Need help with your HP Stream notebook that suddenly hangs up and then crashes? If so, then this post is for you. Read on to find out what’s causing your notebook computer to develop these symptoms and then try fixing it with standard procedures and workarounds outlined right down this page.
Why does an HP stream notebook computer keep on freezing and crashing?
Computer problems on hang ups and crashes are often tied to corrupted drivers, damaged system files, bad programs and files, viruses and malware. Another factor that can also trigger a similar issue to arise is CPU overheating. This is usually the case with extensive heavy usage like playing complex gaming programs or streaming videos on your computer for several hours. Even the powerful PCs can overheat in this case. While the CPU is surrounded with fan and heatsinks, it still can get too hot especially when exhausted. Dirty and dusty air passages and vents can also trigger overheating as these can block the air vents. And when this happens, there is a tendency for your computer to develop other symptoms like sluggishness and sudden system crashes.
Meanwhile, lags and crashes can also be tagged among other symptoms of memory problems on the computer like when the computer’s available internal storage is shrinking or almost full. Aside from memory errors, unusual behaviours depicting poor or diminishing performance on your computer are also transpiring. And the worst among the probable causes is a faulty hardware like when any components on the motherboard gets busted. Usually for hardware-related cases of freezing and crashing, service or repair is already required so as to make your computer back up and running smoothly again. On the other hand, software-related triggers can be dealt with by some workarounds including the highlighted methods below. Hence if you’re up to fixing the same problem on your HP Stream notebook computer, you may refer to these subsequent troubleshooting walkthroughs.
Potential solutions to freezing and crashing issues on your HP Stream Notebook
Before you begin, try to shutdown your HP Stream notebook then remove any peripheral devices attached to it like USB mouse, external keyboard, external disk driver, etc. Once you have everything removed from your computer’s USB ports, turn it back on then see if it still freezes or crashes. There are instances when any of the peripheral devices can become corrupted and therefore affects the system functions, resulting to some unusual symptoms and/or unstable operation on your computer. Doing this requisite procedure can help rule this out from the probable causes.
If the problem persists without any peripheral devices attached during and after the bootup process, then you may go ahead and start to troubleshoot further with these methods.
Boot into safe mode with networking and check.
Booting into safe mode can help you diagnose programs and find out whether or not the problem is triggered by some third-party programs or services you’ve downloaded and installed. If you’re computer is running on windows 10, there are three different types of safe mode you can boot into including the very basic Safe Mode, Safe Mode with networking and Safe Mode with Command Prompt. In this case, choose the option to boot into Safe Mode with networking. This safe mode state activates one extra set of drivers on your computer and those are the network drivers. This then allows you to connect your computer to the Internet while in safe mode. However, it’s strongly discourage to surf the web in this safe mode state as your system is in an unprotected and vulnerable state.
Here’s how to boot into safe mode using the system configuration tool (msconfig):
- Simultaneously press on the Windows and R keys on your keyboard. Doing so will launch System configuration.
- Type msconfig in the Open text field and the press Enter on your keyboard or click the OK button.
- Click or tap the Boot tab in the System Configuration window.
- Navigate to the Boot options section then select Safe Boot.
- Click or tap on OK to confirm.
- Windows will then prompt you to reboot your PC for the new setting to take effect. You may opt to Exit without restart if you still have works to do. Otherwise select Restart for your computer to restart automatically into Safe mode.
While in safe mode, your computer will only run the basic or stock programs and services thus you can use your computer as you usually do and then see if the problem reoccurs. If it doesn’t, then it’s likely a bad program that’s causing your computer to freeze and crash unexpected. In this case, you can uninstall the suspected programs from your computer or try to carry out a clean boot then see what happens.
Do a clean boot.
Performing a clean boot can help you determine which from your third-party programs or apps is causing HP Stream notebook computer to freeze and crash. The main culprit could be some other programs running on the background.
By clean boot means starting Windows by using minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It can help eradicate software conflicts that instigate when you install a new program or an update or when you launch a program in Windows. In order to perform a clean boot, you need to log on to your computer as an administrator.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Type msconfig in Start search then press Enter to open the System Configuration Utility.
