# Laptop freeze



## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

Hello, I have a 4 years old Dell Inspiron laptop, occasionally the screen freezes, I am unable to X out of the screen and find that I have to shut down the machine and reboot so as to be able to continue.
This is not a frequent issue, but is very annoying when it happens.
Is there something that I can do to stop the freezing ?, what may be causing the issue ?.

Thank you for any and all advice/


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## metallica5456 (Apr 1, 2013)

Hi what's the service tag from the laptop please?


Has it always been this way?


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Besides providing us with the "service tag" number on that Dell laptop, also advise us what its model name and model number is and how long it's been running Windows 10.

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## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

Hello, service tag #3LDYZM1, Model is Inspiron, model # is N-5030.
The machine has been running Windows 10 for about 5 months.
The " freeze" condition has been intermittent over the past few months. 

Thank you.


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## metallica5456 (Apr 1, 2013)

It only has support for windows 7 drivers from OEM DELL site.

It most likely also is not fast enough for windows 10 as its a old CPU system


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

> service tag #3LDYZM1, Model is Inspiron, model # is N-5030.
> The machine has been running Windows 10 for about 5 months.


You have this particular *Dell Inspiron 15 N5030* laptop.
Dell did not test it for nor provide drivers for it for Windows 10, but according to the description of its primary devices, they should have Windows 10 support and work okay.
It came with an Intel Pentium Dual Core T4500 2.30 GHz processor and 3 GB of DDR3 RAM.
It originally came with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, so you likely upgraded it to Windows 10 Home 64-bit.
There's nothing that you can do about the processor in it, but you do have the option of maxing it out with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM.

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## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

Thank you for your replies.
What advantage would there be in going up to 8GB DDR3 RAM ?..... how would I do that ?

Thank you again.


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## metallica5456 (Apr 1, 2013)

Frank is correct, however going from 3gb of RAM to 8gb unless you run a browser tab with 10 tabs or run 3 4 5 programs at once it will net you little performance boost. Your main bottleneck it the CPU. As I said above its a low-end CPU. Not meant for much besides basic use. Now you will notice a difference in upgrading the RAM but it may be negligible and not worth the cost


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## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

Thank you for your help and opinion..... I see a new laptop in my future.


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## metallica5456 (Apr 1, 2013)

Depending on what you do I would consider an i3 CPU at minimum.


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## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

Thank you both for your advice ... much appreciated.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

If you have the ability and the knowledge to do it, you might consider reinstalling Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit in that laptop.
It can accumulate a lot of issues and "debris" in 4 years, and which can be difficult or impossible to resolve.
A reinstall will give it a fresh start and breathe new life in it.

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## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

I know how to re-install Windows 7, but is that not being phased out soon in favour of Windows 10?, when I installed Windows 10 it was a free upgrade, I am led to believe that if I un-install Windows 10 then need to re-install when Windows 7 is phased out I would have to pay for Windows 10 ? .... is this correct ?


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Windows 7 SP1 will be supported until January 2020, so it's still almost 4 years away before Microsoft will phase it out.
The Windows 10 upgrade should remain free for qualified Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 users until July 2016, so you still have plenty of time to make a decision.

My suggestion is just that and is your choice to make.
Personally, I would stick with Windows 7 SP1 in that laptop.
Your next purchase will likely already have Windows 10.

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## Britfellow (Dec 26, 2013)

Thank you.... that gives me some time to " mull " the issue.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

You're welcome, and good luck. 

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## metallica5456 (Apr 1, 2013)

With wondpws 10 once its upgraded, the COA embedded in your windows 7 OS will activate a windows 10 installation because it will be linked to a windows 10 install already.


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