Why Does My HP Laptop Keep Freezing? (10 Ways to Fix)

If your HP laptop keeps freezing, you may be able to fix the problem by updating or reinstalling the Windows operating system. It’s also a good idea to check for viruses, update your drivers and check for overheating issues.

If you find that your HP laptop is freezing every now and then, you should make sure that it has the latest Windows updates installed. Sometimes this issue could be a driver issue.

If that doesn’t help, try to update your BIOS version. If the issue persists, you may have to restore your laptop to factory settings.

10 Reasons Why Your HP Laptop Keeps Freezing and How to Fix Them

Antivirus

This is the most common question asked by HP laptop users who are facing this freezing issue and it is very easy to fix the problem. You just need to update your antivirus software, anti-malware, as well as operating system.

These are the three main causes of freezing with laptops. So, you need to check these three things before anything else.

The first thing you need to do is update your antivirus software. You should keep it updated with the latest security patches.

You should also look for antivirus software that has real-time protection, meaning that it constantly monitors your system and protects it from new viruses and malware attacks in real-time.

If you’re using a Windows-based laptop, the most common cause of freezing is an antivirus program. Look in your programs list and uninstall any antivirus applications.

If that doesn’t work, reboot the machine and hold down the F8 key as it restarts to go into safe mode. You can usually do this by repeatedly tapping the F8 key just as the machine starts to boot up.

In safe mode, start up your browser and download a new antivirus program, then install it.

If your HP laptop’s internet connection is going off again and again you should also read HP Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Wifi Connection on Windows 10,7

Delete Unnecessary Files

Your HP laptop may be running more slowly than it did the first day you got it. Instead of buying a new one, try clearing out unnecessary files and programs to make room for the ones you use every day.

If your laptop is running slowly or freezing, it could be because of unnecessary files or programs that are taking up space.

If you are using an HP laptop and it keeps freezing, the problem could be in the hardware or the software. In most cases, it is a hardware problem.

Your laptop may be experiencing trouble due to a virus or spyware. When you use your laptop, temporary files are automatically created by some programs and they need to be deleted if your laptop freezes often.

It is important to run a scan on your laptop with an anti-virus program and make sure that your HP is running in optimal condition.

You can also defragment your hard drive regularly to make sure that all files are being stored efficiently. If none of these solutions work, try getting new hardware for your laptop.

Restart Your HP Laptop

Restarting your HP laptop can often resolve some problems without you having to call tech support. You’ll know when it’s time to restart when your laptop starts to run slowly or programs begin taking longer to open.

If you’re experiencing a problem that won’t go away, try restarting it before calling tech support. If the screen freezes, first check that the laptop is set at a low resolution.

Change this by right-clicking on any blank space on the desktop and choosing Properties from the menu.

Go to settings and select change, then choose a higher resolution from the drop-down menu. Restart your HP laptop and see if this fixes it.

Low RAM Storage

If your laptop is having issues, it might be due to low RAM storage. When you are opening multiple programs at once, your laptop will run out of RAM.

The solution for this is to increase the RAM storage by purchasing another memory stick or two.

Overheating

If your laptop freezes, it can be a sign of overheating. Overheating can prevent your laptop from booting properly or cause the operating system to crash.

Laptops run hot and can get hotter than desktops because they have less space for ventilation, so it’s important to keep them in a cool place and not block their vents.

If your laptop is freezing more often than you think it should, here are some things to try:

Make sure the vents aren’t blocked. Your laptop may have vents along the bottom and sides that are designed to release heat.
Don’t put your laptop on bedding or other soft surfaces (like a couch or pillow) that could block those vents.
Make sure there’s nothing blocking the fans in the back of the machine either (if your model has fans in the back).
If you use a stand, make sure it doesn’t block these vents or fans. Turn down your screen brightness and turn off any background programs.
If your screen is very bright, it will make your laptop work harder and generate more heat.
If you’re multitasking with many programs running in the background, they all take system resources away from whatever you’re doing at the time, which can cause the system to slow down or freeze up.

Too Many Apps Running in the Background

If you have been using Windows for a while then you know the importance of a task manager. It is one of the most important utilities that can help you troubleshoot if your HP laptop is responding slow or freezing.

But do you know what it means when there are too many background processes in the Windows task manager? If you are not aware of these processes, then it can be hard to troubleshoot a problem.

Background processes are programs that run in the background like anti-virus software, firewalls, and other security utilities. These programs are critical to protecting your laptop from hackers but they can also affect the performance of your laptop if there are too many of them running simultaneously.

There are a number of free utilities that can monitor the resources being used by these background processes such as Process Explorer and Resource Hacker, but my favorite is Sysinternals’ Process Explorer.

Replace Laptop Hardware

If your HP laptop freezes without fail or crashes a lot, it’s probably the hardware that’s causing the problem.

You can test whether this is the problem by disconnecting the power supply and removing the battery. Then try powering the laptop without these 2 items connected and see if it still freezes.

If it still freezes you will need to take it to a repair shop as soon as possible because there may be hardware problems with your system.

Defragmentation

Over time, your hard disk drive gets filled with data fragments. This happens to all of us and it is not something that you need to worry about.

The thing is, if you have too many fragments, or if there are too many small ones, your laptop might run a little bit slower than usual.

This is because the operating system has to process each file before it becomes usable, and with too many fragments this can become a problem.

If you are one of the people who experience this problem, here is what you can do:

Use a defragmentation tool to remove all files that do not belong to the operating system from your laptop’s hard disk.

You will see an immediate increase in performance and you will notice that your laptop uses less memory.

In addition, it will be safer as well because there are fewer files that can become infected by any viruses or spyware.

Reset or Format Your Laptop

Laptops can freeze for a variety of reasons and there are several methods that you can use to fix the issues. Regardless of what caused your laptop to freeze, there are easy steps that you can take to unfreeze your laptop.

A frozen laptop has no active programs or apps open, but it does require a minimum amount of power to keep the screen image from fading or going dark.

The easiest way to unfreeze your laptop is to unplug it completely, wait a few minutes and then plug it back in. Wait until the battery is fully charged and then turn on your laptop.

If this doesn’t work, try restarting your laptop by pressing and holding down the power button. If this doesn’t work, resetting your laptop may help.

Resetting your laptop will erase everything on it, so be sure that all of your files have been backed up prior to doing so.

To reset your laptop:

Shut down your laptop as normal.
Once it’s off, hold down the power button for at least 30 seconds while simultaneously pressing down on the F10 key (located near the top middle part of your keyboard).
Release both buttons after 30 seconds and then press the power button again for one second.
You should see a screen indicating that you’re starting the reset process.

Upgrading

Upgrading your laptop can be a stressful process, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The truth is, upgrading your laptop is easier than you think.

You can even do it yourself in just a few hours. You can upgrade your laptop’s memory, processor, graphics card, and hard drive, among other things. And you can get a lot more out of your laptop for less money than you might think.

Final Words

If your HP laptop keeps freezing, there are a few different things you can do to try and fix the problem. For all of the things you can try, you should probably start with the easiest ones first.

Try restarting your HP laptop to see if that helps. If it does, then you can try some of the other steps. If restarting your laptop doesn’t seem to help, then you may need to try something else.