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What to do when your computer gives you
the cold shoulder

by Erica Schaapveld

as your computer ever stopped working for no apparent reason? The frustration brought on by technological advancements can cause any sane person to yank the plug right out of the wall. Luckily, there's a better way. Learn what to do when your computer freezes, facts about different kinds of computer failure, the various ways to restart Macs and PCs, and how to prevent future freezes.

Types of computer failures

     The three main types of computer failures are system errors, freezing, and applications quitting. Simply put, Mac system errors warn you with the dreaded bomb Alert box. A system error occurs when there is a conflict between the operating system and one or more applications, like Microsoft Word or Internet Explorer. The next type of computer failure is freezing, also known as crashing or hanging. In this case, the computer locks up and the mouse and keyboard become useless accessories. Freezing exists both at the individual program level and on a system wide basis. An application suddenly quitting is the third type of computer failure and probably the most common. This means that only one program is effected rather than the whole system. All three types of computer failures are frustrating if you do not know what to do, but by following these steps you will learn how to properly unfreeze your computer.

How to restart a PC

fter any common computer failure follow these steps. Simultaneously hold down the Control key, the Alt key, and the Delete key. A dialogue box will ask you if you want to exit the current program. Click the Task List button. An End Task window appears and lists the programs you are currently running. Select the program you were in when your computer froze. For instance, if you were working with Microsoft Word, but went to check your e-mail in Netscape, and then the computer crashed, you would select Netscape in the End Task window. After selecting the correct program, hit the End Task button. Hopefully, the program will unlock at this point. You should then restart your computer by going to the Start menu and selecting Shut Down. In the Shut Down window, click the Restart button and OK, and the computer will reboot.

Attempt force quitting at the first detection of a frozen computer. It is most often used when applications suddenly quit. To perform this procedure hold both the Alt key and Apple key down while depressing the Escape key. A dialogue box will open and ask if you would like to force quit. Answer yes, and it should exit the program. While this seems to unfreeze your computer and return your sanity, it is still very important that you restart the computer.

How to restart a Macintosh

imultaneously hold down the Control key, and the Apple key while depressing the Power button. Newer versions of Macintoshes, like the IMac, G3, and G4, actually have a restart button. It is located on the side of the computer.

How to prevent future freezes

nowing how to restart a computer is crucial, but it is also important to know measures to take to prevent future freezes. The most useful steps are rebuilding your desktop, emptying your trash, deleting excess e-mails, and cleaning out temporary files and histories.

ebuilding your desktop sounds overwhelming but it is actually very easy. This procedure is only for Macs. By performing this housekeeping procedure, you refresh and reorganize the computer's memory so that the search time for retrievable items is reduced. Hold down both the Alt key and Apple key, and keep them depressed.

As these keys are held down, go to the Special menu at the top of the screen and select Restart from the drop down list.

Keep the Alt and Apple key depressed while the computer reboots. Only when the dialogue box appears asking if you want to rebuild the desktop can you let go of these two keys.

After releasing them select the OK button. This takes about five minutes and should be done monthly, or whenever you experience freezes or slow-downs.

Emptying the trash is something most users do not consider highly important, but in fact, only a small amount of disk space is set aside for its contents and when overloaded, this can greatly effect the performance of your computer. To empty your trash go to the Special menu and select Empty Trash. Try to remember to empty your trash each time you shut down the computer.

Cleaning out excess e-mails is again another overlooked matter. If your computer is acting sluggish, this could be the cause. Go to your e-mail account and delete all unwanted mail. Be sure to do this for every folder in your account like the inbox, sent items, and drafts. All folders should be relatively empty to optimize your computer's available memory.

Cleaning out temporary Internet files and histories may sound new to you, but it will improve the speed of your Internet connection. This can be done for both Netscape and Internet Explorer. In Netscape for Macs you must first open the program. Under the Edit menu select Preferences.

A Preferences window will appear.

On the left hand side of this menu make sure that Navigator is highlighted on this list. On the right hand side there is a Clear History button. Click it. There is also a Clear Location Bar that you should click. Some versions of Netscape may have an automatic setting of when visited links should expire. You can set this so that it automatically clears any links visited in the allotted number of days. There also may be an Expire Now button instead of a Clear History button. In any case, select the appropriate button and clear the histories. Next, double-click on the Advanced category on the left hand side. Choose the Cache subcategory.

When the Cache is highlighted on the left hand side, the right hand side should offer a Clear Memory Cache button and a Clear Disk Cache button. Click both of these and then click OK at the bottom of the dialogue box. Finally, exit Netscape.

or PCs use Internet Explorer. You do not need to open the program. Instead, click on the My Computer icon on your desktop. Next choose the Control Panel, and navigate to the Internet or Internet Options icon.

Click it. Next go to Internet Properties and make sure that you are under the General tab. Once you are in the General area there is a button labeled Delete Files that you should click. Remember this merely deletes your temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer. After depressing this button select the Clear History button. Click OK and close both the Control Panel and My Computer menus.

The frustration that first occurred when your computer froze could have had a terrible consequence. If you had yanked the plug, you may have not only lost the unsaved items you had been working on, but you could also have corrupted many other files, and damaged your computer's hardware. Fortunately, now you know what computer failures are, how to unfreeze, and how to prevent future crashes.