“Why does a computer crash?” is a very common question among many laypeople who use the technology computers and mobile devices provide without understanding their internal workings. Thankfully, many computer savvy technicians know how to fix computer crashes, and are available by phone. (It would seem counterintuitive to have them only available through the computers that have crashed). Computer crashes don’t necessarily mean that your computer needs to be fixed, as some of them are incidental disruptions in your programming, however, the price and time it takes to get a computer fixed seem daunting to laypeople.
When a computer crashes, many people don’t know how or why it happened, and in many cases, it’s a simple software bug that causes the blue screen computer crash (for Windows users) or the automatic shut down of a computer’s applications. Sometimes, it takes a virus to crash computers, and there are many malicious viruses hidden in downloads, websites, and other places online. They can even be hidden in software.
Many people call the blue computer crash screen on Windows the “blue screen of death” because it means that whatever they were doing, whatever they were working on will be lost. Thankfully, advancements in computer programming have limited the times a computer will crash and software will automatically save every few minutes for the user. Computers still crash, but it can be avoided by simple techniques. You can close any programs that you aren’t using, so that your system doesn’t get overtaxed; make sure that your computer has enough free space and doesn’t get too cluttered with programs and documents. Updating antivirus software consistently also helps to avoid computer crashes, as some viruses do cause crashes. Another way to prevent these events is to back up your files frequently.