June Tip of the Month

All Locked Up and Nowhere To Go

Has your computer locked up on you? No response?

Every now and then a computer locks up. You wiggle the mouse, you hit the enter key and nothing happens. Try the following steps to save yourself some headaches:

Do you have a large number of programs open? Try limiting the number of programs you keep open at the same time. The less memory you have on a PC, the smaller number of programs you should have open. If this seems to be a constant problem, upgrade your RAM.
Does the PC lock up only during certain programs? If the PC locks up while playing games with lots of graphics, the problem is most likely memory or your graphics card. Upgrading either or both of these items should fix your problem. If the PC locks up during other programs, such as Microsoft Word™, you may have corrupt files. Try reinstalling the program that is locking up your PC.
Does the PC lock up when booting? Most likely you need to boot with your Windows boot disk. You may even need to reload your operating system after booting with the disk.
Does the computer lock up when you are on the Internet? Try updating your Internet browser software (most likely Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). The latest update may have a fix for your problem.

If your PC does lock up, try following these steps:

Hit CTRL+ALT+DEL at the same time. This should bring up a "task menu." You can follow the instructions to close any programs you have running so that you can reboot safely. This is especially helpful in finding programs that may not be responding. You may try closing those programs in order to continue using your PC. If all else fails, click the "shut down" option to power off your PC.
If you hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and you get a blue screen, you can try hitting any key to see if the computer will begin responding again. If this does not happen, the easiest thing to do it hit CTRL+ALT+DEL again in order to get to the blue screen. Once there, hit CTRL+ALT+DEL again in order to reboot.
If you hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and nothing happens, try hitting the reset button on the front of your computer. The computer will run a scandisk after it begins to boot since the machine was not shut down properly. This is normal.
Sometimes, the reset button will not respond. When all else fails, hit the power button. Often, when the computer has reached this state, you will have to hold the power button in for 5 seconds in order to power down.

If the computer does this often, it's most likely that there is a serious problem. It could be software or hardware related. If the PC continues to lock up, please don't hesitate to give us a call!

If you believe that you have a hardware problem and need our help, bring your CPU to M & M Programming, Inc., 110 North Spalding Avenue, Lebanon, KY.

See Previous Tips of the Month!