Good afternoon friends. Today I decided to continue the previous article “Why does the computer hang?” and tell in more detail what to actually do when the computer freezes. If you have not read my last article, it is advisable to read it. Although some of my recommendations will be a repetition of the past. But I want to arrange them, as it were, so that it becomes clear to the user if the computer freezes, what should I do? From start to finish.

Computer freezes what to do action plan

Task Manager

The first step is to call the task manager. It is called by the hot key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del. Then select "Start Task Manager"

followed by "Applications" and view which applications are currently working for you.

If the inscription is visible above some program: “Not responding”, select this sentence and click “End task”. Also, carefully review all the programs that you have running and think about whether you need them to work at the moment or not?

If you don’t need them now in a working state, also select them and remove the task. Do not overload your operating system once again.

A little patience

But, for example, this combination of hot keys did not help you (that is, there are no changes, the mouse is in place), then I would advise you to be patient and wait a bit. Wait a few minutes. Sometimes it can take even half an hour until the computer solves its newly created problems and temporarily fixes the situation. After the hang has passed, follow step 1.

Restarting the computer

If you did not have the patience to wait, or the computer did not get out of the freezing state, in this case, you just need to restart the computer. You won't be able to do this through the Start button. Therefore, click on the hard reset button and boot the system again. After that, it is advisable to start the dispatcher and follow step 1. Maybe you have some program that is constantly loading and because of it there is a problem.

Recovery of bad sectors

It may be that the system will take a very long time to boot after a reboot. This means that there was some kind of failure in it. In this case, you must wait until it is fully loaded, and perform the function of recovering bad sectors of the system.

This action is performed thanks to the Chkdsk command. That is, you need to analyze the system disk for errors, then check and repair bad sectors. There is nothing to be afraid of, the computer will do everything for you. How exactly to carry out this analysis, I told in the article: "?".

Virus check

After eliminating errors in the system, you need to check your computer for viruses. Quite often, a computer freeze occurs directly precisely because of the effects of various pests. Turn on your favorite antivirus and scan. At the same time, you need to scan not only the C drive, but the entire computer.

So, you scanned, but the question is: “The computer freezes, what should I do?” remained relevant, i.e. hovering continued. Then let's continue.

Cleaning the registry

If you do not have any such program at the moment, it does not matter. You can clean the OS system method. You will learn about this from the article: Urgent Windows Cleanup". Pretty good method, can be used even when you have registry cleaners.

defragmentation

You need to defragment. We often install new programs on the computer and remove old ones. Such programs and applications are not installed evenly across hard disk partitions. They are scattered across its various sectors.

I advise, if you are a beginner, to study this article, but then still call the master and see everything in practice. In the future, you can easily reinstall the system yourself.

Service center

But lastly, if even after reinstalling the system you continue to have problems with the computer freezing, it is advisable for you to call the wizard or take the computer to a service center. There can be quite a few reasons why a computer hangs, from breakdowns of various PC components, to failures in the operating board, overheating of the hard drive and other problems.

Computer freezes video 15 solutions to problems

Now you can imagine if the computer freezes what to do? I have tried to explain the whole process to you in more detail. I hope your computer will work like a good Swiss watch! Good luck!

Friends, so that your computer freezes less, I suggest you install an SSD solid state drive on it, as I did. Buy it you can on aliexpress. Disks on the page from 120 to 960 GB, i.e., actually 1TB. Judging by the description, the disc is suitable for both Computers and (laptops).

From the screenshot you can see the volumes of the disks. If you need to install the system exactly, it is enough to purchase a disk with a capacity of 120 GB. If, however, as a full-fledged hard drive, then, at your discretion, from 480 to 960 GB. Why do I recommend installing Windows on a solid state hard drive? Your system will boot in seconds! If you purchase a 1TB disk, all your programs will fly!

Sincerely, Andrey Zimin 08/15/2015

Computer freezes? Complaining about how new PCs work? No wonder, because both the system and programs start instantly. However, over time, they begin to notice that the system is running slower and more intermittently. In the end, the computer generally freezes. There are a lot of reasons for this, but we have identified 9 common ones.

The computer freezes and slows down in the following cases.

The disease of the 21st century is viruses and trojans.

In addition to being a significant threat to system security, spyware and viruses can also seriously slow down your computer's performance and, in some cases, cause your computer to freeze. The first step in fighting such programs is to scan your system with the latest anti-spyware and anti-virus software.

