Fix Windows 10 freezes or randomly locks / Windows 10

For the last year, I’ve been running Windows 10 on about 4 PCs and haven’t really had much trouble until recently. A few days ago I started having a weird problem where my Windows 10 PC randomly froze, eventually forcing me to do a hard reset on the system.

The weird thing is that I have a dual boot system with Windows 7 and I don’t have freezing or locking issues on that OS. I had this kind of problem before, so I started going through all the different fixes like updating device drivers, installing latest Windows updates, scanning with SFC, etc.

I’m not really 100% sure which method fixed the problem, so I’ll list them all out and hope it fixes the problem for you. If not, post and comment and I’ll try to help.

Method 1 – Uninstall Incompatible Programs

I’m pretty sure this is my problem as I really didn’t have any problems in Windows 10 for months until I installed a few new programs. Some programs that have been used to scan and/or modify my hardware (Speccy, Acronis True Image, f.lux, etc.), may have started to cause freezing.

However, any program can cause this problem, so go through any new programs you may have installed and try uninstalling them to see if that fixes the problem. .

If you’re working with a clean install of Windows 10 and are having issues, keep reading.

Method 2 – Update Drivers & BIOS

You’ve probably already tried this, but it’s still worth mentioning because it can definitely be the reason why Windows 10 is locked. The main drivers you want to focus on updating are the graphics card, network card, sound, and chipset drivers.

If you have an NVidia graphics card, you really need to make sure you’ve downloaded the NVidia Control Panel program and updated it. You don’t have to install all the other junk that comes with it, only the drivers. Check out my previous post on automatically updating your Windows drivers.

Also, if you have Windows installed on the SSD, be sure to update the firmware for the SSD. For example, if you have a critical SSD, you can download their storage operator software to do this for you.

Some users have had this problem with hardware that simply doesn’t have Windows 10 drivers. If that’s your case, the best option would be to disable the device or replace it with the version. newer. For example, if you have a really old WiFi card and simply don’t have the Windows 10 drivers, try disabling it through Device Manager or BIOS and see if the freezing goes away.

Finally, you should update your BIOS in a situation like this. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend updating the BIOS if everything is working fine, but it’s a good idea when something goes wrong. Check out my post to determine if you can update the BIOS.

Method 3 – Adjust the paging file

If you happen to notice that the problem only occurs when you are copying or moving large files or doing anything that requires extensive use of the hard disk, the problem may be related to the paging file.

This is especially true if you are using an SSD on your system. You can check the paging file by going to the Control Panel, then Systemclick Advanced system setupclick Advanced tab, then click Settingclick Advanced tab again, then click Change Below Virtual memory.

In a previous post I give some tips for optimizing the paging file, in most cases I would recommend, but for this problem I recommend keeping the paging file on the same partition with Windows OS and allows Windows to automatically manage the size of the paging file.

Method 4 – Disconnect all devices

It may be the case that Windows 10 is not causing the problem, but some external devices are. A good way to test this is to disconnect any and all devices from the computer and then start it up.

You should disconnect all USB devices, including mouse and keyboard. I would suggest getting another mouse and keyboard and try excluding external devices entirely before proceeding.

Method 5 – Check for faulty hardware

This one is a bit harder to spot and often harder to fix. If there’s anything wrong with the hardware, you’ll see problems with any other version of Windows you have installed. If you only have Windows 10 installed, you will need to perform a hardware check.

You’ll want to check out my articles on diagnosing problems with your memory and checking your hard drive for errors. Also, you’ll want to go into your BIOS and check to see if there’s any kind of hardware test you can run from there. Usually, there is an option like Diagnose or something similar.

Remember to check your CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive as it is often overlooked, but can definitely cause problems in Windows.

Method 6 – Disable Overclocking

If you have a high-end machine with a high-end CPU, your BIOS settings may cause Windows to freeze. It’s best to disable any automatic CPU or overclocking throttling.

On some CPUs you should consider whether the C6 state is enabled. This feature tries to put the CPU in low source code, but it can cause more problems. Basically, go into the BIOS and make sure everything is set to default for clock speed, voltage, etc.

The same applies to any DRAM modification. Set everything back to default or automatic and see what happens.

Method 7 – Power Settings

This option will probably only help people who have a PCIe graphics card installed on their system. Go to Control Panel, then Energy options and make sure you are using High performance plan ahead.

If so, then click Change package settings And after that Change advanced power settings.

Scroll down until you see PCI Express and then expand Link to state electricity management. Make sure it is set to Turn off.

Method 8 – Clean install Windows 10

If you are still having problems with Windows 10 freezing, you should probably backup your data and do a clean install of Windows 10. It won’t take long and if you have the latest version of Windows 10 installed, count This feature has been built right into the OS.

Read my step-by-step on performing a clean install of Windows 10.

Overall, Windows 10 is a pretty great operating system and works like a champ most of the time for most users. However, with so many hardware variants that must be supported by Windows, some users will inevitably run into problems. Hopefully, one of the above methods will fix any freezing problems you have in Windows 10. Enjoy!