PC Issues -

Hi

Every now and again, anything that I try and open. i.e. My documents/my computer or any program wont open.
I click the start menu, click the icon - nothing.

There is no obvious issues in task manager or with the computer in general, just once a month-ish it won't let me open anything.

Does anyone know what I can do?

System is: Windows 7 Professional

 

Greetings, Breeza...

Couple of quick questions:

1. How do you solve the problem when the symptoms occur - do you have to Ctrl-Alt-Del and/or reboot, or does the problem just 'go away'?

2. Do you have the same symptoms when the machine is booted into Safe Mode?

 

Hi Cailban,

Normally I just hold down the power button on the tower untill it turns off, leave it for a couple of minutes then turn it on again.
I have never booted it up in safe mode.... Cause I dont know how to. (sorry)

Thank you for replying.

 

Good Evening Breeza,
Booting into safe Mode is simple, all you need to do is when your computer is restarting you press and hold the F8 key, that will take you to the "Windows Advanced Options Menu" when you are there, just use your arrow keys to select "Safe Mode".

 

Should I try and run my computer in safe mode and use running safe mode to see if the problem occurs. My concern is that it is time specific.
Sorry - I am bit lost.

 

Greetings again,
You could try it in safe Mode and see if the symptoms show themselves.

 

Thank you Spock.
Is there something I should be doing when it does occur or this something that I should be doing instead of turning it off at the tower? or a quick solution?

Thank you for you help

 

Hi...

If this is a "once a month-ish" kind of problem then it's going to be mighty hard to troubleshoot. When in Safe Mode (or better yet, Safe Mode w/Networking) put the machine through any stresses that you can think of and try to make it crash. If indeed you can cause something to stop working, then maybe that will give us some sort of path to follow.

The point of all this is, of course, to try to discover if the freezes are a Windows problem or if they are being caused by some other software, either programs or device drivers.

Another thing that comes to mind: quite often, random freezes are caused by heat. Try to make sure that any obvious vents or grills are clean and free of dust, any fans are operating normally, etc. If you feel confident enough to open your case (usually a couple of screws are all that are holding a side panel in place), then do so and try to determine if there is any dust buildup inside the machine.

 

Thanks Caliban.
I will give that ago and let you know

 

Ctrl+Alt+Del does not work to reboot normally? Hard power off should really be avoided if possible.

 

No, unfortunately. You press the keys and nothing happens.