These applications help you detect and remove malware on your computer. If software scanners do not help in killing spyware, try the following:

• Find suspicious processes and terminate them using the Windows Task Manager (Task Manager).

• Find suspicious processes and end them using the Computer Management console.

• Find suspicious processes, startup items and shut them down using the System Configuration utility (System Configuration, Msconfig.exe).

• Locate and remove registry entries associated with suspicious processes and startup items.

• Find and remove suspicious files.

• Install and use several programs to detect and remove spyware.

Note: If the above methods did not help, start Windows in Safe Mode and try again. The virus removal algorithm depends on the type of virus program.

PS: If my computer freezes, then the first thing I do is run an antivirus scan or look for updates for the antivirus program.

Modern processors generate a lot of heat. Therefore, their operation requires the presence of a cooling element, usually a cooler. Machines used for gaming and other CPU-intensive activities are often equipped with special water-cooled or coolant-based systems.

If the maximum permissible temperature of the processor is exceeded, the system starts to work slowly or intermittently and, as a result, computer freezes.

Modern motherboards have built-in processor temperature monitoring technology, reports of which can be viewed in the BIOS.
Stopping the fan on the CPU cooler can be caused by several reasons:

• A large amount of dust prevents the normal rotation of the fan.
• A fan motor failure has occurred.
• Due to the wear of the bearings, the fan began to "shake".

You can determine if there are problems with the cooler by listening and / or touching the computer. A fan with loose bearings starts to shake and causes the case to shake. At the same time, a characteristic noise is produced, if you listen well.

However, even experienced users often do not pay attention to such noise. But as time passes, the sounds and tremors become too noticeable, and the only solution that comes to the user's mind is to replace the cooler.
However, fan replacement is not always necessary. If it is dust, it is enough to remove it with a pressure of compressed air. But keep in mind that even if you manage to start the fan again, under excessive load, its life will be rapidly reduced.

Therefore, in case the cooler fails, it is advisable to buy another one in reserve.
There are many utilities for monitoring the temperature of the processor and its case that will help you avoid freezing your computer.

The computer freezes due to a malfunction in the RAM.

RAM problems can cause your computer to freeze due to:

RAM processes synchronize more slowly than expected.
The RAM module has minor defects that can only be detected during a full test.
The RAM module has overheated.

During the reign of FRM RAM, buying RAM was pretty straightforward. It was enough to know what speed the motherboard can support and the maximum memory size for each slot.

These days there are different types of RAM running at different speeds. Advanced motherboards support memory at sub-maximum speeds.

For example, some boards support ECC RAM, but can work with other types of memory, or can support both PC2700 and PC3200 DIMMs. Please note that in this case, you may have to change the settings of the corresponding BIOS parameters, and performance may also decrease.

Small defects in RAM modules can lead to unstable and slow system operation. Cheap chips often have flaws that cause crashes and occasional blue screens.

Despite the fact that the built-in mechanisms are able to ensure the duration of the system, the defects of the RAM modules inevitably result in a decrease in performance and in some cases lead to a computer freeze.
Previously, there was no problem of overheating RAM chips, since they did not generate a lot of heat, but this has changed with the advent of new types of memory, in particular SDRAM. To check if the chip has overheated, turn off the PC, open the computer's system unit, unplug the power cord and touch the plastic on the chip.

If it turns out to be too hot, you should purchase a separate cooler to blow the memory module. If there is no slot for such a cooler on the motherboard, you can use a cooler card (fan card) inserted into the PCI slot.

You can also buy "heat sinks" - special cooling kits for RAM modules (RAM heatsink), which improve heat dissipation and reduce the risk of overheating.
Note: some motherboards allow you to mix speeds, but by default they run on the slowest of the installed memory modules.

There are several signs of the imminent death of a hard drive, depending on the type of malfunction (mechanical, electronic, logical or software and hardware), it can be:

• Slow disk access speed.
• Increasing number of bad sectors when running scan and check disk utilities (scandisk/chkdsk).

• Unexplained blue screens.

• Intermittent crashes during the download process.

Finding problems with a hard drive can sometimes be difficult, because their early symptoms may not be too noticeable. Experienced professionals will recognize them by the change in the sound of disk rotation (clicks, crackles or high-frequency squeaks are heard). Further damage to the hard drive can lead to system failure.

The write process is very slow, as it takes time for the system to find intact blocks (this happens if the disk has a reliable file system such as NTFS, disks with other file systems are more likely to have a blue screen).