- Click the General tab.
- Click Select Startup.
- Clear the Load Startup Items checkbox.
- Make sure that Load System Services and Use Original boot configurations options are checked.
- Click the Services tab then select the Hide All Microsoft Services checkbox.
- Then click Disable all.
- Click Apply/OK to apply the changes and then reboot your computer. This will put Windows into a Clean Boot State.
If the problem is fixed from doing a clean boot, then you’re good to go. If not, go back to the General tab and click to clear the Load System Services checkbox. Click Apply/OK and restart your computer again. Otherwise, you can configure Windows to use the normal startup state by undoing the changes.
Important note: Do not attempt to alter the advanced boot options on your computer using the System Configuration utility unless you are directed by a Microsoft Support technician to do so. There is a chance that the computer becomes unusable when making incorrect changes to the advanced boot options.
Uninstall software or programs that cause lockups.
Certain programs can cause lockups or unexpected freezing and crashing issues. If your HP Stream notebook became unresponsive or keeps crashing after installing a specific program or application, then try to remove that particular program. Here’s how:
- Press the Windows key.
- Click Power.
- Then hold the Shift key while you click Restart.
- Click Troubleshoot on the Choose an option screen.
- Then click Advanced options to continue.
- Click Startup Settings and then click Restart.
- Press the F4 key on your keyboard to restart your computer in Safe Mode. When you see the Windows desktop shows Safe Mode in the four corners of the screen, press the Windows key.
- Click Control Panel.
- Click Programs and Features.
- Find the program or application that you suspect is causing the problem. Think of what program you’ve installed before the first lockup occurs. You can refer to the Installed On date.
- Select the suspected application then click Uninstall or Uninstall/Change.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to completely remove the application.
When you’re done removing all suspected applications, restart your computer.
If the computer continues to freeze or crash after uninstalling suspected applications and updates, try other possible solutions.
Update device drivers and BIOS on your computer.
Device drivers are usually updated by installing Windows updates on your computer. That said, check for available updates to install. Otherwise, you can try to update the BIOS on your HP Stream notebook computer. HP usually releases BIOS updates that can help fix problems related to freezing and crashing, also known as system lockups. To get this done, you need to go to HP Software & Driver Download page and then look for a BIOS update for your computer. If a BIOS update is available, follow the instructions to proceed with the update file download and installation. If there’s no BIOS update available or the update failed to fix the problem, then try to check and clean the air vents of your computer.
Restore, reformat or reinstall Windows OS on your HP Stream notebook.
Windows 10 offers different types of recovery options for you to use when dealing with complex software issues including system lockups as depicted by lagging, freezing, and system crashes. You may opt to restore from a system restore point, reset your HP Stream notebook, use a recovery drive to restore or reset OS, or go back to your previous version of Windows (system downgrade), if necessary.
Often times, performing a system restore is likely what’s needed to resolve the underlying cause. With System Restore, you can put your computer back to an earlier state when the lockups were not occurring. Should you wish to give it a try, here’s how it’s done:
- Search for and open System in Windows.
- Click System protection.
- Go to the System Protection tab of the System Properties window then click System Restore.
- Click Next in the System Restore.
- Select a Date and Time from the list of restore points that matches a date and time before the lockups problem started to occur.
- Click Next.
- If prompted, confirm your restore point.
- Click Finish.
- Then click Yes.
Your computer will automatically restart when the restoration is finished. If this won’t help, then consider a complete Windows system reformat then reinstall OS on your computer.
Seek more help
If none of the prior methods is able to fix your HP Stream notebook and that it’s still acting the same or showing similar lockups symptoms, then most likely it’s a hardware issue. Having said that, your next better option would be either to take your computer to a service center or contact HP for other recommendations. Consider the first option if there were previous instances that could likely cause damage to any of its physical components. Otherwise, seek further assistance from HP support or Microsoft support to troubleshoot more complex system problems using some dedicated tools on their end.
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