Solved PC froze up and I could not do anything

I have a windows 11 Pro pc and this afternoon it suddenly froze up on me and I could do nothing at all. I couldn't even click to restart the pc and after multiple attempts at ctrl+alt+delete the screen popped up but I could not do anything there either. The only thing that was working was the mouse and keyboard for hitting ctrl+alt+delete. I waited awhile to see if the pc would start working again, but no such luck and I eventually had to unplug the unit to shut it down. I left it unplugged for a little while, then plugged it back in and turned it on. It did turn on but is moving extremely slowly and I had to click multiple times in order to get it to allow me to even log in. I then started to review and copy a couple files to a flash drive and the pc did the same thing again and I eventually had to unplug it (I would have waited about an hour to see if anything happened but a storm was moving in and I wanted to shut down the pc before that storm moved in.

Any ideas or suggestions on what happened or how to resolve it would be greatly appreciated. I can not let you know the windows version since I don't want to turn that pc on again to only have to unplug it in order to shut it down again. It is windows 11 pro and it is up to date. I am sure the version that is running must be windows 11 version 23H2 (OS Build 22631.5472) (got that information from a past post)

I did create a full backup with Haselo on Friday or Saturday so the backup isn't quite a week old. Just now sure if that is the way to go and if so would following the steps I found at How to use a Hasleo System Backup file to restore PC be the correct way to go and what if the pc freezes up before I can get to the step to restore the pc? I did follow the steps at antspants - Tips for using Hasleo Backup (Free) for the first time for creating my backups and create the Hasleo boot menu to the pc as well if that is of any help.

Thank You So Very Much for any suggestions and help.

Thanks, Ghot.

lnjr, sounds to me like you have no choice but to try. If your PC is that bad that you can’t even log in, and you know that last week when you made the backup, everything was fine, unless your motherboard is dying, or there is something wrong with your Ram etc, the restore should work.

lnjr said:

eventually had to unplug the unit to shut it down

Click to expand...

If you mean you literally unplugged the PC, don’t do that. Not a great way to shut down.
Instead Press and hold the button on the PC Case until it shuts down. (The button you press to start the PC)

A system restore operates in the boot environment, I personally think that should be fine.
First thing I would do though is just try to reboot into Windows normally. This could have been a one off hitch and you may find everything is OK once you log back in, if it isn’t, use the case power button. I couldn’t tell you how many times in my lifetime I have had to shut down using the case button.
But seriously, computers don’t like the power cable being pulled out from the wall.

If all that fails, restore your Hasleo image. But I have a lot of questions starting with did you follow the tutorial as I wrote it, meaning to you have Hasleo test the backup as guided?

• enable "Check the integrity of the backup image files on completion" (9)
• can choose from a "Quick Image check" or a "Complete image check" (10)

Regardless:

• Reboot first
• If that fails, reboot to the Hasleo rescue media and restore the image
• If the image is successful and you still have problems, then you most likely have hardware issues.

What is it you are likely to lose if you need to reinstall Windows as a last resort? Meaning personal stuff?

I was trying to shut down using the power button, but all that did was to shut down and immediately restart the pc which is why I eventually had to unplug it.
I do follow the steps as written for my backups and I always select to check the integrity of the backup and to do a complete image check. I also do a full backup instead of incremental.

I will try starting the pc again and see what happens, but I did try starting that geekom mini pc again after the storms past and it did boot up - took a very long time to do so which has never been the case since I started using it a few months ago and when I finally got to my desktop I wasn't able to do anything so again, I tried going to the regular shut down, but nothing would open to select the option to shut down, so I kept trying the power button but all that kept doing was to restart the pc

There are some files that are on there that I really don't want to have to start looking for again, but I am pretty sure that most of those are still also on my old windows 10 pc so that I can bring them over again, it is just the other downloads for software that I am not so sure will be as easy.

I did contact Geekom and they have suggested that I try running the Windows Memory Diagnostic (RAM Test) and then to check the storage drive health of the pc, if that doesn't help they suggested that I reset the SSD drive - disassemble the machine, remove the RAM & SSD; wipe the gold fingers with an eraser, put them back in, reassemble the pc and restart it to see if that helps. If that does not help, then reinstall windows and they gave me a link to get the download as well as steps to follow to do the install.

I am going to try starting the pc and see what happens, if all is well, I will be thrilled, but if not I will try running the RAM test, check the storage drive health, or just rebooting to the Hasleo rescue media - I did that boot menu option to the pc as well as creating the Emergency WinPE rescue media on a flash drive.
Will have to look up the information on how to reboot to the rescue media first.

If your computer is frozen, press and hold the power button on the PC for up to 15 seconds until it is dark and no fans are spinning. Wait a few seconds more and press the power button to start it again.
If the computer starts up again after pressing the power button when shutting down, you have not held it in long enough.