You may see a "Windows delayed write failure" message on Windows computers.
If the system is running slower than usual, run a scan or check disk utility (scandisk or chkdsk), depending on the platform installed on your computer.

The detection of a damaged sector in the place where the good sector was previously located indicates a problem in the hard drive. Make a backup copy of the contents of the disk and get ready to send it to the forefathers.

It is better to buy a spare hard drive in advance and replace it after the first drive fails or immediately after the first signs of malfunction are detected.
Disk noise and disk check/scan reports are the best indicators of hard drive problems leading to system damage.

One of the often overlooked causes of slow system performance is incorrect BIOS settings. Most users leave untouched the settings predefined by the developers.

However, if the BIOS settings do not match the optimal configuration for the machine, the system starts to run much slower. You can improve the performance of your computer by identifying the optimal BIOS values, which may differ from the factory settings.
There is no central database of optimal BIOS settings, but you can find them by searching for "name of BIOS motherboard". Another way to increase computer performance is to "flash" the BIOS.

To do this, you will need to obtain the appropriate software and instructions (they can be provided by the manufacturer of the motherboard).

Let's assume that the newly purchased UDMA-100 drive is no faster than the rest of the installed hard drives. Performance test reports for all drives give identical results. What's the matter?
It is possible that the motherboard does not support additional UDMA 100 features. See the documentation for what type of IDE interface it can work with.

If the motherboard only supports UDMA 33 or 66, then the performance of the UDMA 100 drive will be reduced to ensure compatibility. You can solve this problem by buying an expansion card for this hard drive.
Another reason could be the type of cable being used. UDMA 66 and later drives require a different type of cable to work. They may simply not start with an outdated type of cable.

Old wires fail over time, especially if they are folded too tightly and the temperature inside the case is constantly high. It is useful to replace the cable from time to time and see if performance improves.
You should also take into account the fact that every 12-18 months there are fundamental changes in the development of hard drives, contributing to a sharp increase in their capacity and speed.

Therefore, replacing old hard drives, even if they are fully functional, improves computer performance. The new Serial ATA (SATA) drives are much faster than the older Parallel ATA drives.

Most Windows services are enabled by default. Many of them are not necessary for the normal operation of the system. You should find out which services are running on your Windows XP/Windows 2000 PC and disable those that are not needed.

To determine which services are running, open the Services applet from the Administrative Tools menu. To do this, click on the My Computer icon and select Manage from the context menu.

The information presented in the Services console has among other parameters: Name (Name), Status (Status) and Startup Type (Startup Type). More detailed information on a particular service can be obtained by double-clicking on the corresponding list item to open the service's properties window.

You can stop the service by clicking the Stop Service button. If you are sure that the service is not needed, in its properties window, open the list of values ​​for the Startup Type option and select Disabled. If unsure, select Manual. In this case, you can start the service yourself when you need it.

The list of running services is also displayed in the msconfig utility window. Open the Run dialog box and type msconfig in the text box. The Essential column lists services that Microsoft considers essential to the operation of the computer.

However, not all required services are displayed in the System Configuration utility window. To stop the service from starting at system startup, uncheck the box to the left of it.

Windows 2000/Windows XP systems are known to be slowed down by the Indexing Service. It logs the contents of each disk in order to provide a faster corresponding system utility (Search). If you don't host a site that needs this service, disable it.

Runaway processes require all the CPU cycles to execute. Common causes are incorrectly spelled drive letters and outdated software installed on the new operating system.

You can determine the presence of such processes by looking in the Task Manager list. Processes that use almost 100% CPU cycles are most likely out of control.

There is an exception. On a well-performing system, the System Idle process will often take up most of the CPU cycles. Any other processes that consume 98% of the CPU cycles are out of control.

If such a process is found, right-click on it and select End Process. Rogue system services can be stopped using the Services console. If the console does not help, try rebooting the system.

You can use the following software to manage Windows processes:
ProcessScanner 1.1 - System Process Scanner
Process Explorer for Windows 11.04
PC Wizard 2008.1.84 - complete information about the system.

Due to the constant addition, deletion and replacement of files, their contents can be divided between sectors from different areas of the disk. This process is called fragmentation. Older operating systems, such as Windows NT, did not come with built-in defragmentation utilities.

If such a system is installed on your PC, use a third-party program, such as Background Optimizer.

Fragmentation of a hard disk can significantly affect the speed of the system, because the heads of the hard drive have to constantly move back and forth in search of scattered file fragments.

A common reason for this is disk fullness, so to minimize fragmentation and improve performance of the defragmentation utility, it is advisable to always keep 20-25% free space. If the disk is full, delete some files and restart the defragmenter.

