Dealing with Lockups

DO IT:  As necessary.

If your computer “locks up” on you, you may want to take a look at your Task Manager.  Windows Task Manager is a cool tool that lets you see all the programs you currently have open, and determine if any of them are “Not Responding” – or causing your computer to lock up.  If you have one or more programs that are Not Responding, you have the opportunity in Task Manager to end them safely. 

TIP:  Use this method whenever possible.  Unless your operating system is extremely stable (something Windows isn’t really known for!), this is definitely the safest way deal with lock ups.  Don’t just turn your computer off and on again!  

Step 1:
You probably know that you can shutdown your computer by holding down the Control » Alt » Delete buttons twice in a row.   But, did you know that if you use Control » Alt » Delete just one time you will bring up the Windows Task Manager?  Try it now to see.  While holding down the Control key, press the Alt key and hold, then press Delete.

Step 2:
If you were having a problem right now, (and I hope you’re not!) one or more of the programs that appear in your Task Manager would have a status of “Not Responding”.  At that point, you would click on one program that is not responding and then hit End Task.  Repeat this for each not responding program.  It may a take a couple of minutes, but Windows will safely shut that program down. 

At this point, since you are probably not having trouble, you can close the Task Manager by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner.



NOTE:  This can sometimes be caused by running too many programs at once.  To avoid this problem in the future, try not to do too many things at once. 

NOTE:  If this problem continues, safely shut down and restart your computer.