What to do if Windows 10 freezes or slows down

by Digital Marketing E. Online Marketing Professional

What to do if Windows 10 freezes or slows down a lot, solutions for any sudden or frequent problem

Windows is an operating system as easy to use as it is complicated in cases where there are errors, slowdowns or, worse, when it crashes. This applied to Windows XP and is still valid today for Windows 10, which has nevertheless improved a lot in its ability to diagnose errors and to solve sudden blocking problems. Windows 10 has become, over time, a very stable system, perhaps the most stable of all, which does not even need too much maintenance since by default it optimizes its performance automatically.

Despite this, however, it is normal that during the use of the computer, following the creation of files, internet downloads and the installation of new programs, there may be problems in the form of slowdowns or blockages and sudden freezes , which if they are frequent compromise PC operation and ruin the performance of Windows 10. The more applications are installed, the more likely it is that some of these send the system on tilt.

So let's see what are the solutions to deal with this type of errors so that you always know what to do when Windows 10 crashes or slows down too suddenly , trying not to restart the computer.

What we are talking about in this post are solutions that are applied at the moment, when the computer slows down and seems to run empty with infinite loads, when a Windows window no longer closes, when it waits for too long, when a program does not respond. , when the cursor does not move or moves but does not respond to clicks.

In general, when there are problems of this type, the most frequent cause is related to the memory that is almost completely occupied, sometimes the fault is the slow disk or the intensive use of the processor. If then Windows 10 should crash often and systematically even if nothing special is done, then it will be necessary to adopt more technical measures.

What to do when Windows 10 crashes due to memory deficit or because the processor is busy

The fundamental operation when Windows 10 hangs on an application or a program is to press the CTRL-ALT-CAN keys together to display the task manager that allows you to see all the processes and applications running on the PC. In Windows 10 you may need to press the " more details " button to view the complete list of running processes .

The first thing to look at in the task manager is, therefore, the processes tab which lists all the applications and processes active. By clicking on CPU , the processes are sorted by CPU consumption (processor) and it is possible, therefore, to see if a process or a program is using a high percentage of the CPU. In this case, you can select that process and then press the button at the bottom right to end the activity.

If you want to better manage the use of the CPU by the programs, there are tools that allow you to balance Windows processes and prevent slowdowns and 100% CPU .

The second thing to look at is the consumption of RAM. In the same way as you did with the CPU, you can press Memory up to sort the processes based on memory usage, seeing the one that takes care of them first.

This value must be taken into consideration together with the values of the " performance " tab where the important value is the use of paging files that must never exceed the value of one's RAM. If this happens, especially on PCs with low memory, you can read the guide to optimize the paging file .

NOTE 1: When the computer is so blocked from not even being able to open the task manager, then there are some ways to force the closure of a program on Windows

NOTE 2: If the process that takes up too much memory or CPU is an internal Windows process, then the installation of Windows 10 may need to be corrected. We have seen, in particular, what are the processes svchost.exe (Host Service) , explorer.exe (Explorer) , Graphic isolation of the audio device , Antimalware Service Executable and Smartscreen

In cases of errors or problems with the internal processes of Windows 10, we have seen in another guide how to reset Windows 10 without deleting anything

What to do when Windows 10 freezes or slows down due to disk usage

Remaining inside the task manager, there is another column of the process sheet that must be checked, namely that of the Disk. This column shows the percentage of disk usage by the various active processes and programs. In PCs with traditional and mechanical hard disks, this percentage is always very high because the hard disk is too slow. In this case the problem cannot be solved on the fly, especially if you notice that the percentage of disk usage is always very high.

The simplest solution at hand is to make an error check on the disk (defragmentation is not necessary since in Windows 10 it is already active automatically).

A definitive solution, instead, is to change hard drives and buy one or faster or, better yet, an SSD drive.

What to do when Windows 10 always or often crashes

If the PC crashes often, then there is something wrong with the configuration of Windows 10 or the PC hardware.

In this case there are some operations to be done to correct the configuration that we are going to summarize:

Damaged memory problem. Solution : take the memory test

Problem with drivers. Solution : Update the drivers

and try disabling the network drivers.

Problem with an external device. Solution : disconnect all the devices and then reconnect them one by one until you recognize the one that causes the error.

Problem with a hidden malware or virus. Solution : Scan your computer with an antimalware other than the antivirus.

Problem with the new version of Windows 10. Solution : Return to the previous version of Windows 10

Blue screen problems. Solution : the causes of a blue screen, sudden shutdown or reboot are different, generally related to a hardware error, a malfunctioning device or a damaged driver

Frequent sudden blocking problems. Solution: Try scanning system files, via the sfc / scannow command

In the event that Windows 10 crashes with a blue screen or the mouse button no longer moves and the task manager does not open when you press Ctrl-Alt-Del / Del , all you have to do is restart the computer as there is are serious errors.

It would then be better to have Windows 10 in advanced menu mode and use the recovery and troubleshooting options. In another guide we explained how to repair Windows 10 through this menu .