It only happens now and again (it happens with Chrome and IE) and I have to keep doing the CTRL-ALT-DEL thingy. If anyone has the answer please keep it simple - the only thing I usually know in extremis is unplug the power supply, leave it unplugged for about half a minute, then plug it back in again.
Do you install software from the internet? If so, sometimes other software piggybacks in and gets installed with it. Often it is some type of browser add-on which can conflict and freeze. Since you only lock up when running Chrome and IE internet browsers, then the trouble seems to be in that area (browser/software related), as opposed to hardware or operating system related. It would help to know some generalities like your type of processor, amount of ram, and which operating system you are running. For instance, an Athlon 2x4 3.0 GHZ processor, 8 Gigabytes of ram, and Windows 10 operating system. It would also help us to know what or how many items are starting up with your operating system. If you have windows 10, you can find this list by opening Task manager and clicking the "Startup" tab. Sometimes you can disable a lot of unneeded startup programs from there, which will speed up your computer. That's one route. You can also go into Chrome and disable plugins. Another simple fix to try is to simply uninstall Chrome and then reinstall it. But for starters, give the forum some info, like processor type/speed, how much ram, operating system, does it only happen when you open a browser, and so on.
It mostly happens with me using FF. I turned off the hardware accelerator which was allegedly the root of the problem and it only helped marginally. My problems started after a FF update though so I am sure it is browser related. I know it and some of my add-ons have been doing battle for awhile like by downloader stopped downloading because it was incompatible with FF after the update.
I said 'Keep it simple.' Joking, Injeun, but I don't even know what a plug-in is, never mind 'an Athlon 2x4 3.0 GHZ processor'. But my thanks to yourself and Deckel for replying: because I thought I wasn't going to get a reply my home-visit expert is coming at 9 this morning.
It turned out to be a mouse/transmitter failure. Handy hint: if at any time you suspect you have a mouse fault, unplug the mouse (transmitter) USB, then if everything works fine using the touchpad then it proves the fault is with the mouse. No need to thank me for that valuable advice.
Kind of weird. I have had the mouse go off the reservation many times, but never caused by browser or task bar to freeze up. Learn something new once a year.
I think he just described it wrong. And it had nothing to do with his browsers. It was simply either a usb port going bad on his laptop. Or his usb mouse is going bad. His keyboard and touch pad were working fine.The browsers just happened to be open at the time. If he had told us that when he moves his mouse, the little arrow doesn't move. We would have known it was the mouse. And told him to either plug it into a different usb port, or try a different mouse. Anyway, I'm just glad he or his expert got it working.
The Bleeping computer help forum usually gets me out of trouble with assorted problems- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
I find it hard to get my head around the fact that if something doesn't have any moving parts then it can't break down 'cos there's nothing to wear out?
Think I'd sooner just call in the experts and fork out £50 ph than spend half a day plowing thru that lot . . . only to find that there's an instant fix to every possibly problem known to mankind except the one I have? DOH!
Wait, you don't have to plough through anything at the Bleeping computer help forum, you just start a thread to post your question and the replies will usually start coming in. They've successfully answered well over half of my questions over the years..
Yep. I have had that happen to laser mouse that don't even have a ball. I guess something with their circuitry.
I'll admit that I only glanced at it but thought it was just like all the other forums for troubleshooting - with all the different problemos interspersed and the answers higgledy-piggledy as and when they came in. All's well that ends well - went to PC World this morning (just got back actually), plugged in the new mouse's USB (plug and play, isn't it amazing?), and I'm back in business. (did I really write 'plowed'? )
