Device Freezes: Phone, Computer Keeps Freezing (Windows)

If your Windows computer crashes or freezes when it "wakes up" from sleep mode or hibernation, disabling power-saving mode should help solve the problem (but if you use laptop you need to plug in the AC Adapter more often).

To disable power-saving mode:

Start -> Control Panel -> (Hardware and Sound) -> Power options -> Change plan settings (on the right side of the selected power plan - Balanced or High Performance) -> Change Advanced settings -> Expand the hard disk power options, by clicking on the "+" next to Hard Disk.

Change the time listed under Turn Off Hard Disk After to Never. Do the same for the Sleep, Hibernate After options. 

When your computer crashes and you see the following line: STOP 0x000000EA (THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER), the video card driver is stuck waiting for something (usually a hardware operation) to happen. Most of you have probably seen nv4_disp.sys associated with this blue screen.

Updating the video card driver is one of the solutions to this problem. Before you download the latest driver check the model of your video (VGA) card (Nvidia or ATI Radeon). 

• Nvidia - click here to find the appropriate driver

• ATI Radeon - click here to find the appropriate driver

Enter the exact model of your video card (which you can find in Start -> All programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> System Information or type System Information in the start menu search box -> Components -> Display) -> select the Windows version you use (Windows 7/8(.1)/10 32-bit or 64-bit) and download the driver.

After that, run the installer and follow the instructions. Reboot your computer if needed.

Note: If you don't know which Windows version you use and the system type (32-bit or 64-bit), right-click My Computer (This PC) and select Properties.

Some computers have only on-board video card driver (eg. Intel HD Graphics) and to update it you need to visit your motherboard manufacturer's website (which you can also find in System Information -> System Summary).

By updating Windows you will improve your computer's security, speed it up, and minimize the number of computer crashes.

To see how to update Windows and speed your computer up, check out the computer is slow solutions.

If your computer has video problems (such as black screen) when it comes out of sleep or hibernate mode, the network driver's power management settings may be causing the problem. 

To change the driver's settings:

1. Open the Device Manager (right-click the My Computer icon -> Device Manager, or type Device Manager in the search box in Start menu)
   
   
2. Select Network Adapters, right-click one of the entries (eg. Realtek) and select Properties
   
   
3. Click on the Power Management tab, uncheck the Allow this device to wake the computer option and click OK

When you install and uninstall programs or when you move files, you leave behind leftovers known as fragmented files. Fragmented files can slow your computer down and cause a system crash especially if a program becoms unresponsive.

To learn how to defragment your computer's hard disk drive and speed it up, see the Computer is slow solutions.

Maybe your device crashes or freezes due to lack of disk space.

Check out the Running out of disk space / no space left solutions to learn how to free up disk space.

If your computer crashes while you are browsing the net, the culprit might be an extension. Only if you uninstall the faulty extension, will your computer stop crashing.

To uninstall an extension:

• Firefox:

Click on the three parallel horizontal lines on the top right corner -> Add-ons -> Extensions -> Select the add-on you want to delete and click Remove.

• Chrome:

Click on the three parallel horizontal lines on the top right corner -> More tools -> Extensions -> Click on the trash can of the add-on you want to remove.

• Internet Explorer:

Tools -> Manage add-ons -> Under Show, tap or click All add-ons -> If the add-on can be removed, you'll see the Remove option -> Tap or click Remove 

• Safari:

Go -> Go to Folder from the menu bar -> Type /Library and click Go from the menu bar.

The Library folders contain the following folders for add-ons: Internet Plug-ins, Input Methods, Input Managers and Scripting Additions. Move any files within these folders to the Trash. 

Note (Safari users): Do not remove Default Browser.plugin, nslQTScriptablePlugin.xpt, Quartz Composer.webplugin, or QuickTime Plugin.plugin because Safari needs these plugins.

As a quick fix you can update the drivers by clicking Update Driver Software in Device Manager.

1. Right-click My Computer -> Select Properties -> Device Manager (or type Device Manager in the start menu search box)
   
   
2. Click on one of the driver categories (Network adapters, Display adapters, Sound, video and game controllers)
   
   
3. Right click a driver from the drop-down list -> Update Driver Software. Select:
   
   
   • Search automatically for updated driver software - If you don't have the drivers' installation files in your computer or on a CD
     
     
   • Browse my computer for driver software (if you have the drivers' installation files in your computer or on a CD)
     
     
4. Click Next and do not interrupt the updating process
   
   

Repeat the procedure for all the drivers in all the categories.

Please note that updating existing drivers often does not fix the issue. It might be safer to re-install the drivers altogether.

Computers get hot. Everything inside a computer generates heat, and heat can cause component instablility (RAM, CPU and etc.) and crash your PC.

If the computer case is too hot, check if all your fans are spinning properly (you know by listening closely: do they make a sound?). Make sure that all of your computer's vents, grates and filters are unhindered by dust, pet hair, and other materials that prevent proper airflow. If you find any problematic areas, use a can of compressed air to clear the airways.

If you use a laptop, make sure to place it on a hard, flat surface that won't "smother" the chassis around its vents, thus restricting airflow.

Note: Be very careful while you are cleaning your computer because it is possible that you detach something (usually the SATA cables in desktop-computer cases are prone to detatching). Double-check everything before you turn your computer back on.