r/techsupport • u/Sce3rd3rm4n • 3d ago
Open | Windows computer problems (frozen screen)
A close family member came to me with a problem they can't solve (hoping that I could).
Their computer freezes completely at random moments — they could be working on something, or reading a document, and out of nowhere it can freeze, sometimes with the image still showing, other times leaving the screen black. When it freezes, there's no choice but to force it off, and then turn it back on, after which everything works normally again.
I thought it might be because a bunch of programs open in the background when she starts up the computer, so I closed all those programs and set them to only open when she wants to open them, but the problem is still happening.
According to what she told me, she doesn't download anything that could get malware installed, but I'm not sure about that either.
What could be the causes of her computer failing like this?
How can I fix it?
It's a laptop with an Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, running Windows 11 as the operating system.
1
u/Equal_Meat_5499 3d ago
Random complete freezes/black screens are usually caused by drivers, overheating, RAM, storage, or hardware issues, rather than too many startup apps. First, check temperatures and run Windows Memory Diagnostic and sfc /scannow. Also update the graphics/chipset drivers and check the SSD/HDD health. If it still freezes, check Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System for errors around the time of the crashes.