Windows XP provides a command-line utility called defrag.exe to schedule defragmentation. In Windows 2000, the AutoDefrag program.

My name is Sergey and today we will solve problems that cause the computer to freeze. I have already written a lot of materials on this topic, and also recorded several videos. And as practice shows, the topic is very relevant. People often freeze their computer or laptop, and they do not know what to do about it.

I decided to collect all my work and feedback from people who have solved problems with their computers, and describe them in this lesson. And before I forget, I want to say right away that all the tips described below must be applied comprehensively. Of course, not all 15 tips should be worked out at the same time, but at least 10 of them need to be applied.

Reboot

If your computer just started to freeze, and you can’t do anything, because even the mouse doesn’t move, then the right step is to simply restart your computer or laptop. On the computer, you need to click Start - Shutdown - To restart a computer or if the mouse does not move, then find the small Reset button on the system unit and hold it down for 1 second. On the laptop, you need to hold down the Power button for 2-3 seconds and it will turn off, pressing it again will turn it on.

Registry

Of course, if your computer slows down, slows down, takes a long time to load, freezes, and the like, then the first thing you need to do is analyze the registry and clean it of garbage. To do this, use any program, for example, CCleaner.

In the program, you need to go to the Registry tab, then search for problems and Fix them.

It would seem that such a simple procedure and why clean the registry at all? As practice shows, if the computer has not been cleaned for a long time, then such a procedure gives a small increase in performance.

Overheat

Overheating of components is a very common reason why a computer restarts or freezes. In this video, of course, we will not clean the computer from dust and lubricate the processor with thermal paste. You must do all this yourself, or if you don’t know how, then learn or, in extreme cases, take the system unit to a specialist.

But before you worry that your computer freezes due to overheating, you need to know its temperature. AIDA64 is one of those programs that I constantly use to monitor the heating of components.

Open the Computer section and the Sensors tab in the program. In the Temperatures section, you can look at how hot the motherboard, processor (CPU), video card and hard drives get.

HDD

Another common reason why a computer freezes is bad sectors on the hard drive. I often write that they say Sergey, I optimized the system to the maximum, checked that the computer did not overheat and so on, but still the computer is dumb. For example, it happens that you just right-click on a folder to delete it or rename it, and then a freeze occurs. The context menu appears only after 5-10 seconds. Why is this happening?

I immediately advise you to check the hard drive. You need to install the CrystalDiskInfo program and see the status of the hard drives.

If you see an alarm condition, then you should think about it. Most likely the computer is dumb because of this. In this case, you need to understand that the hard drive will need to be replaced soon, because a drive with bad sectors can fail at any time.

Depending on the type of errors, you can correct the situation by completely formatting the disk ( of course, all important files will need to be saved to another disk or flash drive). After completely formatting the disk and repartitioning, you will need to reinstall Windows and see if the situation with the disk has improved for the better, that is, in a Good state.

defragmentation

If the CrystalDiskInfo program shows that everything is in order with the disk, then this is good. In this case, he may at least need Defragmentation. This procedure is needed to speed up access to files and programs.

Use the Defraggler program to defragment your disk. First, click on the disk to perform Analysis.

And then, if more than 15% fragmented, already perform a full Defragmentation (this can take a lot of time, it's better to leave the computer on all night).

Autoload

If, as it works, it slows down a lot, then cleaning the Startup will be no less important.

Understand that all programs that are running use computer resources. And the more of these programs, the less opportunities remain for the stable operation of the system. Naturally, this mainly applies to computers and laptops that have little RAM, that is, 2 GB or less and a weak processor.

All in the same CCleaner program, open the section. Go through the list of all these programs and disable the ones you don't need.

After restarting the computer, the disabled programs will no longer automatically start.

RAM

As for RAM, now in 2017 you need at least 4 GB, and preferably 8. Well, if with a margin for the next 2 years, then all 16. But if you only have 2 gigabytes of RAM, and I know that on many laptops this is exactly the story, and there is no way to buy another 2 GB bar, then increasing the paging file can be a small salvation.

Go to Computer Properties and open .

On the Advanced tab, in the Performance section, click Options.

Open the Advanced tab again and click the Change button.

Set up your swap file here. You can follow the given example. Only specify the size of the paging file that is recommended by your system.

But here, of course, everything is within reason. If you already have 8 GB of RAM, then adding 8 more is not correct. It is better to put from 2 to 3 gigabytes, and then just in case, because 8 gigabytes of RAM is enough for almost all everyday tasks of an ordinary user.

