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A program can freeze (ignore all input and can't be closed) or crash (abnormally stop). Are the two things caused by different things?
I only know they are both basically caused by memory problems.
A "freeze" is usually just a program entering a busy state, an out of control loop, or some type of locking (thread or otherwise) that prevents the user interface from being updated, or responding.
This can be caused by a bug in the app, failure in communicating with other systems, etc, and can even happen when a program is behaving normally, but busy waiting for a response from hardware, another app, something on the web, etc. It may or may not have anything to do with memory.
A crash can be any number of different things, but generally refers to an unhandled internal error that causes the application to shut down. These can be caused by any number of things, and again may or may not be related to memory.
Windows 7 (and Vista I think) have a neat little tool to view reliability issues, just start typing reliabilty in the search bar on the start menu, you'll see a history of recorded issues.
What would cause the entire computer to totally freeze?
Hardware or software can cause a PC to freeze or crash. Typical troubleshooting steps:
1. What were you/the customer doing when the freeze/crash occurred?
2. Does it happen frequently? Is there any pattern (time of day, certain program, etc.)
3. Has any new hardware or software been installed recently? If so, have you tried removing it to see if that fixes the issue?
4. Try removing/disabling hardware such as network cards, wireless, printers, etc. One of them may be causing the issue.
5. If you got a blue screen of death, google the referenced file name or STOP error.
6. Check the reliability report or the system event log (compmgmt.msc, event viewer, windows logs)
7. Is the hard drive making loud noises? Clicking, grinding, banging, etc. are all signs of a bad drive. Some drive noise is normal but if you can hear it from several feet away then you probably have an issue.
Windows 7 (and Vista I think) have a neat little tool to view reliability issues, just start typing reliabilty in the search bar on the start menu, you'll see a history of recorded issues.
Thanks for that.
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