Checking a disk

Files on your hard disk live in folders; folders can live in other folders; the whole mess lives in your disk, which might actually be a partition on a larger hard disk. On top of that, there may be security information about who is allowed to access what and in what ways they're allowed to access it.

As you can imagine, things get pretty confusing. All that you probably care about is that you get what you expect when you access a file.

The fact is that there's a lot of information on the hard disk that helps keep track of all of the data that's being stored there. CHKDSK's primary job is to make sure that all of that administrative information about the files, folders, and other stuff that's stored on the disk is correct.

Normally, all of that information is correct. The system is designed to keep it correct from startup to shutdown.

Unfortunately, a variety of errors can cause it to be incorrect; things like not shutting down your computer properly, removing USB devices without using Safely Remove, malware, or just flat out hardware errors can cause errors in the administrative information on the hard disk.

CHKDSK's job is to try and repair those errors.

What's a 'command line' tool?

Most programs in Windows appear as ... well, as or in a window.

Command line tools do not. They don't know about on-screen windows and don't display their results in them. They rely on the Windows "Command Prompt", which is nothing more than a non-windowed environment that mimics the days before Windows where all programs were "command line" tools under MS-DOS.

And it's with a Command Prompt that we'll start.

Running CHKDSK

You'll find Command Prompt in your Start menu, under All Programs - Accessories.

Click that and you'll get a new window that looks much like this:

Command line tools are run by typing in the command with any options and pressing the Return key. Any output that the tool then generates shows up in the window underneath what you've typed.

Try it now: after opening a Command Prompt window or clicking it to make it active, just type CHKDSK followed by the Enter key. You should see something similar to this:

C:\Users\LeoN>CHKDSK
Access Denied as you do not have sufficient privileges.
You have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode.

C:\Users\LeoN>

Our first problem: CHKDSK requires that you not only be administrator, but that you run the program as administrator. The two are not the same.

Type EXIT followed by Enter to close this Command Prompt. We need a new one.

Running CHKDSK as administrator

Head back to Start, All Programs, Accessories, and this time, right-click Command Prompt:

This time, click Run as administrator. You may get prompted to confirm.

After clicking OK, you'll get a Command Prompt window that's very similar to the one that you had before; except that now, not only does the window have full administrative privileges, but any program that runs within it inherits that permission.

Try that CHKDSK again.

Without any parameters (I'll describe a few in a moment), CHKDSK does nothing more than check. It won't attempt to fix anything; it'll simply report whether it finds any problems.

After displaying a fair amount of technical information about its progress, CHKDSK will finish with a report similar to this:

Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.    33449983 KB total disk space.   13811900 KB in 46164 files.      34088 KB in 12870 indexes.          0 KB in bad sectors.     255651 KB in use by the system.      65536 KB occupied by the log file.   19348344 KB available on disk.        4096 bytes in each allocation unit.    8362495 total allocation units on disk.    4837086 allocation units available on disk. 

That first line is good news. If you want to see what precedes that, you can use the scroll bar to the right in the Command Prompt window.

CHKDSK parameters

By default, CHKDSK operates on the "current" disk, which in almost all of the cases that we're seeing here would be C:. To have CHKDSK check a different drive, simply follow the CHKDSK command with a space, and then the drive designator:

CHKDSK D: 

Would check your D: drive.

To actually have CHKDSK fix any problems that it finds, you'd include the "/F" (Fix) parameter:

CHKDSK D: /F 

This would check the D: drive; if any errors were found, CHKDSK would attempt to repair them. The results would be included in the on-screen output.

Finally, the next most common action for CHKDSK is to actually check for bad sectors. That's the "/R" (Repair) option:

CHKDSK D: /R 

When running /R, CHKDSK will check the entire disk surface for bad sectors and attempt once again to repair or work around any that it finds, if it can. Running /R also does /F as well.

The special case of C:

C: is special. (More correctly, your system drive is special, but in most cases, that's C:.) The problem is that your system is using C:, and CHKDSK can't repair things while they're in use. Run CHKDSK /F and you're likely to see this:

The type of the file system is NTFS. Cannot lock current drive.  Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.  Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N) 

The step to take is to answer with Yes and then reboot your system. CHKDSK will run before Windows starts so that it can repair the drive before Windows starts using it.