Dirt, garbage and rubbish

Clean computer- this is the key to a beautiful computer! This is what I came up with. Nevertheless, when the computer freezes, during unstable operation, cleaning the system from various trash and debris is also a necessary procedure.

First of all, go to the Properties of the system drive (usually drive C). And run the Disk Cleanup utility.

After the analysis, check all the boxes and remove unnecessary tails.

The second step is to clear the TEMP temporary folders. Find the first one in the following path section Computer - disk (C:) - folder Windows - folder TEMP.

Do not delete the TEMP folder itself, but the contents can be safely deleted.

Open the second folder using the Run program. Press WIN+R on your keyboard and type %TEMP% .

Delete the content in the same way.

Space on the system drive

Windows may perform poorly if less than 5% of the memory is left on the system drive. And if the previous paragraph did not help clear enough memory, then you need to move on to more advanced methods. I talked about them in other lessons, links will be below.

Viruses

Undoubtedly, due to viruses, the system can become unstable. Download the latest version of the same Dr.Web CureIt antivirus and check your computer for malware.

Visual effects

So that the system does not eat up the precious resources of our iron, we need to disable visual effects. Go to Properties section Computer, then Additional system settings and the Options button in performance.

Here we need to turn on the Special Effects mode and manually turn off everything that is unnecessary and plays little role.

There is no point in explaining each point. Better turn it off, save and see how it goes. If you don't like it, turn it back on.

Installing an SSD drive

Installing a solid-state SSD drive can be a good boost to improve computer performance. Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to take and upgrade their PC or laptop by purchasing new components. But if there is an opportunity, then you definitely need to acquire 120 gigabyte SSD drive and install Windows 10 or 7 on it.

Reinstalling Windows

In any case, you need to reinstall the system. The only difference is that earlier XP had to be changed every six months, and now Windows 7, 8 and 10 can not be reinstalled for 2-3 years (with proper use). But all the same, sooner or later the system becomes clogged with a huge amount of rubbish, a lot of errors appear in it and it just does not work stably. She needs to be changed!

Combining the previous point with this, you must first put a brand new SSD drive into your computer, and only then roll Windows 10 or 7 onto it!

Weak computer

If the computer is outdated, it needs to be updated. A normally working computer a few years ago can already work worse today: lag, freeze, slow down, freeze, act up, call it what you want. Such is the reality. Technology is outdated!

Your choice in the comments

What do you think, I will also ask you to take part in this article.
Just write in the comments how you once managed to save your computer or laptop from unstable work. Everyone has experienced this!

This lesson came to an end. I hope these tips will help you when your computer freezes, and it will start to work much faster.

Apply the acquired knowledge and there will be much less problems on your computer.

You were on the site, thank you for your attention and see you in new lessons!

A computer freeze can occur in different ways. The most critical situation is when a blue screen suddenly appears in front of the user instead of the usual desktop or program window. This situation occurs quite rarely, its causes may be incorrect operation of programs and drivers or hardware malfunction. Nothing can be done here, you will see a normal desktop only after restarting the computer. If the blue screen appears often enough, reinstall the OS. If the problem persists, run a full computer diagnostic using the diagnostic utilities.

Much more often, the user is faced with a situation where the computer stops responding to user actions. In such a situation, open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del) and try to determine which process caused the hang. This is usually one of the running programs in the Applications tab. Try to close it, after that the computer will be restored.

If the computer is, but you are not afraid of losing any important data, press Alt + F4. The currently open window, whether it is a window of a running program or an open disk, folder, etc., will be closed. If you work a lot with the Word text editor, set the settings to save every minute. This will allow you to save the results of your work in almost any situation.

In the event that you can open the Task Manager, but nothing else can be done, try restarting the desktop. In the Task Manager, in the "Processes" tab, select the explorer.exe process and stop it. Then select "File - New Task", type explorer.exe and press Enter.

If the computer is on boot, try booting into safe mode (F8 at startup, choose safe boot). If the computer boots normally, then some third-party service or program is causing the freeze. To solve the problem, open: "Start - Run" ("Search" in Windows 7), enter the msconfig command and press Enter.

Select the "Services" tab in the window that opens. Check the "Do not display Microsoft services" checkbox. Disable all remaining services by unchecking the boxes next to them, and restart the computer in normal mode. If there is no hangup, the problem lies in one of the disabled services. By running them one at a time, you can identify the one that causes the hang.

