Have you noticed that your Dell laptop keeps freezing in the middle of Teams meetings, important calls, and gaming sessions?
Not only is Dell laptop black screen an extremely frustrating issue, but it can also be indicative of an even more significant underlying problem.
If you want to know how to perform detailed troubleshooting of your Dell laptop but also how to fix your frozen computer, you’ve come to the right place.
We will discuss the possible issues behind a frozen Dell laptop and the methods to permanently fix your computer.
Why is your Dell laptop frozen?
A frozen laptop may be a result of both software and hardware issues. We will discuss the most common causes and factors behind this problem.
One too many programs in the background
The number of programs you can safely run in the background without having your Dell laptop freeze depends upon many system characteristics and settings.
Nevertheless, this number is always limited, and why your laptop keeps freezing may be a system overload – especially if these programs are demanding.
Insufficient processing power and RAM storage or speed may lead to a black screen quite often if you don’t limit the number of programs you run simultaneously.
Your Dell laptop is overheating
There are multiple reasons why your Dell laptop is overheating. You could be dealing with faulty laptop fans, or a system overload we’ve discussed above could be causing the laptop to overheat.
Blocking the airflow and keeping your laptop on surfaces that promote overheating, such as a blanket, can also cause this issue.
Overheating is a complex issue that can cause the laptop to freeze and the laptop screen to go black but also damage some of the internal components.
Outdated drivers
A device driver has a vital role in the management of hardware components.
Without a proper driver, you cannot adjust any hardware component, including an external monitor, a keyboard, or a laptop screen.
Whether the drivers are corrupted or outdated, they could be causing the laptop screen to go black and the laptop to freeze.
Virus infection
A screen blackout is a prevalent symptom of a system virus infection. If you don’t have good antivirus software or recently downloaded files from unreliable websites, this may be causing the laptop to freeze.
Malware can impact every single process and file in the laptop system, so it is necessary to act fast and remove or repair the infected data.
Insufficient RAM
As we’ve mentioned, the lack of RAM may be why you can’t run multiple programs without your laptop freezing suddenly.
However, even if you limit the number of programs running simultaneously, your laptop system may still freeze – even during the simplest tasks and processes.
The reason behind this may be that your RAM is dangerously low, and the system cannot function correctly.
How to fix a frozen Dell laptop
Now that we’ve gone through the possible scenarios let’s talk a bit more about how we can solve the freezing issue and prevent it from repeating in the future.
1. Limit the number of programs you’re using at the same time
Does your system not allow multiple programs simultaneously, and it freezes when you try to run them all simultaneously?
In this case, the easiest way to solve the freezing problem would be to comply with your laptop’s system and simultaneously limit the number of programs you’re using.
This is an efficient solution if there isn’t another issue causing your Dell laptop to freeze.
2. Restart your frozen laptop
If your Dell PC is frozen and not responding, you will not be able to restart it how you usually would.
Luckily, you can use a keyboard command to restart your laptop if the power button is unresponsive.
Press the following combination of keys on your laptop keyboard CTRL + ALT + DELETE.
Once a security interface shows up, locate the power button icon, which should be in the bottom right corner of the menu.
Click on the power button icon and choose Restart from the list of options.
3. Hard reset your laptop
Sometimes, the previous method of restarting your Dell laptop will not be successful, and you will have to perform a hard reset.
Press the power button on your Dell laptop and hold it until the laptop shuts down completely. If the laptop is frozen with a black screen, you should be able to hear the fans going off once the laptop shuts down.
After a few minutes, press the power button again and let the system boot up. This method should not be used often – only in extreme cases when there is no other way to restart your laptop.
Also, it is simply a way to restart your laptop and not a method that will help you deal with the leading cause of this problem.
4. Launch the browser task manager
In case your laptop isn’t completely unresponsive, you may be able to use a keyboard command to launch the task manager and see which web page or process is causing the system to freeze.
Press the SHIFT and ESC keys together, and wait for the system to open the browser’s task manager. Remember that this command will only work on specific browsers – Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.
You should be able to detect the problematic webpage in the task manager list and end this process or exit the page.
5. Launch the system task manager
To see a list of all the background programs and processes at the moment, press the CTRL + ALT + DELETE key combination simultaneously, which will open up an interface.
Select Task Manager, and you will see a list of the current processes. Terminate the problematic program or app that is causing the system to freeze.
