It’s time for another Jargon Buster and as its feeling very chilly now we felt it would be fitting to have this month’s post focus on the tech term ‘frozen’. No need to dig out your earplugs, we’re not about to break into a rendition of ‘Let It Go’, although when your computer freezes it is about as annoying as a karaoke version of this song!

Most of you will already know what we mean when we say your computer has ‘frozen’, this is the frustrating occurrence when no matter how much you wiggle your mouse your cursor won’t move and your screen won’t change.

Generally when your computer freezes something has gone wrong with the software that has caused the operating system to have a mini meltdown (so many puns, so little time) and freeze. This can be caused by any number of issues and often unexpectedly which is why it is always a good idea to make sure you regularly save your work as you go along.

As well as software issues, your computer may also freeze if there is an issue with the hardware such as a processor error or if you have been unlucky enough to have your computer infected with a virus.

If your computer does freeze the only way to get it warmed up (I warned you about the puns) is to force it to restart by first holding down the power button for a few seconds causing it to shutdown and then switching it on again. This will in most cases solve the problem, although you will lose any work you haven’t saved which is why again we can’t stress enough how important to hit ‘control’ and ‘S’. If you find your computer is regularly freezing this may be an indication of a bigger problem with your device and might be time to give our resident IT whizz, Allan, a call!