Sometimes there are situations when the computer does not freeze tightly, but starts to work very slowly. The processor is loaded at 100%. In this case, open the Task Manager and find out which process is loading the system, then stop it. Sometimes a rather weak computer freezes due to the operation of an antivirus program. Install a different, "lighter" antivirus program or upgrade your computer. For example, add RAM to it.

One of the common problems that a user may experience is that the computer freezes when working, playing games, loading, or installing Windows. However, it is not always easy to determine the reason for such behavior.

This article details why a computer or laptop freezes (the most common options) in relation to Windows 10, 8 and Windows 7 and what to do if you experience such a problem. Also on the site there is a separate article on one of the aspects of the problem: (suitable for Windows 10, 8 on relatively old PCs and laptops).

Most users know (because it's often said) that you can't install more than one antivirus on Windows (the pre-installed Windows Defender doesn't count). However, there are still cases when two (or even more) anti-virus products appear on the same system at once. If this is the case for you, then it is very possible that this is why your computer freezes.

Lack of space on the system disk partition

The next common situation when the computer starts to freeze is the lack of space on the C drive (or a small amount of it). If your system disk has 1-2 GB of free space, then very often this can lead to just such a computer operation, with freezes at various times.

Computer or laptop freezes after a while after turning on (and no longer responds)

If your computer always freezes for no reason after some time after being turned on and you need to turn it off or restart it to continue working (after which the problem repeats again after a short time), then the following options are possible causes of the problem.

First of all, it is overheating of computer components. Whether this is the reason can be checked using special programs for determining the temperature of the processor and video card, see for example:. One of the signs that this is precisely the problem is that the computer freezes during the game (moreover, in different games, and not in any one) or the execution of "heavy" programs.

If necessary, you should make sure that the ventilation holes of the computer are not blocked by anything, clean it from dust, and possibly replace the thermal paste.

The second option for a possible cause is problematic programs at startup (for example, incompatible with the current OS) or device drivers that cause freezes, which also happens. In this scenario, Windows Safe Mode and the subsequent removal of unnecessary (or recently appeared) programs from startup, checking device drivers, preferably installing chipset, network and video card drivers from the manufacturer's official websites, and not from the driver pack, can help.

One of the common cases related to the option just described is that the computer freezes when connected to the Internet. If this is exactly what happens to you, then I recommend starting by updating the network card or Wi-Fi adapter drivers (by updating I mean installing the official driver from the manufacturer, and not updating through the Windows Device Manager, where you will almost always see that the driver does not need update), and continue searching for malware on the computer, which can also cause a freeze at the very moment when access to the Internet appears.

Computer freezing due to hard drive problems

And the last common cause of the problem is the hard drive of a computer or laptop.

Typically, the symptoms are as follows:

• During operation, the computer may freeze tightly, and the mouse pointer usually continues to move, just nothing (programs, folders) opens. Sometimes after a certain period of time passes.
• When the hard drive freezes, it starts to make strange sounds (in this case, see).
• After some idle time (or work in one non-demanding program, like Word) and when you start another program, the computer freezes for a while, but after a few seconds it “dies” and everything works fine.

I’ll start with the last of the listed items - as a rule, this happens on laptops and does not indicate any problems with the computer or disk: it’s just that in your power options you have set “turn off disks” after a certain idle time to save energy (and idle time can be considered and operating time without accessing the HDD). Then, when the disk is needed (launching a program, opening something), it takes time for it to "spin up", for the user it may look like a freeze. This option is configured in the power plan settings if you want to change the behavior and disable sleep for the HDD.

But the first of the listed options is usually more difficult to diagnose and can be caused by a variety of factors:

• Damage to data on the hard drive or its physical failure - it's worth it or more powerful utilities such as Victoria, as well as see S.M.A.R.T information. disk.
• Hard drive power problems - freezes are possible due to a lack of HDD power due to a faulty computer power supply, a large number of consumers (you can try turning off some of the optional devices to check).
• Bad hard disk connection - check the connection of all cables (data and power) both from the motherboard side and from the HDD side, reconnect them.

Additional Information

If there were no problems with the computer before, and now it has begun to freeze, try to restore the sequence of your actions: perhaps you installed some new devices, programs, performed some actions to “clean up” the computer, or something else . It may be useful to roll back to a previously created Windows restore point, if any have survived.

If the problem is not solved - try to describe in detail in the comments how exactly the freeze occurs, what preceded it, on which device it happens and maybe I can help you.