If you have a Hasleo backup, you can boot off of a Hasleo USB Flash drive, which you should have created. If you don't have one, on a working computer, you can create one.

Then Boot the computer with the Emergency Rescue Flash drive, which is a version of the Hasleo Backup suite that runs outside of Windows.
Here select Restore your image and choose the drive and folder that you saved your image to and restore that to your computer.

If you can boot into Windows, download DiskGenius and or Crystal Disk Info both available in my signature and View the SMART Info for the drive.
If it is any less than GOOD, the disk needs to be replaced.
If restoring the image fails the Disk that has Windows on it may be failing or failed. And it will need to be replaced.

The rules for my miniPC and the power button (and Windows 11 if it matters, but it shouldn't) are different from the rules of desktop PCs (that also have a reset button that my miniPC lacks).

In desktops, if I have given problems, I must choose between the reset button or shut down keeping the power button pressed (in all BIOSes I've seen that tell the time, it's 4 seconds, maybe it's like a standard). In my miniPC I just press it, I don't keep it pressed. This shuts down the miniPC.

The start button of my miniPC trips like 0.5 mm, does a "click" when pressed and returns (in theory). It's of bad quality or it has wear (or both). It's working better and with more "trip" when pressed by the right side instead of the center, let alone the left side (it's rectangular and symmetrical in theory). If the miniPC is plugged, it has either a red light (computer off) or a blue light (computer on).

One of these days I pressed it to turn it on, maybe by the center or the left, and it didn't return, possibly it got stuck. The miniPC booted up but it seemed "clumsy". I let it boot normally, I was lucky and I could shut down normally from the Start Menu. I unplugged it, I waited a bit (among other reasons b/c the lights stay some seconds after unplugged) and pressed the start button several times in several ways to fix or improve it and to learn its behaviour (in reviews of desktop cases or by expert users, the quality of the power button is a main matter).

Unplugging the miniPC might have been or not a non optimal action, but even if it was necessary (or even more in such case) there might by a "dirty bit". This indicates to Windows that there might be "bad contents" in the hard disk due to a non clean end of session, and it might have a delay in booting up while it's checking or correcting those "bad contents" (if possible). The user must have a bit of patience here, specially if the computer isn't a speed champion.

I trust a lot this mechanism and sometimes I even shut down with the power button when I still could try the Start Menu, if I fear that a (normally) random error could make some incorrect thing permanent. I do it hoping that the "dirty bit" fixes it if there's anything to fix.

lnjr said:

I am going to try starting the pc and see what happens, if all is well, I will be thrilled, but if not I will try running the RAM test, check the storage drive health, or just rebooting to the Hasleo rescue media - I did that boot menu option to the pc as well as creating the Emergency WinPE rescue media on a flash drive.
Will have to look up the information on how to reboot to the rescue media first.

Click to expand...

Post how you wen’t. Sorry that I was blatantly repeated in the thread, I’m on some ignore lists

I just now had the time to try starting the Geekom Mini PC and on startup I got a screen stating that it was "Preparing automatic repair" Then after a few seconds I got a screen saying Automatic Repair" and under that it gives 2options. One is to press "restart" to restart the pc which can sometimes fix the problem. You can aslo press "advanced options" to try other options to repair the pc.

I have not done anything yet since I am not sure which one to choose. Will wait to see if anyone here knows which button / option I should select.

Antspants - you most definitely are not on an ignore list for me


I do realize that unplugging the unit was not the best option, but it was the only way to completely shut this pc down since no matter how many times I tried or how long I held the power off button it would just keep restarting and leaving me in the exact same place with not being able to access anything and even hitting / pressing the ctrl+alt+delete combination would just bring me to a black screen with just a couple options and I couldn't select any of them - I couldd move my mouse over them but clicking on any of them did absolutely nothing

Thank You So Very Much

We started getting warnings about storms moving in so since I left the Geekom Mini PC on I came back to it and was going to try the option to Restart PC, but again, nothing would happen. I kept trying and even tried selecting the other option to select Advanced Options and nothing was happening. I didn't pay attention to where the mouse was pointed at but it must have been at the Advance Options when I clicked enter on the keyboard and that worked! That brought me to a screen to select start up repair which then brought me to the normal screen so I selected the normal windows 11 startup, entered my password and windows started as normal. I was still having issues with doing anything at all so I pressed the keys ctrl+alt+delete and that again brought me to the screen showing Lock Switch User Sign Out or Task Manager with the little power icon in the lower right of the screen. I could move the mouse from any of those but when I clicked on them, nothing happened. I decided to try pull out a really old wired mouse (probably close to 20 years old) and see what happened. I was able to use that mouse to select and click on the power button and selected to restart pc.
The pc started as usual and is running just fine. I think that my wireless mouse is going bad ---- grrrr....................
The wireless mouse will move the mouse icon around on the screen but when clicking on what I was pointing at nothing happens, but if I use the keyboard to hit enter that was working. I am using a logitech wireless keyboard and mouse and have never had any issues with either of these items until now. They use one unifying dongle to work both items so I know that it has to be something with the mouse since the keyboard is working just fine and the mouse works until I try to to use the one of the buttons - the scroll wheel works and does moving it around but the darn right and left buttons are not doing anything, So I am guessing that the mouse buttons have stopped working which is why I could not shut down or select anything else on the computer. I guess I will have to use this old wired mouse until I can get a new one.
All this trouble for a stupid mouse that is going bad.
Sorry for all the trouble and thanks for all the help, you have no idea how very much I appreciate it.
Lisa

