Why Does Computer Keep Crashing? Ways to Fix Computer Keeps Crashing. If you own a laptop or PC, the chances are that it has crashed at some point. Whether you use Windows, macOS, or a Linux operating system, PC crashes occur.
The computer keeps crashing is quite annoying to all the users, especially when you are playing games or dealing with important work on your PC or laptop. When the computer crashes, mostly, it shows a blue screen of death, the system cannot be started, the screen freezes with no response, the mouse and keyboard cannot input, and the software operation is abnormally interrupted.
Reasons Why Your Computer Keeps Crashing
A Device Is Not Correctly Seated
It doesn’t matter if it is the RAM, the HDD, the CPU, or even a graphics card. If the component is not correctly connected or “seated” in its slot, then crashes are likely.
It might not even be as technical as that; you could have a computer that simply isn’t plugged into the wall properly. The cable might not be seated correctly into the back of the computer. Before proceeding, check all the cables and components are correctly and firmly connected.
Heat Can Cause Computers to Crash
If a computer gets too hot, it will shut down. This is a safety mechanism designed to protect the hardware from damage. Without this, a CPU or memory module (or even the motherboard) could become irreparably damaged. Warping, softening, or melting solder, and even combustion can occur.
Preventing your desktop computer or laptop from crashing due to heat means keeping it dust-free. If you have pets, you should also be aware of the risks of animal hair. Both can clog up airflow (and fans) on your computer, and without a supply of cool air flowing through it, the PC will eventually crash.
Your PC Is Crashing Because of an HDD or SSD Problem
Another common cause of crashing PCs is a fault with the HDD or SSD. Whether you use a hard disk drive or solid-state drive, if these devices have a problem, your computer will likely crash. While there is BIOS-level software to avoid failure, this often results in the system shutting down to protect the drive.
With hard disk drives, the issue can be mechanical; with SSDs, physical damage is rare, but not impossible. Furthermore, power surges and other electrical issues, perhaps caused by an inadequate PSU (see below) or cabling and lead to faults on either.
Start by reseating the data and power cables to your SSD or HDD. If this doesn’t make any difference, replace the cables. Finally, if the computer still keeps crashing, replace the hard drive or SSD with a newer model.
You’re Using Old Hardware With New Software
Perhaps you’ve connected an old USB stick; maybe the printer hails from the last century. You might even be relying on a creaky old graphics card to play the latest games.
In most cases, the software will fail to load, but in some scenarios, your entire computer may crash. Each time you try the game with different settings, the system crashes. The answer here is straightforward: upgrade your hardware to play the latest games.
Damaged Hardware Can Cause Computers to Crash
The same can be said for damaged hardware. You might even have a device that appears to work, and even lights up when connected, but has developed a hardware fault that prevents proper functionality. The result: a device that fails. This in turn can force your PC to crash, simply to protect itself.
Working out what the problem is can be tricky and is often a process of elimination. Start with the hardware you added most recently, and remove it from the equation until you have a computer that no longer randomly crashes.
Malware Can Make Your PC Keep Crashing Again and Again
One key reason behind a PC that keeps crashing is a corrupted operating system, afflicted with malware. It doesn’t matter if you use Windows, macOS, or Linux; malware can affect either operating system (although Windows is more likely). Fortunately, anti-malware solutions exist for all operating systems, so take the time to find and remove the malware.
Wi-Fi Issues Can Make Your PC Crash
Incredibly, a poor wireless network connection can result in PCs crashing and restarting.
Typically, this is due to driver issues, but fixing is difficult as you can’t update drivers without a network connection. As such, you have two options:
- Connect to the router using an Ethernet cable (if your laptop has no Ethernet port, consider a USB to Ethernet adapter or docking station).
- Connect to a different Wi-Fi network.
If your computer’s wireless network card is unsuitable for the network broadcast by the router (for example, a 2.4Ghz-equipped network card attempting to join a 5Ghz network), it shouldn’t connect to it. This doesn’t mean, however, that it won’t attempt to connect. Low-budget wireless network card drivers can result in PC crashes.
Gaming PC Crashing? Check the GPU
Graphics Processing Units (GPUs, better known as graphics cards) can cause PCs to crash without warning. Over the years, GPUs have become bigger, more powerful, and increased their resource footprint. When they used a single port on the motherboard, latterly GPUs have taken up multiple slots.
Additionally, they may have their own dedicated power cable from the PSU.
GPUs have a few issues that can cause crashes. These are found elsewhere in this list, which is unsurprising as they’re essentially single-purpose mini-computers.
- The GPU is too old (see above)
- Inadequate drivers
- Massive power draw (see below)
- Incorrect placement or seating
You can, of course, update device drivers. Ensuring a graphics card is correctly seated is a little different to checking cables and RAM modules simply because there is more to check. You need to ensure the card is correctly mounted in the slots and screwed in place.
Simple Ways to Fix Computer Keeps Crashing Problem
Cool the Computer
The motherboard, CPU overheating, and poor heat dissipation will cause a crash. The monitor, power supply, and CPU generate a lot of heat during work, so it is very important to maintain good ventilation. If the monitor is overheated, it will cause color and image distortion and even shorten the life of the monitor.
The heat dissipation of the CPU is an important issue related to the stability of the computer’s operation. It is recommended to open one side panel of the case when using the computer in summer to increase the heat dissipation effect. If it is a laptop, it is recommended to use a cooling fan or a cooling pad.
Clean the Dust
After a long period of use, your computer and laptop hardware can get very dusty. This dust will seriously affect the heat dissipation of the computer. This leads to a decrease in computer performance. For example, if the floppy drive head or the optical drive laser head is contaminated with too much dust, it will cause read and write errors, or even cause the computer to crash. So, you need to regularly dust off the hardware in your computer.
Check the Hardware Connection
Vibration during the movement of the computer often causes the internal hardware to loosen, such as loosening the memory bar, resulting in poor contact and causing the computer to crash. Therefore, severe vibration should be avoided when moving the computer.
Replace or Upgrade Hard Disk
If the damage is serious with lots of bad sectors, you can only replace the hard disk. In addition, even if your hard drive is good, but the rest space is too small, the computer will crash during use. You will also need to upgrade your small disk to a larger one. If you want to switch to another disk, the easiest way is to clone the disk.
Upgrade RAM
The computer uses RAM (random access memory) to handle tasks, such as playing games, editing photos, and more. If you don’t have enough RAM to support the programs you are running, your computer may freeze. You can upgrade your RAM and encounter avoid computer crashes.
Extend C Drive
If the free space in the system partition is too small, the computer will crash at run time. To solve this problem, you can extend your C drive to speed up your computer.
Install or Upgrade Antivirus Software
A virus, malware, or malicious software could cause your computer to crash. You can install reliable security software like Avast, AVG, Avira, Kaspersky, etc. to guard against it. Also, make sure your antivirus software is running regularly and up to date.
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