If your computer freezes when you’re playing a game, it’s really frustrating. But don’t worry, this article gives you 7 methods to solve the problem, quickly and easily.
Try these methods
You don’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.
- Lower in-game settings
- Update your drivers
- Clear your temp files
- Run a memory check
- Adjust the size of your virtual memory
- Run System File Checker
- Check for viruses and malware
Method 1: Lower in-game settings
Some games have specific minimum system requirements for your system to be able to play them seamlessly. If your computer has met the minimum system requirements of the game, you can try lowering in-game settings and see if this helps unfreeze your computer. If not, try Method 2, below.
Method 2: Update your drivers
A missing or outdated device driver may also stop your game from running. You should update your device drivers, especially your graphics card and chipset drivers, and see if this is causing your game to freeze.
There are two ways to update your drivers: manually and automatically.
Update your drivers manually — You can update your driver manually by going to the hardware manufacturer’s website and searching for the latest driver. But if you take this approach, be sure to choose the driver that’s compatible with the exact model number of your hardware, and your version of Windows.
OR
Update your drivers automatically — If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your drivers manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.
- Download and install Driver Easy.
- Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
- Click Update next to any flagged devices to automatically download the correct version of their drivers, then you can install them manually. Or click Update All to automatically download and install them all automatically. (This requires the Pro version – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. You get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee.)
- Restart your computer and check if your game now works properly. If it doesn’t, contact Driver Easy’s support team at support@drivereasy.com for further assistance. They’d be happy to help you. Or you can move on to the next method.
Method 3: Clear your temp files
If your system doesn’t have enough space to store temp files, it may slow down or freeze. To see if this is the cause of your problem:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run box.
- Type temp and press Enter.
- Select all files in the Temp folder and delete them.
- Relaunch your game and check if your problem is resolved. If not, try Method 4, below.
Method 4: Run a memory check
A faulty memory card is also known to cause a computer to freeze. To see if this is causing your problem, you should run a memory check:
- Type mdsched.exe in the Run box and press Enter.
- If you want to run the check immediately, click Restart now and check for problems (recommended). If you want to check later, click Check for Problems the next time I start my computer.
- When Windows restarts, this screen will appear showing the progress of the check and the number of passes it’ll run on your memory card.
If you don’t see any errors, your memory card probably isn’t causing your problem, and you can move on to Method 5, below.
Method 5: Adjust the size of your virtual memory
Virtual memory is basically an extension of your computer’s physical memory. It’s a combination of RAM and a portion of your hard drive. If your computer runs out of RAM when you’re playing a game, your system will dip into virtual memory to save files temporarily.
If the size of your virtual memory is not big enough to save temporary files, it may cause your computer to freeze. You can follow the steps below to adjust the size of your virtual memory and see if this is causing your problem.
- Press the Windows key and Pause/Break key at the same time. Then click Advanced System Settings on the left.
- Click the Advanced tab, then click the Settings button in the Performance section.
- From the Advanced tab, click Change…
- De-select Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
- Select your system drive ( the hard drive or partition where you installed your system — usually C:), and select Custom size, enter the Initial size and Maximum size for your virtual memory. Click Set, then OK.
- Initial size — This value varies, depending on your computer. If you’re not sure what value to use, enter the Recommended size.
- Maximum size — Don’t set this value too high. It should be about 1.5 times the size of your physical RAM. For example, a computer with 4 GB (4096 MB) of RAM should have no more than about 6,144 MB virtual memory (4,096 MB x 1.5).
- Restart your game and check if your problem is resolved. If not, try Method 6, below.
Method 6: Run System File Checker
Your “computer freezes during gameplay” issue may also be caused by system file corruption. You can run System File Checker and see if there are any system files missing or corrupted. If there are any, the sfc /scannow command (System File Checker) will repair them.
- Run Command Prompt as administrator.
- Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
- It should begin running a system scan and will take some time. When it finishes, restart your computer and check if it has fixed your problem. If not, try the next method.
Method 7: Check for viruses and malware
It may be that a virus or other malware is causing your computer to freeze when you’re playing a game. To see if this is the cause of your problem, you should run a virus scan with your antivirus program.
That’s it.
If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Enjoy your game!