I thought that the problem was resolved - but it is not Thing were working without any issues for about 2 hours and I just came back from the kitchen and I can't do anything again. Now I can not even see the mouse moving around on the screen and using Ctrl + Alt +Delete combination is doing nothin either. I also tried different usb ports as well as a wired mouse and nothing at all is happening. I was finally able to get it shut down with the power button. I had to press and hold it for quite a few seconds before the screen went black and the pc shut off. Now I am afraid to try starting it again or what to do once it starts. Should I just try turning it on and see if it works without issues or should I try using that flash drive I made and if so what do I do, or should I just select the 2nd option on startup (Windows PE [Hasleo backup suite] to try and fix this pc?

Maybe I should try the one option that Geekom suggested and disassemble the unit, remove the RAM and SSD - wipe the gold fingers with an eraser and put them back in and see if that helps?

Temperatures that are too high, can also make a PC freeze up.

Also, as mentioned by Geekom, removing the RAM and dusting out the RAM slots can help with black screens. And yes, you can gently clean the gold contacts with a pencil eraser.

I do realize that if the unit is overheating that it can make the unit freeze up, bit it was just running for a little over 2 hours when it froze up this time and I have used the pc for longer than that without issues. I do hear the fan running from time to time and the unit is most definitely not even warm to the touch. I did look at all the vents and there is no dust or debris in those holes and i keep at least 3 inches of clearance on all sides for ventilation, we do not have any pets either. Should I try starting it up again or maybe just disassemble the unit to make sure all is clear in there and wipe those fingers with and eraser? I forget what it is that I installed on that unit, but it was either CoreTemp or HWInfo on that computer as well.

lnjr said:

it was just running for a little over 2 hours when it froze up this time

Click to expand...

Let's say for sake of argument, that the CPU thermal paste dried up.
That could cause a freeze up in a few minutes.

MiniPCs also have overheating issues occasionally.
There's a lot of hardware in a teeny box, usually with passive cooling.

I guess that I will try disassembling the unit, checking for any dust and pull the ssd drive and ram (use that eraser) and then reassemble the unit. How would I know if the thermal paste dried up? The unit isn't even a year old.

If this laptop is less than 1 year old, since it was bought new, it is under warranty. You can send it back to the manufacturer for a free repair or replacement.

I did contact Geekom (it is a mini PC) and they did give me some steps to try - 1) was to make sure that there is plenty of ventilation 2) run windows memory diagnostics 3) check the storage drive health 4) disassemble the unit, remove ssd drive and ram, wipe gold fingers with an eraser and then reinstall them and put unit together and restart pc 5) reinstall windows and they did give me a link for how to do that as well as the link to actually get the download that I need.
My issue is that if the pc freezes up again while running the windows memory diagnostics and checking the storage drive health or does not start up again then I don't think that I can do either of those and I would much rather try restoring the pc with my 1 week old backup instead of having to reinstall the whole thing again if they are my only choices.

I think you taking it apart is going to void the warranty. They would only tell you that if it was past the warranty period.
But if it is still under warranty, I would demand an RMA and return it to the manufacturer.

Geekcom may just assemble the PC and put their name on the case. If they won't give you satisfaction, you may need to contact the Motherboard manufacturer.

This is why I am concerned about taking the unit apart. How would I find out who the motherboard manufacturer is to contact them? Maybe trying to use that Hasleo Backup that is just a week old will fix the issue? I am just not sure how to go about using that backup if I can't get to the start screen to select the option to select Windows PE (Hasleo Backup Suite). I did create the Emergency WinPE rescue Media on a usb flash drive, but not sure how to use it if that is the only way to use my backup.

May have to get offline since there are more storms moving in, so if I don't reply right away, I will as soon as the weather settles down again.

Demand an RMA from Geekom and tell them you need them to fix it or threaten them with a bad Yelp, Google etc review. If it is under warranty they should honor it.

Ghot said:

Temperatures that are too high, can also make a PC freeze up.

Also, as mentioned by Geekom, removing the RAM and dusting out the RAM slots can help with black screens. And yes, you can gently clean the gold contacts with a pencil eraser.

Click to expand...

I use an eraser on the gold contacts on the memory and I bought a toothbrush to clean the slots on the motherboard.