Windows OS runs in more than 90 percent of PCs across the world. It is developed and produced by Microsoft Corporation to run PCs and is the most popular OS, dominating the most market share. The Windows OS is extremely a good operating systems capable of managing system resources, multitasking and much more. Microsoft boasts various versions including Windows 7, 8,8.1 and 10 and has really paved way with its Operating Systems for the computing world. This OS’s great features such as compatibility and lower hardware requirements have made it hail. However, despite all the good things about Windows, there is no software that comes without glitches, some few bugs here and there, and other assorted compatibility problems.
There are several issues that riddle this system that we are going to look at in this roundup and outline how to fix them, before deciding to look further for expert help.
Common Windows problems and solutions
1. Windows stuck in a Restart loop
Your Windows PC at times might get stuck in a restart loop or just continuously reboot without ever stopping resulting to a PC that can never boot completely. This is an issue that has been reported in the previously released Windows OS including windows 7, 8 and 10. The endless reboot loop is very nerve wracking. This issue is caused by several factors such as windows update going wrong, a malicious software, a device driver, a bad system component or hardware issues.
Several solutions to windows stuck in a restart loop
- You can solve this issue by disabling the auto reboot option since by default the automatic reboot on crash function is normally enabled. Disabling it will help you troubleshoot on the issues affecting your PC through analyzing the actual crash screen and noting any crash messages on this screen. These messages help you determine what went wrong and why
- Restart loop can also be tackled by starting your PC in Safe Mode to trouble shoot and diagnose the crash information on the crash screen. Safe Mode is also handy in determining if the issue is revolving around a device driver, windows update or even a malicious application. After booting in this mode you can check on the device drivers and even try a fresh windows update. In addition, try and uninstall any application that you might have installed previously, which you think might be causing the restart loop.
- If nothing works, attempt a fresh install of your Windows OS which will reinitialize everything including windows and user settings and get rid of all the bad drivers and any malicious applications that might be causing an endless restart loop
- Hardware swapping may also be another fix to this issue. At times your device might get stuck in a restart loop if the hardware is having problems.
- In windows 10, update issues are usually the main cause of the restart loop due to buggy updates. However, Microsoft provides an update to correct this issue and can be solved by opening settings > update and security > windows update.
2. Windows blue screen of death
A Blue Screen of Death indicates a very serious error with your device. It just pops up in an unwelcome way when Windows encounter a critical error. Incase this occurs users are prone to losing important data since regular apps don’t normally have a chance to save their open data. This issue was more common during the early days of Windows as it was more buggy back then. Several reasons why a blue screen could occur include.
- Crashing of a low-level software or drivers
- Drivers updates going wrong
- A faulty hardware
- A virus attack on your system
Blue Screen of Death normally appears differently depending on the version of windows you are running. In Windows 7 the screen appeared complicated with lots of information but in Windows 8 and 10 it’s a bit simpler
How to fix the Blue Screen of Death issue through several ways
- You can solve the Blue Screen of Death issue by doing a system restore which will help undo any recent driver changes or even registry errors that might have occurred previously.
- Another solution is rolling back the device driver that you might have attempted to update recently before the problem occurred to revert it back the version that was working well with your PC.
- You can attempt solving this problem also by updating your device drivers since as time goes by some drivers become incompatible with the regular OS updates which could cause the computer drivers to crashes more frequently.
- Start your PC in Safe Mode and troubleshoot any problem from the blue screen details and scan your device for viruses since some viruses are known to cause the Blue Screen of Death.
- If none of the above works, then try replacing some of the hardware components such as memory or reinstall your Windows OS
3. Windows freezes or stops responding
Your windows PC may at times stop responding and freeze. A frozen desktop, a cursor that won’t move, an application not responding or you just get stuck on a certain action that you want to do with your PC are some of the scenarios that characterizes this issue. It is normally very inconveniencing and aggravating and people search everywhere on how to fix this issue.
The several potential causes of the random freezes and unresponsiveness on your PC may include
- Software related issue
- Running too many programs at the same time
- A malicious software or a virus attack
- Memory issues
- Driver related issues
- Hardware failure
Solutions to windows freezing or stopping to respond
- The best solution is to give the computer some time to process, since it might be handling a complex task that could taking most of its CPU and RAM which are essential components in the efficient running of your computer
- If giving it more time does work, then force end the task or program that is not responding by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del to open the Task Manager. After the Task Manager opens highlight the non-responding program or process and choose “End Task” which should unfreeze the computer immediately ones it closes.
- The other solution is rebooting your PC by pressing down on the power button until the computer turns off. After some few seconds then turn it back on and wait for it to boot normally.
- If after rebooting the computer still freezes then you can reboot your PC in Safe Mode and uninstall any driver that might be causing your computer to freeze or any malicious software that you have ran in the recent past and think it’s causing the computer to freeze.
- Determine if there is a defective piece of hardware that might be causing your device to freeze and replace it immediately and also check on your PCs memory such as RAM to know if it needs upgrading.
- When none of the above solutions work then consider doing a clean install of the Windows OS
4. Less free storage than before after a windows upgrade
Many users complain about a reduced storage after performing a Windows OS from a previous version. This happens because files from the previous Windows OS are still left in the system in a folder known as “Windows Old”. Windows allows this because they assume that users might not like the newly upgraded OS. Moreover, one may still be attached to the old OS system and may want to revert back to that previous system that they were used to. However, despite Microsoft having good intentions, this storing of old windows files takes up a huge chunk of disk space, ending up being an issue instead of a solution. The windows old folder is usually protected and one can’t delete it using the windows delete tool. All in all, if you would like to save up on space there is a solution to all this in all the operating system versions using the “Disk Clean-up” app.
Steps to deleting unnecessary files after windows upgrade
- Irrespective of the OS that you are using, either Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 0r 10 go to the start >search and type disk cleanup and after the search criteria a disk cleanup app shows
- Click it to launch
- From the Apps interface, select the drive that you have installed your OS which is usually C by default in many PCs.
- After selecting the drive click ok and the disk clean app will scan for the unnecessary files that you can delete and present them as a list.
- In the first option, the previous windows installation files are normally not listed so you will need to select cleanup system files on the bottom left.
- The disk cleanup then does another search and gives you another list now with all the necessary files to delete. From the list select all the unnecessary files taking up on your space including “Previous Windows installations”
- Click OK and a box asking you whether you are sure you want to permanently delete these files will pop up. Click delete files and that’s all. After the process is done you will have saved a sizeable amount of disk space.
Normally after doing this process, all the files are deleted permanently so it should only be done by those who have liked the new OS and would in no way like to restore the previous one.
In conclusion, there are thousands of problems your windows pc might encounter. The good news is that most of those problems are rare and the existing few have been documented. We have looked at the various common issue that you might encounter when using your windows pc and how you can solve them by yourself. However, if you try any of the above solutions and it fails to work don’t hesitate to visit an expert to have a deeper look at your PC.