When your computer hangs and you are able to move mouse cursor, there are certain things which can be done to solve the issue and make your computer working again.
Most of the time when computer hangs, it might be possible that a particular process, application program is taking too much amount of RAM and CPU resources which makes the whole system unresponsive. Waiting for a few minutes (5-10 minutes) is the best solution in such situations.
When the problematic process completes the task and releases CPU resources, the system becomes responsive again.
1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc Keys Together to Launch Task Manager
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together on your keyboard. Its a keyboard shortcut (hotkey) to launch Task Manager. If you are lucky, Task Manager will open and now you can check which process is consuming highest CPU resources and RAM amount. You can select the culprit process and click on End Task button. It’ll kill the running process and you should get your working system back.
You can also restart Explorer using Task Manager which will fix the freezing problem. Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 allows users to restart Explorer using Task Manager.
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del Keys Together
If you are unable to open Task Manager, use the classic and always working keyboard shortcut i.e. Ctrl+Alt+Del. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys together and it’ll show CAD screen which allows users to log off (sign out), switch user and open Task Manager.
You can also use power options such as restart, shut down, hibernate, sleep from the CAD screen.
3. Press Win+Ctrl+Shift+B Keys Together
If the traditional Ctrl+Alt+Del method also doesn’t work, here is another keyboard shortcut which can be used when your computer hangs or freezes.
Press Windows logo key+Ctrl+Shift+B keys together. This hotkey will force Windows to refresh the screen by restarting the graphics card driver. You’ll hear a short beep sound and the computer screen will blink or dim for a second.
4. Close and Open Lid of Your Laptop
If your machine is a laptop, you can also try to close and then re-open the lid. Sometimes it also helps in fixing hanging and freezing issues in almost all Windows versions.
5. Kill ‘Em All
If nothing works, then it must be a bad day for you. Now it’s turn of the last method which always works.
Press the power button on your Desktop PC or laptop for a few seconds and it’ll power off the device. Please keep in mind that it’ll forcefully power off the device and you’ll lose all unsaved work.
Now you can switch on the machine again and everything will be back to normal. That’s the best solution if your computer hangs/freezes and nothing works.
