Computer keeps locking automatically

Anonymous
2019-11-17T16:41:28+00:00

My computer keeps locking up. Ill try to run something and a blue screen will pop saying "locking..." And it will completely shut down. How do i fix this?

***Modified title from: my computer (dell, windows 10) keeps locking up, how do I fix it?***

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.

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Anonymous
2019-12-05T19:26:00+00:00

Solved!!!!!

I have confirmed my critical battery level action suspicion I described before.  To test it I set my critical battery level higher and unplugged my PC to run it down to that level.  As soon as it reached that point, the blue "Locking" screen popped up and it went into hibernation just like it's set to do.  There was also another very quick notification screen/message but I'm not certain what it said.  I think it might have said something about critical battery level but, again, I'm not certain.  I am 100% certain that I saw the mysterious "Locking" message on a blue screen exactly as I'd been seeing it before all those times. 

So anyone else who is having this same problem, you most likely have a really old battery that drains super fast when you're working your PC hard and using a lot of energy.  Or your battery may be malfunctioning but leading to the same issue.  It's draining so quickly there's no time for the other power level notifications and it's going straight to the critical battery level action. 

There is another thread somewhere else where the Windows "expert" states that he is not aware of any screen or message that says "Locking" in Windows 10, which we now know is incorrect, and that is probably causing a lot of confusion for those of us that are experiencing this rare issue.  I even noticed that the font for this "Locking" message was the same Windows font we're so familiar with.  And since I read somewhere else someone was having this same issue on a Dell laptop, we can be certain that it is indeed a function of Windows 10. 

Now that I've confirmed it myself, I can stop worrying about malware or a virus causing it.  That would be a very weird thing to be causing anyway since there's no other issues related and I can always restart, or bring out of hibernation, my laptop no problem.

Well, I hope anyone else that's having this same, strange issue reads this and finally finds some clarity.  If you do happen to read this all and changing the battery does solve the problem, please post a response here if you don't mind.  Even though I'm 100% now that I've found the answer, I'd still like to get outside confirmation and also know if my efforts have helped anyone else.  This is such a rare, weird issue that even the Windows experts have been stumped.  It would be great for my ego to know I did, indeed, solve this mystery.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-09-17T22:16:47+00:00

    I wish we could get Microsoft to chime in and give us some support/answers!!!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-09-17T21:43:53+00:00

    First two things I did was replace battery and thermal paste to account for both critical actions (thermal and Battery) Neither worked. If you look back a few pages, you can find the list of things I have done to attempt to fix this issue including making sure windows was up to date, as well as any drivers including the BIOS. While what you are saying makes sense, the logic of how it would "fix" the issue does not. I am pretty certain it is a Microsoft issue, just haven't been able to narrow down exactly what is causing it and why.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-09-17T21:31:25+00:00

    My battery was replaced a couple months ago. Square one!!

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-09-17T21:17:10+00:00

    It doesn't matter if its plugged in or not. If the battery reaches the set level for on battery or for when Plugged In it will do the critical battery action so the best way to fix this is to replace the battery.

    Did you know that it is possible to fix the battery by letting it stay dead for long periods of time. As the battery gets used a layer of frost like substance is made inside the battery and as it gets lower and lower and more and more used. If you let keep pressing the power button while its completely dead for long periods of time then it simply tries to give power the laptop every time the power button is pushed. As a result it removes some of that frost stuff. I'm not sure how it removes the frost stuff but I think it either creates some heat and that melts it, or it trying to pull power puts a load on the battery causing it turn that frost stuff into potential battery power.

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