It’s almost inevitable: Someday you will
face a notebook failure. But take heart. Although it can be difficult to
pinpoint the cause of a failure, there are many common solutions that often
yield positive results. So the next time your notebook experiences a serious
error, remember these tips.
Blue Screen
The oftentimes cryptic message on a Windows
stop error, aka BSOD (blue screen of death), can make it difficult to determine
the origin of the problem. But the BSOD is actually the result of a Windows
safeguard, so you can consider it better news than when your computer suddenly
shuts down completely for no obvious reason.
When Windows detects a serious problem, it
will stop whatever it is doing (including whatever programs are running) to
protect itself and your computer from further damage. The visible result is the
blue screen. Windows typically displays a stop error when there is a hardware
issue or conflict with device drivers.
The
visible result is the blue screen.
Restart the notebook: Restarting your
notebook will often solve the issue. However, if a BSOD appears repeatedly,
write down the entire error message. Note as much information as possible,
particularly the stop error number itself (for example, “STOP: 0x0000007E”).
You can pass this information along to IT when you return to the office, or you
can use it yourself to identify the problem using Microsoft’s Help And Support
website (support.microsoft.com).
Spontaneous Reboot Or Shutdown
Your notebook may, without warning,
spontaneously reboot or shut down completely. Although there could be numerous
issues causing this, there are three common possibilities. Check for hardware
incompatibility. If you or your IT staff recently up graded the notebook’s
hardware, one or more components may be incompatible, causing the system to
shut down to avoid damage. To solve this, you can try removing or replacing a
newly in-stalled component to find out whether the shutdown still occurs.
Spontaneous
Reboot Or Shutdown
Remove airflow restrictions. If you do this
and find a component isn’t the cause, or if you are fairly certain the failure
is not hardware-related, check that the air intake fans are not impeded.
Blocked fans decrease the amount of cool airflow into your notebook. If the
computer gets too hot, it will shut down as a precautionary measure.
Scan for malware. Automatic reboots or
shutdowns can also be the result of a virus. If you have antivirus software
installed on your notebook, make sure it is up to date and then run a full scan
of the hard drive. If you don’t have an antivirus program installed, you can
search the Web for a highly rated free one.
Frozen Notebook
You’re undoubtedly familiar with this
scenario: Things are going fine with your notebook when suddenly you can’t
switch between multiple applications, a program hangs when you try to open it
and the mouse and keyboard may not respond. Freezes such as this are often the
result of memory overload. The memory in your computer has a certain capacity,
and if there are too many processes running simultaneously, your notebook may
freeze because it can’t keep up.
Freezes can also occur when a graphics
processor can’t keep up with intensive tasks. Even video streaming and online
games have been known to overwhelm a notebook’s graphics processing
capabilities, especially if the computer isn’t designed for intensive graphics
processing with a separate processor dedicated to that purpose. Malware can
also cause freezes.
Shut down a problematic program. If the
keyboard or mouse is responsive, start troubleshooting by pressing
Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Enter the Task Manager and end the program you believe may
have caused the freeze. Look for a program labeled “Not Responding” as a
possible culprit. In many cases the last program you attempted to open will
have caused the problem. In any event, only stop programs (not individual
processes) unless you understand the con-sequences. Stopping the problematic
application will often solve the problem.
Perform a cold shutdown. If the key-board
or mouse is not responsive, or if it is not possible to stop a problematic
program from running, perform a hard (aka cold) shutdown. Hold down the power
button for a few seconds until your notebook turns off. When you start up the
notebook again, chances are that everything will run smoothly.
Make sure software is up to date. If your
notebook freezes every time you open a specific program, then check that you
have installed all updates or patches that the program might need. Also,
opening an older version of a pro-gram can cause your notebook to freeze
because it may be incompatible with other programs or your OS.
Inability To Shut Down
The inability to turn off your note-book is
often caused by a software error rather than a hardware issue. A program may be
unable to close, and because it continues to run, Windows can’t close down
properly. Software (including OS) updates have been known to cause shutdown
problems, as well.
Update or repair the software. Open the
Task Manager and shut down un-responsive programs or any programs that are
running in the background. Then, one at a time, open whatever programs you shut
down and make sure there are no updates available. Also make sure that there
are no updates available for your Windows OS by
vis-itingwindowsupdate.microsoft.com.
Use the System Restore feature. To restore
your computer’s software to a previous state in which every-thing was working,
use the System Restore features. In Windows 7, click Start (the Windows button
in the bottom left of the screen), type system restore, and follow the
on-screen prompts to select a restore point from an earlier date.
