Why Has My Computer Frozen?

Have you ever been working and suddenly everything stopped?

Quite frequently we are asked in IT why has my computer frozen,

my keyboard is not working but my mouse is.

There are many reasons why it can freeze so we just list a few possible reasons:

Check to make sure that there are no processes still ongoing –

Sometimes it may seem like a computer has frozen but it may be going through an extensive task that hogs resources. Give it a bit of time before closing the system down.

Software or hardware – Sometimes there may be a software conflict causing the computer to lock up, such as an issue that affected MalwareBytes that needed fixing. If you use Mac, software that is meant to benefit you such as MacKeeper can cause the issue.

A recent Windows Update broke the USB port requiring a patch. Have you changed any hardware recently?

RAM could be experiencing issues or there could be issues with internal cables, IDE / SATA cables wear so if you don’t have an SSD it is worth checking this.

Also, check peripherals as there could be an issue with the hardware you’ve plugged in.

In order to fix you can try rebooting if hardware such as the keyboard or mouse does not work then try performing a hard reset by holding down the power button.

If this works then you should continue working. however, if the computer is still not working you will need to refer to the above causes and address these.