Why computer freezes when playing games? This tutorial will analyze the reasons, and provide 11 solutions for you to fix this problem.
"Hey guys, as the title suggests my PC freezes while playing games. No bsod, just freezes and I can't do anything but reset it by pressing the button on the case. My temperatures seem fine. I tried Memtest, IntelBurnTest, no error. It is driving me crazy. Any help is appreciated.
- Question from nvidia.com
When you are immersed in playing games, the PC freezes will cause you a headache. Why the whole computer freezes when playing games? Here are possible causes:
☎ Device drivers are outdated or missing. ☎ The system files are damaged. ☎ There're viruses on your PC. ☎ There are multiple software running in the background. ☎ Low C drive space. ☎ The hard drive is corrupted or full. ☎ Low graphics card performance, or the outdated graphics card drivers.
How can you do if you encounter "computer freezes when playing games windows 10" problem? Next, we’ll talk about 11 methods to deal with it.
The sudden crash of the computer may be related to some settings or software on the PC, so we can try some solutions from this perspective.
▶ Method 1. Update the disk drivers
When the driver is outdated, the hard drive on your PC will be in poor condition, so you can update the drivers.
Step 1. Press "Windows" and type "device manager" in the taskbar, then press "Enter". Click "Disk drives" in the new popped window.
Step 2. In the following interface, right-click a drive and click "Update driver".
Step 3. There will be a popped window, click "Search automatically for updated driver software".
▶ Method 2. Check the system files
System files refer to the files to help Windows OS run properly on your computer. When system files are damaged, the computer will malfunction. You can check and repair system files via CMD.
Step 1. Press "Windows", then input "cmd" and click "Run as administrator".
Step 2. In the CMD, type "sfc /scannow" and press "Enter", then it will check your system files.
Step 3. If the SFC command cannot work, you try the DISM command. Type "Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth" and press "Enter".
▶ Method 3. Remove virus
When there are viruses on your PC, it may cause computer freezes when playing games. You can remove the viruses with CMD or a virus-cleaning freeware.
▶ Method 4. Disable background tasks
Some programs may start automatically when you turn on your PC, and run in the background. They will take up much running memory, causing the computer to slow down, heat up, and even computer freezes. Therefore, you can disable these background tasks.
Step 1. Press "Windows" and input "task manager", then press "Enter". In the Task Manager tool, click "Startup" to see all the startup programs.
Step 2. Then right-click some programs and click "Disable".
▶ Method 5. Run the memory check
As we all know, when the memory card is faulty, it will also cause the computer to freeze. Therefore, you should check the memory.
Step 1. Press "Windows +R" and type "mdsched.exe", then press "Enter".
Step 2. In the new window, click "Restart now and check for problems (recommended)".
Step 3. When Windows restarts, you can see the following interface. It will show the progress of the check, and the times it has been run on your memory card will also displayed.
▶ Method 6. Adjust the size of virtual memory
Virtual memory refers to the combination of RAM and a part of the hard drive. If you run out of memory while using the PC, Windows will use the virtual memory to save files. When the virtual memory size is insufficient, it may cause a PC crash.
Step 1. Open the Settings and click "Advanced System Settings".
Step 2. In the new window, click "Advanced" and "Settings" in turn.
Step 3. Then click "Advanced" and "Change".
Step 4. Untick "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" and click "OK".
Step 5. Select C drive and Custom size, then enter "Initial size" and "Maximum size". Click "Set" and "OK". Then restart the game.
▶ Method 7. Clean up junk files
Sometimes, if there’re excessive junk files on your computer, the "computer freezes when playing games" will appear. Therefore, you need to clean up the computer space thoroughly, you can try the universal disk manager - AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.
It can not only help you completely delete junk files with "PC Cleaner", including system and registry junk files; it can also filter and clean up unnecessary large files. You only need a few simple steps to have a clean computer.
Step 1. Download and open the AOMEI Demo, then click "Free up" and "Delete Large Files".
Step 2. In the new interface, choose the target partition and click "Start Scan".
Step 3. All the large files on the drive will be listed, select the large files you want to remove and click "Delete".
Step 4. You can know the proper space you can get, then click "Delete Now".
▶ Method 8. Extend the system drive
C drive usually refers to the system disk, leaving enough space for C drive can make it work smoothly. The details are as follows:
Tip: If you decide to extend C drive on Windows Server, the Server Edition can satisfy you.
Step 1. In the main interface, right-click the D drive with free space, and click "Allocate Free Space".
Step 2. Set the allocated space and the destination drive, then click "OK".
Step 3. Click "Apply" to extend the C drive with free space.
Apart from the software, you can also upgrade the PC hardware to fix "computer freezes when playing games” issue.
▶ Method 1. Update the CPU chip
If the CPU chip is too old, the PC performance will be poor. Therefore, you may need to replace the CPU chip.
▶ Method 2. Update graphics card
The graphics card is important for playing the game, and a powerful graphics card can ensure the smooth running of the game. If your computer freezes when playing games, try updating your graphics card. Common gaming graphics cards on the market today include:
✔ Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 - $1,599 | £1,699
✔ Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti- $599 | £529
✔ Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060-$329 | £299
✔ AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT – $399 | ~£389
✔ AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT - $479 | ~£420
✔ AMD Radeon RX 6600 - $379 | ~£320
✔ AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT - $649 | ~£600
✔ AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT - $999 | ~£770
▶ Method 3. Clone the current hard drive to a larger SSD
Since the performance of SSD is better than the HDD, if you want to play games more smoothly, you can upgrade to SSD. In addition, if the current SSD space is insufficient, you can also extend it by cloning the whole SSD to a larger one.
Step 1. Connect the new SSD with the PC, then open the AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Click "Clone" on the top panel and select "Clone Disk".
Step 2. Tick "Clone Disk Quickly" and click "Next".
Step 3. In the popped window, choose the old disk and click "Next".
Step 4. Then select the new SSD and tick "Optimize the performance of SSD", click "OK".
Step 5. You will be asked to edit disk, then click "Next".
Step 6. Click "Apply" and "Proceed" to migrate the entire old disk.
How to deal with "computer freezes when playing games" issue? In this tutorial, we have shared the reasons and 11 solutions to fix it, please choose the suitable ways.