Windows 10 Randomly Hangs/Freezing

Anonymous
2018-01-14T06:33:05+00:00

Hello Everyone

I seem to be having an issue with random hangs/freezing... as the title suggests. I for the life of me cant figure out what this problem is, if its a hardware issue / software issue / driver issue or anything else. The problem is that the computer will randomly freeze without any warning these freezes started somewhere around late November 2017, I assume with one of the Windows updates. The actual freezes also vary... sometimes they last only 10 seconds to a minute and I can still move my mouse but not interact with any programs, other times the computer completely freezes and I am forced to do a hard boot on my computer. This makes doing any sort of assignment for school or playing any sort of game an issue. As I said before the freezes are very random. I can sit down on my desktop for over 5 hours and not have a single freeze, other times the computer will freeze shortly after I start the computer.

An important side note is that the computer has never had a problem starting up or loading startup processes. The freezes also occur with any/all programs including Google Chrome and Gaming applications.... really anything. 

Computer Info:

Processor: AMD FX(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor     3.50 GHz

RAM: 24 GB

System type: 64-bit Operating System

Storage: SanDisk 480GB SATA III (NTFS, also what the OS is loaded on) and Toshiba 1TB Hardrive

Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970

(I'm not sure what else to post that would be important please let me know if there is anything else that would be helpful to know)

In terms of solutions I have tried quite a few, I have already done a clean boot of Windows 10, also tried rolling back to Windows 7, however neither of these fixes seemed to solve my issue. I have also changed quite a few settings in my Power settings, as well as optimizing my Virtual Memory, I have also done a clean reboot of my Nvidia Graphics Card driver. There are many other "fixes" that google/youtube has suggested that I have tried, and I cannot remeber them all, however none of those have worked as well. 

-Any advice/suggestions/help is greatly appreciated, and Thank you for taking the time to read all of this

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2018-01-15T16:09:22+00:00

Thank you for providing us details of the troubleshooting steps that have been already done on your computer. Since the initial troubleshooting that was provided seems doesn't fix the issue, we also suggest following the steps below and check if it makes any difference:

Solution 1 – Run netsh winsock reset command

  1. Press Windows Key + X and choose Command Prompt from the menu.
  2. When Command Prompt starts, enter the following and press Enter to run it:

netsh winsock reset

  1. Close Command Prompt and restart your computer.

Solution 2 – Remove problematic software

• Certain software can cause a random freeze on Windows 10. Users have reported that software such as Speccy, Acronis True Image, Privatefirewall, McAfee and Office Hub App can cause problems with Windows 10. If you have any of these programs installed on your computer, we advise that you remove them by following these steps:

  1. Open Settings App and go to System.
  2. Go to Apps & features section and delete the aforementioned apps.
  3. After you’ve uninstalled these apps, restart your computer.

Solution 3 Disable F . lux

It seems that F.lux software has some compatibility issues with certain display drivers. Due to these issues, you might experience a random freeze on Windows 10. In order to fix this problem, it’s advised that you disable F.lux software on your computer. If you want to keep using this software, you can also try updating your display drivers to the newest version.

Solution 4 Disconnect all USB devices

• USB devices such as external hard drive, printers, etc. can sometimes cause Windows 10 to freeze randomly. If you have any USB devices connected to your computer, you should disconnect them before you turn on your computer.

Solution 5 – Download latest chipset drivers

• To update your chipset drivers, you need to visit your motherboard manufacturer’s website and download latest chipset drivers for your motherboard.

Solution 6 – Update network drivers

• You might want to visit your network adapter manufacturer’s website to download the latest drivers.

Solution 7 – Update your BIOS

• To perform a BIOS update, you have to visit your motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the latest version of BIOS.

You may also refer this documentation which provides advanced troubleshooting for Windows-based computer freeze issues:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/troubleshoot-windows-freeze

Get back to us if the issue still persists.

Note: Microsoft has updated information in this reply, so that users facing this issue got benefited.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2018-01-14T13:57:05+00:00

Hi,

Malware, outdated drivers, and corruption with system files are several reasons why your PC is freezing.

Since you've tried some troubleshooting steps already but the issue still persists, try updating the device drivers which is helpful in resolving the issue. Click here for more information on how to update the drivers on Windows 10.

We also recommend running a full antivirus scan on your PC using Windows Defender and see if it will detect any issues or infections.

Update us with the result.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

161 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2018-12-17T01:04:50+00:00

    I used be better at sorting out problems too. Win10 has so much going on now, it branches into so many different places, then also wants you linked in to every platform you decide to use or try or only wish to browse over quickly. It can seem a bit busy and over complicated at times if not a little nosy too.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2018-12-16T16:26:25+00:00

    Dear all, hope we find a solution to the problem Microsoft have caused us.  By the way, my new desktop with only Microsoft software and duckduckgo installed is using 11% of capacity - Microsoft keeps suggesting it is a space problem - despite nearly 90% being freely available...…  The latest update is sticking every 'sent' email - including replies to those received - into drafts.  And when I forward/resend, same thing happens.   How can they call themselves a serious software organisation when their updates cause new problems each time, including preventing me sending simple Hotmail no attachments emails!  What idiots.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2018-12-16T09:18:20+00:00

    Many thanks to all for advice - can't follow ACER as my (new this year, software and set up installed by the store professionally) desk top is a Lenovo.  The worrying thing is that when troubleshooting, scanning and all the obvious stuff did not work and I  had to re-install Windows 10 to sort the October update problems, this removed over a dozen programmes including the one driving my keyboard - obviously a being a non expert I don't recognise most.  The software now struggles to recognise my mouse.  I have no software installed other than Windows 10 this year and DuckDuckGo as browser.   It crashed over a dozen times yesterday too even when only email was open.   No malware, no bugs, just Microsoft.   Hope all of you get things sorted, I used to be able to programme way back in Windows 2.1 (remember that, it worked and was transparent, you could see and remove embedded commands!) but no longer.   I'm still looking at Apple...  Best for the festive season.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments