My computer has frozen and I can’t do anything. The power button doesn’t do anything. How can I restart the computer.
Every once in a while, I see a PC freeze up and cease responding to any input from the user. The keyboard will not work, and the mouse does not respond. The computer won’t even shut off when the power button is pressed. What is one to do?
If your computer seems frozen beyond all hope, and there is absolutely nothing else you can do to get it running again, you can force it to shut off by holding down the power button. Press and hold the power button on the tower or desktop unit. After about 3 - 5 seconds, the system should shut off. You will hear the fans abruptly stop spinning, and the screen will cut to black.
At this point, you can let go of the power button, wait a few moments, and then start the computer back up. When the system comes back up, if you are using Windows, you will probably see a message alerting you that Windows did not shut down normally.
Photo by Gordon Robertson.
