Laptop keeps freezing up and runs very slow.

Hi Michael,

1. Do you receive any error codes or messages?

2. Do you remember making any software or hardware changes on the computer prior to the issue?

3. What is the make and model of the computer?

This issue may occur due to any recent software or hardware changes on the computer.

Let’s try the following steps and check.

You may check in Event viewer regarding what is causing the issue.

a. Press Windows Key + X on the desktop screen and select Event Viewer.

b. This will bring up the Event Viewer box. Click to open the event viewer.

c. In the left pane, expand out Windows Logs.

d. Click on Application log. Highlight the first event in the log and use your arrow keys to scroll down. Most of your event will be Information. You may see Yellow Warnings or Red Errors. If you see a red error, you can double click on it to bring it up and copy the contents to a document.

Method 1:

You may try to run “System Maintenance” troubleshooter to diagnose and fix the issue.

Follow these steps to run the troubleshooter.

a. Press “Windows key + W” from the keyboard.

b. Type “Troubleshooting” without quotes in the search box and hit Enter.

c. Select “View all” option from the left panel.

d. Select “System Maintenance” from the list and follow On-screen instructions.

Method 2:

You may also try running the Windows Updates and install all the available updates including the optional driver and firmware updates.

Windows Update: Frequently Asked Questions

You may also refer to the computer manufacturer website and try installing the Windows 8.1 version of device drivers and check.

Method 3:

Step 1:

Let’s try to boot in Safe mode and check.

Perform these steps to boot in Safe mode.
a. Press Windows Key + R to open Run.
b. Type msconfig and hit Enter.
c. Now click the boot tab.
d. Place a check mark on the Safe boot option.

e. Click apply and then ok. Restart the computer.

Note: You need to uncheck the Safe mode option by performing the above steps to boot in normal startup.

For further information, refer to the article:

Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode)

Step 2:

If you are not facing the issue in Safe mode, then you may perform a clean boot and check.

A clean boot helps to verify if any third party application services or startup item is causing this issue.

How to perform a clean boot in Windows

Note: After you have finished the troubleshooting, refer to the section “How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot” to boot the system in normal start up.

Hope the information helps. Let us know if you need further assistance with Windows related issues. We will be happy to help.