Recent drivers, temperature sensors, fans and accessories to limit dust intake, extreme cleaning, patches, stability tests... no luck. The point is that your PC freezes, however, there are different types of freezes. The hardest ones usually involve hardware, and the classic solution is to press the reset button, but if it's a soft error, you might improve the situation with a simple keyboard shortcut compatible with Windows 8.x and Windows 10.
Overclocking enthusiasts know firsthand the lack of stability in their systems. Depending on the final goal, some stress tests can last for days, and when everything seems to be in order, an unexpected condition leaves the computer on the canvas. It's frustrating... and part of the game. Now, what happens when the freeze occurs without apparent reason? To tell the truth, that is harder to diagnose. There may be no overclocking at all, but a dry layer of silicone grease and/or a dusty heatsink are more than enough to knock out a system. On the other hand, software problems are quite common, especially considering the relationship between the latest versions of Windows and high-profile elements like video drivers. And speaking of video...
Does your PC freeze? Try this shortcut
If for some reason the screen goes black, or you notice other erratic behavior, press Win+Ctrl+Shift+B. That combination tells the operating system to restart its graphics subsystem, reloading the video driver in the process. This shortcut isn't published in official Windows documentation, but it has been shared several times in Microsoft's support forum by users who experienced issues waking their computers from sleep, or who only saw a cursor and a black background.
Most reports suggest the keyboard shortcut works on Windows 8.x and Windows 10, though I've only been able to test it on the latest version (I don't have Windows 8.1 builds at hand right now). However, we shouldn't lose sight of an important detail: This is simply a temporary solution, just a trick to get out of a jam. If your computer freezes several times a day, the right thing is to identify the reason why your PC freezes, not roll the dice with a key combination.
You can also follow this guide for when your PC freezes or turn to software to help you in finding the causes, as well as analyze blue screens to read what the malfunction was.
How to Geek