Most common usage

The most common ways to use CHKDSK are:

• CHKDSK /F - to check and fix the current drive (a reboot might be required)

• CHKDSK D: /F - to check and fix a specific drive

• CHKDSK D: /R - to check and fix and look for bad sectors on a specific drive

You can also run CHKDSK /? to get a list of additional options.

My computer locks up and won't boot. What do I do?

Your computer locks up, crashes, stalls or otherwise fails to completely boot up into Windows. That's particularly painful, since most all of our diagnostic tools require that Windows be running. Diagnosing the problem with a computer that won't boot can be difficult.

In this article we'll look at some of the resources that you do have available, and try to gather a little information about the type of problem you might be experiencing.

I'll start at a successfully booting Windows, and work backwards to a completely dead machine.

•

• Loading User Settings

One of the last steps that Windows takes before being ready for use is to load the personal settings for the user logging in. That includes settings within the Windows Registry, saved network connections, and the security settings for the account. This step exercises a lot of different areas on the machine, so if it hangs, or is exceptionally slow here, it could be for many reasons. Things to check include disk space and fragmentation, physical errors on the disk holding the swap file, and network connectivity that might impact restoring those saved connections. In particular, in a Domain based environment, network connectivity can be a particular problem as the system tries to contact the domain controller. (Domains are common in business settings as opposed to a Workgroup, more common in small business and home).
"Diagnosing the problem with a computer that won't boot can be difficult."

• Blue Screens and Other Hangs

A "Blue Screen" is the name given to the blue screen of strange numbers and information that can sometimes come up if your machine crashes. Essentially any blue screen, hang, crash or lock-up that happens after the Windows logo is displayed falls into this category. If that happens repeatedly during boot, it could be anything from a bad device driver to spyware to a virus.

The best first step to take is to attempt to boot in what's called "Safe Mode". Safe mode disables a number of operating system components, possibly avoiding the component that might be causing the problem. Once in safe mode you can try running the system file checker, your anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and possibly get Windows updates. The Microsoft Knowledgebase has an article on A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP that details how to start Safe Mode, and its options.

If Safe Mode itself won't work, the next step back is something called the Recover Console. You can install it on your machine before problems happen, as described in this Knowledgebase article How to Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP.

• Hangs before the Windows Logo

If you can't actually get anything to come up - by that I mean that you never even see the initial Windows logo, you can run the Recovery Console from your Windows XP Installation CD. This article: Windows XP Crashed? Here's Help gives a step-by-step overview of the process. This also applies if you didn't install the recovery console beforehand.

Regardless of how you got there, the recovery console will allow you to copy files, undo a recent installation, or fix the master boot record should that have become corrupt.

• Operating System? What Operating System?

One of the scarier messages is "Operating System Not Found". It implies that the operating system on your hard disk isn't there any more.

First, remove any floppy from the machine. It's a common error - when you reboot, the computer will try to boot from it, not find an operating system and halt.

Assuming that wasn't the problem, get out and boot from your Windows XP Installation CD. You can try the Recovery Console I just discussed - sometimes fixing the MBR (Master Boot Record) is all that's needed. Other times the recovery is more involved, in which case this article by Microsoft MVP Michael Stevens - How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install can guide you.

• Hard Disk? What Hard Disk?

Things start to get a little scarier when your computer doesn't appear to even have a hard disk. When software like the Recovery Console doesn't even see that you have a hard disk in your machine, things get interesting.

The most common cause of this in a previously working machine is that the CMOS memory, which keeps your hardware and BIOS configuration settings, has lost its contents. That can happen due to anything from a power spike to errant software - but the most common cause on older machines is that the little battery that keeps the CMOS alive has worn out. The type and location will vary from machine to machine.

CMOS settings on some machines are what tell the computer what kind of hard disk you have. You'll probably want to review the settings in your BIOS to make sure they are correct. Typically most brand name computers include a print-out of their CMOS settings when they come new, or their technical support resources may be able to help. A misconfiguration can "look like" a hard disk to the BIOS, but in fact be wrong.

And, of course, there is the possibility of hardware failure of the drive itself. If that's what you suspect, it's probably time to touch base with the manufacturer or a local repair technician.

• BIOS & POST

If your computer doesn't even get so far as to try the hard disk, or perhaps not even print anything on the screen, you probably do have some type of hardware problem. For example, if the computer simply beeps a few times and then does nothing, then that's the POST telling you something is wrong. For what ever reason it might not be able to display an error message, so it simply beeps in a pattern to tell you what it's found. They vary based on the brand of your computer or BIOS, but POST beep codes can often give a technician a quick idea of exactly what might be wrong.

