Q&A for How to Fix a Windows Computer that Hangs or Freezes

This often happens when certain accessories or peripherals are connected to the PC at boot time. Try starting up your PC without anything external plugged in--no USB flash drives, printers, phones, etc., and see if that helps. Also, check your startup apps--if there's an app that has a hard time launching at startup, try removing it from the list of startup apps in your settings.

If you get this error in Chrome or Edge, select the unresponsive pages and choose "Kill." Then, restart Chrome and try again. This error sometimes occurs due to misbehaving extensions and add-ons--try using the website in Incognito or Private mode to see if the problem still occurs. If it works in Incognito or Private, try disabling any extensions or add-ons that could be causing the problem.

Chrome uses a lot of RAM. If you have a lot of tabs open at once and don't have enough RAM to support all of the open tabs, Chrome will often hang or crash. You can see how much RAM Chrome is using by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del and clicking Task Manager. If you have any extensions installed in Chrome, try uninstalling the ones you don't use (or disabling them) to see if that helps. If not, you may just need to have fewer tabs open at a time or increase the amount of RAM in your PC. You might also consider closing other programs while you're using Chrome, or see if you have better results with a different browser like Edge or Firefox.

If it's been a very long time, your laptop might be trying to install lots of much-needed updates in the background. But also, there may be a device connected to the laptop that is causing it to hang. Try rebooting without any devices connected. If that doesn't help, try booting into Safe Mode with Networking (search wikiHow for "Safe Mode" to find lots of great walkthroughs) and check for Windows Updates, then install them from Safe Mode. You might also want to run a Windows Defender scan while in Safe Mode to see if any threats are detected.

You need to press F8 during boot and start in Safe Mode. This only loads basic drivers and system files. If it is still locking up, you need a fresh install or repair Windows. To repair windows, search for CMD and run as admin. Check your disk's smart attributes by typing "wmic diskdrive" to get status. If OK, check disk by typing "sfc /scannow". When complete, type "chkdsk /i". If that shows error type, do "chkdsk /r" and allow it to restart your computer.

If you are trying use unsupported or corrupted application, file get out of it. This can even happen because of an unsupported OS (operating system) in your CPU (central processing unit).

If Bluestacks is not initializing, you might have a problem with the application. Or, your computer cannot handle it. In any case, a fresh install would be a good place to start.

For Windows XP or later: Last known good configuration. For Windows 8 or later: sfc/scannow inside safe mode with command prompt.

A "critical" driver might be starting in safe mode, or your Windows configuration is broken. In this case, boot into last known good configuration or reinstall Windows.

You might have a corrupted boot file. You must not tamper with any boot file to be alternated. If you have any CD software, I advise you to reinstall the original master boot file to the C:\ drive and then reboot your computer which will end the hanging up conflict. Because something is not reading correctly in order to be booted the right way.

You might have a corrupted boot file. These kinds of files should not be tampered with in any way that might cause a corrupted boot. If you have any CD software with the computer's operating system files on that disc it be best to reinstall the original boot files to the drive on C:\ and to delete the former boot file. Then reboot your computer to end the conflict of hanging up.