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What can i say when suddenly my computer 'freezes'. you can't move the mouse pointer, etc.
and the only solution is to restart the comp.

can i say then that 'my computer has frozen/died/broke/petrified/was left speechless':)?
I'd like to know both the colloquial and formal expressions for it.
Can you also state if it is the American or British English?
As i live in Britain, i'd be more interested in British versions (with all due respect to AmE speakers

thank you

El Hefe · Accepted Answer

What you are describing is usually referred to as 'A computer freezing' or 'A computer crashing'. I am sorry but I'm not one hundred percent sure which is more used in America or England, however I have probably heard them both equally on both sides of the pond.

In worse case scenarios, when this happens, a blue screen will appear. This is usually referred to in slang as 'Being blue screened'.

A funny story came to mind whilst I was typing this post that you may or may not find interesting. Before Windows 98 was released, Bill Gates was showing it off to a room full or reporters and people in the IT industry, when all of a sudden, yes you guessed it!, he got ‘blue screened’. You can find the video clip online if you want to see it for your self.

I personally couldn't stop laughing for a week every time i booted up my system!

Mister Micawber · Answer

"crash

(n) A serious computer failure. A computer crash means that the computer itself stops working or that a program aborts unexpectedly. A crash signifies either a hardware malfunction or a very serious software bug.

If your computer crashes, it is not your fault. If the program is good and your hardware is functioning properly, there is nothing you can do to make your system crash. "

"blue screen of death

Abbreviated BSOD, an error that can appear on computers running in a Windows environment. This includes even the earliest versions of Windows, such as Windows 3.0 and 3.1, and still occurs in later versions such as Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, and Windows 2000. Jokingly called the blue screen of death because when the error occurs, the screen turns blue, and the computer almost always freezes and requires rebooting."

But strangely enough, Webopedia does not define 'freeze', which is what my computer often does when I hit too rapid a succession of keys, or incorrectly interrupt when a screen is loading. There is no damage done, but everything stops dead and I have to CTRL-STOP-DELETE to shut the machine down and reboot.

Guest · Answer

Thank you very much for your explanations.
Where can I download that video clip with Gates?
I'd love to see it.

Thank you

Guest · Answer

You can also say - 'hanged'. That would mean frozen and the restart is the only option.

Alexescalona · Answer

You could also use the generic verb phrase "to become unresponsive", as in, "the computer became unresponsive". This can usually follow the expression "the workstation (computer, system) froze and ...", or may be used independently to refer to such an event.

Glsutcliffe · Answer

I always say 'crash' (British English).

Jesusloving · Answer

freeze~~why not

SanPal · Answer

Yes I think the most suitable word is 'Hang''. When your are not able to do any thing on your computer , means not getting response from computer(program) in this case you can say that your computer is 'hanged' and u have no option either you have to terminate the task(program) or restart your computer. U can say that the program is not responding because if you see in task manager status of program would be 'NotResponding'.

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