And finally, when you turn on the power, if your computer does nothing at all, obviously something is seriously wrong. In my experience, it's typically the power supply that has failed, however it's also possible that critical components on the motherboard have failed, or that a peripheral card has been inserted improperly or has failed in such a way as to prevent the rest of the system from working at all.

10 things you can do when Windows XP won't boot

#1: Use a Windows startup disk

One of the first things you should reach for whentroubleshooting a Windows XP boot problem is a Windows startup disk. This floppydisk can come in handy if the problem is being caused when either the startuprecord for the active partition or the files that the operating system uses tostart Windows have become corrupted.

To create a Windows startup disk, insert a floppy disk intothe drive of a similarly configured, working Windows XP system, launch MyComputer, right-click the floppy disk icon, and select the Format command fromthe context menu. When you see the Format dialog box, leave all the defaultsettings as they are and click the Start button. Once the format operation iscomplete, close the Format dialog box to return to My Computer, double-clickthe drive C icon to access the root directory, and copy the following threefiles to the floppy disk:

• Boot.ini
• NTLDR
• Ntdetect.com

After you create the Windows startup disk, insert it intothe floppy drive on the afflicted system and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] toreboot the computer. When you boot from the Windows startup disk, the computerwill bypass the active partition and boot files on the hard disk and attempt tostart Windows XP normally.

#2: Use Last Known Good Configuration

You can also try to boot the operating system with the LastKnown Good Configuration feature. This feature will allow you to undo anychanges that caused problems in the CurrentControlSet registry key, whichdefines hardware and driver settings. The Last Known Good Configuration featurereplaces the contents of the CurrentControlSet registry key with a backup copythat was last used to successfully start up the operating system.

To use the Last Known Good Configuration feature, first restart the computer by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. When you see the message Please select the operating system to start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Select the Last Known Good Configuration item from the menu and press [Enter].

Keep in mind that you get only one shot with the Last KnownGood Configuration feature. In other words, if it fails to revive your WindowsXP on the first attempt, the backup copy is also corrupt.

#3: Use System Restore

Another tool that might be helpful when Windows XP won'tboot is System Restore. System Restore runs in the background as a service andcontinually monitors system-critical components for changes. When it detects animpending change, System Restore immediately makes backup copies, calledrestore points, of these critical components before the change occurs. Inaddition, System Restore is configured by default to create restore points every24 hours.

To use System Restore, first restart the computer by pressing[Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. When you see the message Please select the operating system to start or hear the singlebeep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Now, select theSafe Mode item from the menu and press [Enter].

Once Windows XP boots into Safe mode, click the Startbutton, access the All Programs | Accessories | System Tools menu, and selectSystem Restore. Because you're running in Safe mode, the only option on theopening screen of the System Restore wizard is Restore My Computer To AnEarlier Time, and it's selected by default, so just click Next. Then, followalong with the wizard to select a restore point and begin the restorationprocedure.

#4: Use Recovery Console

When a Windows XP boot problem is severe, you'll need to usea more drastic approach. The Windows XP CD is bootable and will provide youwith access to a tool called Recovery Console.

To boot from the Windows XP CD, insert it into the CD-ROMdrive on the problem system and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to reboot thecomputer. Once the system begins booting from the CD, simply follow the promptsthat will allow the loading of the basic files needed to run Setup. When yousee the Welcome To Setup screen, shown in FigureA, press R to start the Recovery Console.

Figure A

You'll then see a Recovery Console menu, like the one shownin Figure B. It displays the foldercontaining the operating system's files and prompts you to choose the operatingsystem you want to log on to. Just press the menu number on the keyboard, andyou'll be prompted to enter the Administrator's password. You'll then findyourself at the main Recovery Console prompt.

Figure B

#5: Fix a corrupt Boot.ini

As the Windows XP operating system begins to load, the Ntldrprogram refers to the Boot.ini file to determine where the operating systemfiles reside and which options to enable as the operating system continues toload. So if there's a problem rooted in the Boot.ini file, it can render WindowsXP incapable of booting correctly.

If you suspect that Windows XP won't boot because Boot.inihas been corrupted, you can use the special Recovery Console version of theBootcfg tool to fix it. Of course, you must first boot the system with theWindows XP CD and access the Recovery Console as described in #4.

