get the following window showing the progress of the check and the number of passes it will run on memory. It might take several minutes for the tool to finish.
Method #4. Run System File Checker
In case of system files are missing or corrupted, you can try the following steps to restore them to solve the Windows 10 freezes issue.
Step 1: Type Command Prompt in the Windows search box and right-click Command Prompt to select Run as administrator.
Step 2: In the pop-up windows, select Yes. Then type sfc/scannow and press Enter.
Step 3: Windows will now scan your system for corrupted files and attempt to fix them if found.
Step 4: Type exit and press Enter.
Recommended article: The Detailed Information about System File Checker Windows 10
Method #5. Perform System Restore
If your Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7 computer still freezes after trying all the solutions listed above, your Windows might be corrupted. In this case, you might need to try restoring your operating system.
Note: System reinstallation is a good solution to fix “Computer keeps freezing”. However, it will delete the data on your PC. Therefore, we recommend you back up your data in advance.
But do not panic if you have already lost data. MiniTool Power Data Recovery, the best data recovery software, can help retrieve deleted files when your laptop keeps freezing or is not responding. Most importantly, it is a read-only tool that can help you effectively recover lost data without affecting the original files.
The steps to recover lost data using MiniTool Power Data Recovery are as follows.
Process 1. Create a bootable media.
Step 1. Download MiniTool Power Data Recovery on a functioning computer to recover data from your computer that keeps freezing.
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Step 2. Install, launch, and register this software. Then click the Bootable Media button located at the top toolbar.
Step 3. Click on the WinPE-based media with MiniTool plug-in.
Step 3. Choose a media destination to create a bootable CD/DVD or USB drive.
Step 4. Connect the bootable drive to your computer that is freezing, and boot from the bootable drive.
Process 2. Use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to scan and restore lost files.
Step 1. In the MiniTool PE Loader interface, click on the MiniTool Power Data Recovery to navigate to its main interface.
Step 2. Before scanning, you can click the Scan Settings feature in the left panel to specify the needed file system (such as FAT12/16/32, NTFS, NTFS+, etc.) and file types (including Documents, Archive, Picture, Audio and video, E-mail, Database, and other files).
Step 3. Under the Logical Drives section, select the target drive and click Scan (You can also click the Devices tab and choose to scan a whole disk).
Step 4. Wait for the software to scan. Here, if you find all the files you needed during the scan, you can stop the scanning process. However, for the best result, it is recommended to wait until the full scan finishes.
Step 5. After scanning, select all needed files and then click Save to store them in a safe place. We recommend storing the files on another drive. Otherwise, the original data could be overwritten, resulting in data cannot be recovered.
If MiniTool Power Data Recovery lists a lot of found files in a neat tree view, you can use the Filter feature to quickly filter the files you need.
For example, if you only want to recover pictures, you can choose Picture from the drop-list of By File Type as shown below.
After data recovery, you can try reinstalling Windows to solve the laptop keeps freezing and not responding issue. Here, you can find more details from this post: Reinstall Windows 10.
Method #6. Take PC to Repair Shop
If none of the above options work, you have no choice but to take your PC to a computer repair shop and allow a computer technician to diagnose and fix the problem.
![[Fixed]: Files Get Deleted When Left-Clicking in Windows](https://images.minitool.com/minitool.com/images/uploads/2023/04/files-get-deleted-when-left-clicking-thumbnail.png)
Bottom Line
What would you do when your computer keeps on freezing? You can try the solutions above to solve this issue. If you have any other good solutions, please share your techniques with us in the following comment area. We appreciate your advice.
As for MiniTool Power Data Recovery, you can also use it to perform SSD data recovery, SD card data recovery, etc. If you have difficulty recovering lost data by using MiniTool Power Data Recovery, please feel free to contact us via [email protected]. We will solve it as soon as possible.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Shirley graduated from English major and is currently an editor of MiniTool Team. She likes browsing and writing IT-related articles, and is committed to becoming a professional IT problem solver. The topic of her articles are generally about data recovery, data backup, and computer disk management, as well as other IT issues. In spare time, she likes watching movies, hiking and fishing.