You wake up one morning, get your cup of coffee and realize your computer has crashed. Why did it happen, what went wrong, it was absolutely fine till last night….and so on.

Unfortunately, once your computer crashes, there is not much you can do except wait for reboot or force a manual start. Most computer crashes are random, however there are some warning signs that we often tend to overlook. With a bit of deep dive and analysis, you can avoid a computer crash easily. Here are 10 signs that your computer is going to crash and things that you need to do to avoid it.

1. Hardware Conflicts

Sometimes, two elements in a PC consume the same resources or even do the same task. This leads to hardware conflict and this leads to unusual behavior while performing certain tasks on the computer. Like an audio conflict can disable audio in certain programs, but it may work fine on other programs. Not all conflicts cause crash, but some cause instability that leads to Blue Screen of Death or a reboot.

In most cases, you can check for a hardware conflict by opening Windows Device Manager. You can locate it in the Control Panel or through Windows Search. Any hardware with a conflict will appear with a yellow exclamation point next to it. Try to reinstall the drivers for the malfunctioning hardware, or you can also disable one part through Device Manager.

2. Random File Or Program Corruption Issues

Another problem that happens over time is random file and program corruption errors. Files that were working till yesterday suddenly refuse to open or only work on certain occasions. This situation may or may not be accompanied by an error message. There are many reasons that can trigger this problem. Here are some of the things that you can do.

• Check if your antivirus is running and is up to date
• Run a full system scan for malware
• A failing hard drive can also corrupt programs and lead to computer crash. So, check for errors
• Check for hardware conflicts in Windows Device Manager
• Check if a driver issue is causing all the trouble

3. Slow, Unreliable, Or Noisy Mechanical Hard Drive

Mechanical hard drives are also one of the reasons for computer crashes. Mechanical parts are bound to wear and tear and users should be prepared for some or the other kind of failure, sooner or later. If you find programs taking too long to open or the hard drive becoming louder while working, then it is possible your PC is headed towards a computer crash. Check for errors and back up your data.

4. Occasional Boot Errors

If for no good reason you are getting occasional boot errors, along with messages like ‘boot device not found’, then definitely something is wrong. Either there is some problem with your hard drive or your Windows installation has become corrupt. Replace the drive or even reinstalling Windows can fix the problem.

Another thing that you need to check is that you haven’t by mistake left an external hard drive or USB drive plugged in. Some computers try to boot from a USB device before the hard drive and that can also lead to problems.

5. Poor Performance

You have noticed that your computer performance is just not up to the mark any more. Whether it is launching different programs or watching YouTube videos or simply playing games, your PC is not supporting your activities. It is possible that you have overstuffed your computer and hence it is performing poorly. Cleaning your Windows may get rid of the problem. If the problem is still not fixed, you may have to reinstall the operating system.

Still not working? Perhaps it is the hardware that is the problem. Check with some heavy duty programs by switching them on or off. Once you have made your observation, you can decide on the hardware bit.

6. Poor internet connection

Yes, there can be many reasons for a poor internet connection right from ISP to router conflicts. It may mean that your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter is facing problems, or it is possible that a malware is eating away your bandwidth. One of the smart ways to handle this is to download a bandwidth meter and check how the home network is being used. If the bandwidth is being consumed when you are not using the internet, then it is possibly malware. If this is not the issue, then it can also be an adapter problem and replacing it should be the solution.

7. Video Artifacts

Video artifacts occur when there is an error in the data that generally appears, as a block of random color, strange lines or sometimes are even partially missing. In most cases, the problem is excessive heat and you may just have to open your computer and give it a good cleaning. If this doesn’t take care of the problem, then probably the GPU is out and you need to replace it.

You should also get a video card stability test done. This will help in identifying the main source of the problem.

8. An Extremely Loud System Fan

A computer fan that is louder than usual is a big symbol that your PC needs attention. The internals of your computer are too warm and this can lead to a computer crash or even hardware damage. You can use a PC monitoring tool like SpeedFan to investigate the problem and check the temperature of your CPU and GPU reporting.

If your system is getting hot, you can open up your desktop and clean out the fans with a can of compressed air. If you are on a laptop, then yes your options are limited, but you can still buy a cooling pad.

9. Software or Adware Launches Randomly

If there are software launching without your permission, then it is possible that it is a malware. Often these kind of programs will be linked to ads, but any Trojan can allow this kind of attack. You may also notice that certain hardware like the webcam may activate without your knowledge. At the end, this kind of tampering may lead to problems as your computer gets chocked with unwanted programs or the files get corrupted maliciously.

There are only two ways to get rid of this problem. Either you remove the malware or re-install Windows if you have a good backup of all your documents.

10. Windows Crashes

It is not necessary that your computer will crash only when you are working on it. It can happen when you left it on sleep mode or was left switched on overnight. If you find your PC has crashed the next time you plan to work on it, it is probably because of a driver or hardware issue. Check for hardware conflicts before the damage becomes irreparable.

If you do not find any conflicts, then try updating the drivers for your video card, sound card, motherboard and Wi-Fi or even Ethernet adapter. If you are still not able to figure out the problem, then do a trial and error by disabling certain components and check if the problem persists.

Conclusion

These are the 10 most common signs of a computer crash, but they are not the only ones. If you are still not able to figure out the problem, call iYogi on the toll free number. Our technicians have years of experience and can diagnose and fix hardware issues in no time.