To use the Bootcfg tool, from the Recovery Console commandprompt, type

Bootcfg /parameter

Where /parameteris one of these required parameters:

• /Add--Scans the disk for all Windowsinstallations and allows you to add any new ones to the Boot.ini file.
• /Scan--Scans the disk for all Windowsinstallations.
• /List--Lists each entry in the Boot.ini file.
• /Default--Sets the default operating system as themain boot entry.
• /Rebuild--Completely re-creates the Boot.inifile. The user must confirm each step.
• /Redirect--Allows the boot operation to beredirected to a specific port when using the Headless Administration feature.The Redirect parameter takes two parameters of its own, [Port Baudrate ] | [UseBiosSettings].
• /Disableredirect--Disables the redirection.

#6: Fix a corrupt partition boot sector

The partition boot sector is a small section of the harddisk partition that contains information about the operating system's filesystem (NTFS or FAT32), as well as a very small machine language program thatis crucial in assisting the operating system as it loads.

If you suspect that Windows XP won't boot because thepartition boot sector has been corrupted, you can use a special RecoveryConsole tool called Fixboot to fix it. Start by booting the system with theWindows XP CD and accessing the Recovery Console as described in #4.

To use the Fixboot tool, from the Recovery Console commandprompt, type

Fixboot [drive]:

Where [drive] is the letter of the drive towhich you want to write a new partition boot sector.

#7: Fix a corrupt master boot record

The master boot record occupies the first sector on the harddisk and is responsible for initiating the Windows boot procedure. The masterboot record contains the partition table for the disk as well as a smallprogram called the master boot code,which is responsible for locating the active, or bootable, partition, in thepartition table. Once this occurs, the partition boot sector takes over andbegins loading Windows. If the master boot record is corrupt, the partitionboot sector can't do its job and Windows won't boot.

If you suspect Windows XP won't boot because the master bootrecord has been corrupted, you can use the Recovery Console tool Fixmbr to fixit. First, boot the system with the Windows XP CD and access the RecoveryConsole as described in #4.

To use the Fixmbr tool, from the Recovery Console commandprompt, type

Fixmbr [device_name]

Where [device_name] is the devicepathname of the drive to which you want to write a new master boot record. Forexample, the device pathname format for a standard bootable drive Cconfiguration would look like this:

\Device\HardDisk0

#8: Disable automatic restart

When Windows XP encounters a fatal error, the defaultsetting for handling such an error is to automatically reboot the system. Ifthe error occurs while Windows XP is booting, the operating system will becomestuck in a reboot cycle--rebooting over and over instead of starting upnormally. In that case, you'll need to disable the option for automaticallyrestarting on system failure.

When Windows XP begins to boot up and you see the message Please select the operating system to startor hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced OptionsMenu. Then, select the Disable The Automatic Restart On System Failure item andpress [Enter]. Now, Windows XP will hang up when it encounters the error and withany luck, it will display a stop message you can use to diagnose the problem.

#9: Restore from a backup

If you can't seem to repair a Windows XP system that won'tboot and you have a recent backup, you can restore the system from the backupmedia. The method you use to restore the system will depend on what backuputility you used, so you'll need to follow the utility's instructions on how toperform a restore operation.

#10: Perform an in-place upgrade

If you can't repair a Windows XP system that won't boot andyou don't have a recent backup, you can perform an in-place upgrade. Doing soreinstalls the operating system into the same folder, just as if you wereupgrading from one version of Windows to another. An in-place upgrade willusually solve most, if not all, Windows boot problems.

Performing a Windows XP in-place upgrade is prettystraightforward. To begin, insert the Windows XP CD into the drive, restartyour system, and boot from the CD. Once the initial preparation is complete,you'll see the Windows XP Setup screen (shown earlier in Figure A). Press[Enter] to launch the Windows XP Setup procedure. In a moment, you'll see theLicense Agreement page and will need to press [F8] to acknowledge that youagree. Setup will then search the hard disk looking for a previous installationof Windows XP. When it finds the previous installation, you'll see a secondWindows XP Setup screen, as shown in FigureC.

Figure C

This screen will prompt you to press R to repair theselected installation or to press [Esc] to install a fresh copy of Windows XP.In this case, initiating a repair operation is synonymous with performing anin-place upgrade, so you'll need to press R. When you do so, Setup will examinethe disk drives in the system. It will then begin performing the in-placeupgrade.

