My laptop keeps freezing whenever I play games...

[Diego from Ice Age]

Whenever I play any of my games for any time, from 5 to 60 minutes, my laptop will randomly freeze. I can't use any of the keys or the mouse. The image on the screen stops and the only button I can use is the power button to do a hard shutdown. I have tried disk cleanups and have lowered the quality, brightness etc. of my games and the laptop itself... Any suggestions on what I should do?

[Cathulhu]

Have you monitored the temperatures of the CPU and GPU?
Have you checked the Windows Event log to see if it has recorded something at the time of the freezing?

[VenatrixVindictaJinXEffect]

update all of your drivers

[Macenn]

Your laptop most probably overheats. No matter what kind of laptop you have, you should clean the dust off it (inside) at least every 6 to 12 months. If you don't know how to do it then hire a professional for it.

Once that's done you should only use laptop when it's properly ventilated. Don't keep it on soft surfaces because it blocks the air flow.

During summer time i would suggest using extra cooling measures.

Mobile graphics cards aren't usually meant for gaming so try playing games that require lower end specs.

Hopefully you get proper computer for gaming some time and won't torture your laptop too long.

[Diego from Ice Age]

Originally posted by Macenn:

Your laptop most probably overheats. No matter what kind of laptop you have, you should clean the dust off it (inside) at least every 6 to 12 months. If you don't know how to do it then hire a professional for it.

Once that's done you should only use laptop when it's properly ventilated. Don't keep it on soft surfaces because it blocks the air flow.

During summer time i would suggest using extra cooling measures.

Mobile graphics cards aren't usually meant for gaming so try playing games that require lower end specs.

Hopefully you get proper computer for gaming some time and won't torture your laptop too long.

Most of the games I play are very pixelated, like Enter The Gungeon or Stardew Valley, which aren't especially taxing on my laptop.
When it freezes, it is completely sudden and the noise or heat of the laptop doesn't change the time, I don't think.
But occasionally, if it lasts for over an hour, it can get quite hot if I play big games like Elder Scrolls Online or Team Fortress 2...
Thanks for advice.

[Diego from Ice Age]

Originally posted by Macenn:

Your laptop most probably overheats. No matter what kind of laptop you have, you should clean the dust off it (inside) at least every 6 to 12 months. If you don't know how to do it then hire a professional for it.

Once that's done you should only use laptop when it's properly ventilated. Don't keep it on soft surfaces because it blocks the air flow.

During summer time i would suggest using extra cooling measures.

Mobile graphics cards aren't usually meant for gaming so try playing games that require lower end specs.

Hopefully you get proper computer for gaming some time and won't torture your laptop too long.

Oh, and also, I don't live in a very warm country, so in Summer the temperature is very similar to the Winter...

[Rick]

First off, give specs. There is always the possiblity that your laptop is underpowered.

[Diego from Ice Age]

Originally posted by Rick:

First off, give specs. There is always the possiblity that your laptop is underpowered.

8GB Ram
Intel Core i5 2.5GHz
Running Windows 10

Thanks...

[Diego from Ice Age]

Originally posted by GamingKen:

As other have said, it is quite likely a heat issue. More often than not that is the reason for lockups on laptops. Clean any dust away from vents on the laptop case. You can also buy cooling pads for laptops to sit on that have fans to help disperse the heat. Try Googling "laptop cooling pad".

You can also run something like HWMonitor to keep an eye on your temps. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

When it freezes, it isn't hot at all. Usually, it just stops after a random interval...

[Diego from Ice Age]

Originally posted by GamingKen:

Originally posted by The_Al_Bomb:

When it freezes, it isn't hot at all. Usually, it just stops after a random interval...

For starters, use the hardware monitor and keep and see what your temps are doing. It's still highly likely to be heat, and at least you will get an idea of temps this way - play for 10-15 minutes on each game then exit and keep a record of what temps your laptop is peaking at.

Outside of that, end any background processes that might be causing an issue (using Task Manager). If you have to, google each process and find out what they are and whether they really to to be running (or even on your system) Don't leave things like browsers etc running while you are in game.

An obvious one is also updating any drivers, especially for things like your graphics. Also, reset settings for anything like this back to default.

Run any anti-virus and anti-malware to make sure you system is clean and not being affected by nasty software.

That's where to start, if you do all those and still have issues then it might be better getting someone local to actually sit down with it.

Thanks, I'll try that...