Why Does My Computer Freeze, & What Can I Do About It?

So you are minding your own business, just doing some work or surfing the internet, and your computer just freezes up. It has been running slow for a while, but now it is really bad, and you ask "why does my computer freeze?" The answer lies within a part of the computer that is called the Windows registry.


At this point, you may be asking "what is the registry, and why does it cause my computer to freeze?" The registry is basically a catalog or reference source your computer uses. It is also referred to as a database.


When you try to open a program, like your word processor for example, your computer asks the registry to try to locate where the program is being stored. The registry has references to certain settings and values for the Windows operating system, as well as computer programs, user profiles, document types, property settings, hardware on the system, and the computer's ports. A lot of what comes into the computer and what goes out is logged in the Windows registry.


This still doesn't address the question of why does my computer freeze, but you will soon know the answer. As time goes by and you continue to use your computer, tons of registry files are stored, to the point where the registry gets too big, and must be cleaned up. Trying to do this on your own can be a recipe for disaster, and you should only do it if you have lots of knowledge of computers.