Keep in mind that after you perform an in-place upgrade orrepair installation, you must reinstall all updates to Windows.

Check Hard Disk For Problems With Check Disk Freeware

Bad sectors are the part of your computer’s hard disk that cannot be used in future due to permanent damage. They should be taken care of, as the pre-installed tools like CHKDSK and SCANDISK are provided by Microsoft systems and Bablocks are provided on Unix systems. I am going to review a tool which is quite similar to the above mentioned tools, but with some extra features and this freeware is known as Check Disk.

This tool will scan the selected area of your hard disk and then it will mark the bad sectors, which will not be used by Operation system in future. It will use different types of scans to detect the errors in the hard disk. If it diagnoses any repairable error then it will repair it after the system reboot. It also has a log view in which you can see the operations being performed on the hard disk.

The tool has three types of scans namely:

• Standard Scan

This scan will be performed in three stages. In the first stage, it will verify the files, so the name of first stage will be ‘verifying Files’. Second stage can be called as ‘Verifying Indexes’ and similarly the third stage can be called as ‘Verifying Security descriptors’. You can see the operations being performed in these stages in the log which will be present on the right side of the application window.

• Thorough Scan

This scan will be performed in five stages. First three scans will be similar to that of Standard scan but in addition it will perform two more stages. Forth stage will be called as ‘Verifying USN Journal’ and the last will be called as ‘Verifying Free space’. If it detects any error which is repairable then it will ask you to reboot your system, as it will correct it after you reboot your system. This scan takes more time as compared to the rest of the three scans.

• Check if dirty

This scan will be performed in a click. This tool will just check whether the disk space is clean or not.

You can see the status of the completion of the scan in the status bar. The size of this tool is below 500Kb and this is also portable, so you can carry it anywhere on your USB. This tool is compatible with all the versions of Windows as it has been checked with Windows 7 32-bit Ultimate edition.

Enhance Hard Disk And PC Performance By Disk Defragmentation

You might be saving data over and over again in the hard disk. After a certain period of time you notice that the speed and efficiency is not as good as it was initially. This might happen due to several reasons. One of them is the fragmentation of the files. The problem can be easily resolved with freeware software Puran Defrag.

Puran Defrag is a software of 2.4 MB only. It is a very good tool which can defragment your drives and enhance the performance of your computer. It provides you a variety of options to carry out the process the way you want to. You can apply the settings to automatically defragment or in a defined way.

The tool is user friendly and can be used easily. As you can see the above snapshot, it shows the all the drives. You can select any one of them and then analyze or defrag it. It will show the result in two formats:

• Cluster Map: represents which part is actually fragmented.
• Last Report: shows the complete details of the last process.

The results are shown as shown in the snapshot below.

Based on the analysis, you can select to defrag the drive or some particular folders as per the requirement. There is the option for Boot Time Defrag also. And you can choose to shutdown your system after the defragmentation. The Low Priority option will set the defragmentation of the files later on if they are presently in use. This is manage the on-going tasks.

There are some additional operations also which helpful in improving the efficiency and speed of the hard disk. It also serve the purpose of excluding some files while defrag of the whole drive. You can select them manually, browse them or define a particular size range within which defragmentation is not required.

You can also carry this process with the help of UltraDefrag Tool. There are large number of options which will make the tasks easy, simple and as per requirement. They are as shown in the snapshot below.

You can select the drives you want to automatic defragment. Use the check box for various options. Mention the way, you want to carry out and choose the defragmentation. It can be based upon the screensavers, if system is idle, based upon day and date. Now, you do not have to check the drive again and again.

It is compatible with Windows XP/2003/ Vista/ 2008/7. You can download the free version which is free for personal use.

Completely Remove All Data From Hard Disk Before Discarding or Recycling

Are you considering an upgrader to your computer’s Hard disk? Are you giving away your old hard disk for recycling? If yes, you might be accidentally giving away a lot of private information, confidential data and financial information in the hands of strangers. The information might be misused or leaked, even worse, you may fall prey to identity theft because someone can steal information on your discarded hard disk drive !

Before you give away your hard disk in exchange of an upgrade, or for recycling, make sure you are not doing anything to risk your. In this post, I share a tool with you which will help remove every bit of Data off your hard disk before you abandon it.

Darik’s Boot and Nuke or DBAN tool is a bootable image which you can download and use it to boot your PC. This tool can securely wipe the hard disks of most computers. It can automatically and completely delete all the content of the hard disk that it can detect. This tool is apt for emergency data destruction.

