Freeze PC

The PC freezes or reboots suddenly
1. This could indicate a failing PSU that is not supplying power correctly to the motherboard. You may be able to get the PSU serviced but in most cases you will be better off getting a new
power supply.
2. This could be due to overheating of the PSU or CPU: If the PSU is overheating, the metal cabinet may be hot to touch or you might get a shock. Shut off immediately. Check if the PSU fan is working, clean or replace the fan if not working or spinning very slowly. If it’s a faulty PSU you may be able to service it.

If the PSU seems normal it might be due to an overheating CPU.

The PC runs POST and then freezes

1. This may be a problem with the RAM modules or other add-on cards. In case of RAM module problems, you will usually be alerted by beeps from the BIOS. Strip the PC down to the ‘barebones’, that is, just the power supply, motherboard (with CPU & heat sink), minimum RAM and display card. Switch the RAM module to another slot. Verify that the RAM modules are as per the specs defined by motherboard manufacturer. Use matched RAM modules from the same manufacturer. Try a different RAM. If everything is working you should boot up and see the message ‘No boot device’ or something similar. Power off, connect the hard disk and reboot. If the problem still occurs, this points to something wrong with the hard disk or the basic boot up of the operating system. Check the storage section and the Windows troubleshooting section of this guide. If the OS boots normally, then power off and start adding each add-on card one by one, powering up after adding each card until you isolate the culprit. Check the relevant sections for troubleshooting hints for those components.

2. It may be a BIOS problem.

The PC freezes suddenly

1. This could be due to overheating of the CPU caused by poor contact between the heat sink and the CPU Remove the heat sink and fan (make sure the fan is working). On the exposed CPU die surface apply some thermal grease or thermal tape. This is to fill in the microscopic gaps that may exist between the CPU and the heat sink. Don’t use too much grease and don’t try to substitute with something else, use approved thermal media only. Also, don’t get impatient and try to force the heat sink on the die to try and make it fit. You may break the heat sink or worse still damage the CPU. If the fan is not working, verify the power connections. If the connections are correct and the fan still does not work you can try replacing the fan but the best option is to get a new heat sink unit (heat sink + fan). Note: The problem with a failed heat sink is the likelihood that you have already cooked your CPU. Most modern CPUs overheat very quickly and require cooling right from power on.

Device Conflict Symptoms

A hardware conflict may occur when you add a new device to your system. In some instances, this conflict will not cause any problem, and depending on the operating system you may not even be aware that such a conflict exists. Typical symptoms of hardware conflicts include:

The operating system may freeze frequently

The new device may suffer performance problems

An existing device that is conflicting with the new device may suffer performance problems

Windows starts in Safe Mode

The system crashes and you get a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)

The sound card stops working or stutters

The screen jumps and shows garbled images

The mouse stops working

Modem/network card doesn’t respond

CD/DVD drive doesn’t respond or crashes the system

The PC works fine for a few hours and then freezes

Cause: This symptom is typical of overheating. Overheating processors are a major source of PC freezes and crashes. Other than the main processor, the graphics processor can also overheat and bring the entire PC to a grinding halt. Like the CPU, the graphics processor has its own heat sink and fan. An overheating graphics processor would point to some problem with the cooling system.

Solution: Troubleshooting this is similar to troubleshooting an overheating CPU. However, you should eliminate all the other heat generating culprits first: check the power supply, the CPU heat sink, and fan. Once you have eliminated these possibilities, turn your attention to the graphics processor: check the heat sink and fan, it may be that the fan is not working or the heat sink is not fitted snugly on the graphics processor. Check the power connections for the fan and reseat the heat sink to fit it tightly with the processor. Use thermal paste if necessary. Such graphics cards should have a temperature sensor that can be viewed from within the operating system. This would give you a good indication of whether the card is overheating. Unless you are stressing out the system with high-end 3D applications for hours on end, it is unlikely that the graphics card is your source of trouble. In most cases it would be the power supply. But the sudden freeze and shutdown is typical of overheating, so look at the CPU and PSU again if you have ruled out the graphics card as the source of the problem.