What to do if your computer freezes
Every computer freezes from time to time. The mouse stops working and there is no response from the keyboard. Many a time I've been phoned by customers who can't turn their computer off!!  What should you do? 1) Start by holding down the ctrl and alt keys and then pressing the delete key. This might bring up the task manager box and give you the option to shut down the computer. 2) If this doesn't work you can press and hold the on/off button for a few seconds until the computer turns itself off. This works for all pcs and all laptops. Count up to 10 before turning the computer back on again to allow the electronics to reset themselves.
Once a computer has started to freeze it will probably happen again. It is worth doing a little investigation and housekeeping to see if you can prevent the computer from freezing too often. First, make sure the problem isn't being caused by malware.  Update your antivirus software and scan the computer. If you have separate antispy software, update that and run a scan. If you don't have antispy software, install Adaware or Windows Defender (for Windows Xp and later). Does the computer always freeze when a particular program or combination of programs are open?  (I had one that froze every time I opened Internet Explorer and Outlook Express) If a single program causes your computer to freeze, try uninstalling and reinstalling the program, it might have become corrupted. Did the computer start to freeze after you installed a new piece of software or a new piece of hardware? Try unininstalling the software of hardware and see if that stops your computer freezing.  If you were installing a driver from a disc that came with a new piece of hardware, look on the manufacturer's website to see if there is a newer version of the driver.   Do some housekeeping. If your hard drive is filling up, uninstall unnecessary software. Look at your documents folder as well as your photos, music and video folders  Are they crammed with unnecessary files? Transfer the ones you no longer use regularly to a CD or DVD to free up hard disc space. If you hard drive is more than about three quarters full it wont perform effectively. Now defrag your hard drive to tidy up the files and allow the computer to run more efficiently. Open up your internet browser and delete the temporary internet files. Check how much RAM your computer has. If you are running Windows XP or above you will need at least 512 Mb of RAM as antivirus programs alone use more and more memory these days. Upgrading the amount of RAM will help your computer run faster and more reliably. Regular housekeeping and keeping your computer's protection up to date are the most effective way of preventing your computer from freezing.
If your computer still freezes, sometimes the best solution is to reformat the harddrive and reinstall Windows.  I know that sounds drastic, but your computer will be like new again.  Unless you have a friend/relative who knows how to reinstall Windows for you, you will need to take your computer to your nearest computer repair/service shop. If you have to do this, make sure you back up all your documents, photos, emails etc as these will be wiped off the hard drive in the reformatting process.  Also make sure you take to the shop all the discs that came with the computer as they will need these to make the computer work properly. You will need to reinstall any software you were using and your printer drivers etc, along with all the documents etc.  It takes time I know, but you will be rewarded with a rejuvenated computer. (6 June 08)