This tool is completely free for personal and business use. Before you use this tool, you much understand that all the data on the hard disk will be permanently removed by this tool. You must take any backup of your important data to come external disk or storage before you use the tool. Also, when using this tool, make sure that only that hard disk is connected to the computer which you intend to wipe. If there are more than one hard disks connected to the computer, you may accidentally select the wrong drive which may mean a disaster for your hard drive data !

The official website offers you an ISO file which you can burn to a CD or DVD and use the same disk to boot your computer. When you boot the PC using this disk, it will take you forward using a text based menu on a blue screen as seen above. Choose the options you like to use.

So First u download "DBAN Download" software

Free Hard Disk Space Effectively With DiskMax

Most of the new Operating Systems like Windows Vista And Windows 7 consume good amount of hard disk space. To add to it, heavy installation programs like games and photo-editing tools, multimedia players etc which many of us have also consume disk space. Not only this, Internet browser’s cache, temporary files, temporary installation files, restore data, recycle bin data etc. all add up to the space consumed on the hard disk.

Although there is an inbuilt Windows Disk Cleanup feature which can free most of the space occupied by the unused and unusable stuff that computer can live without, yet it does not provide a comprehensive cleaning which can clean a lot more space than what it does.

In this article I am going to review a free and highly effective disk space cleaning utility called DiskMax which provides powerful and advanced options to free up several GB of disk space in some cases. It cleaned up around 4GB space of my hard disk.

DiskMax is a powerful Disk Cleanup tool which works in several modes, which are – Quick , Standard , Detailed And Complete. Each of these mode has different level of disk cleaning. I tested the standard one.

When you launch it, it gives you a start screen like the one above, select the type of cleanup you want. Depending on which type you select and how much stuff it clean, it may take several minutes to do the job. It took about 15 minutes on my desktop machine.

The standard scan is very comprehensive and will ask you your preferences related to cleaning and will remember them so that you don’t have to set them again and again. Below are a few screenshots of many steps it goes through to ask your preferences.

It asked me option to clean Microsoft Office Install Files

It asked me option to clean Recycle Bin Files

It asked me option to clean Firefox Cache, Firefox History, Crash reports etc.

It took a while to report crash reports.

It asked me option to scan the user accounts for any unused files.

DiskMax cleans up Windows Crash reposts, Health Stat Data sets, unused installer files, repair information, windows logs, reinstall backups, tem folders etc.

Below is the report which you can see cleaned about 4GB disk space on ,my hard disk by cleaning about 5400 unused files.

The tool is compatible with all version of Windows 32bit and 64bit OS up to Windows 7. You can install it and use it once a month or few weeks to reclaim the disk space which otherwise remains occupied with useless stuff.

Why Computer Hangs?

1 Overheating of processor / Motherboard. If the cooling fan is faulty, the processor gets heated up and ceases to work beyond a particular temperature.

2 Faulty hard disk drive.Hard disc problems also hangs the computers in case the important Operating System files needed to keep the computer running, become in-accessible.

3 May it be virus

4 OS or software Problem

Solutions : To Fix the PC hangs (computer hang problem),you need to follow two steps:

Step1: Check that the cooling fans on the processor is working properly or not. So ensure that the fan is working fine and is clean. If not, then get the fan replaced. Also check for the additional fans on your computer casing/cabinet(if any).

Step2: To Fix this, run a disk scan which checks for disc errors and fixes the bad sectors (some examples are scandisk and check disk utilities in windows). If there are bad sectors which can not be repaired, then you need to replace your hard disc.

step 3: Check ur Antivirus Update and scanning

Step 4: If, still ur problem continuously Format and reinstall ur OS and software

Tip for enhanced performance: Once there are no bad sectors and the disc scan is complete, do a de-fragmentation of your hard disc partition(this may take long time), it will help the computer to access files easily and computer runs better(also fast in some cases).
These three steps will fix your computer hangs considerably.

Computer Restarting Trouble

In this post we will look into those reasons and the possible solutions to fix computer restart problem

• Computer restart due to overheating
• Computer restart due to faulty RAM
• Computer restart due to faulty Hard-disk
• Computer restart due to overheating up of hard-disk
• Computer restart on attaching some external USB device
• Computer restart due to other hardware problem
• Some software causing operating system crash causes computer restart