If your computer has been working for a while and suddenly freezes up, hangs, or won’t turn on, it might be time to consider if your machine is broken. If this is the case, you need to take more steps before coming to that conclusion.

6 Ways on What to Do If You Think Your Computer’s Broken

1. Start by turning it off and then turn it on

The first step in knowing if your computer is broken is to see if it turns back on. The best thing to do is turn it off and back on. It may seem like an easy and obvious step, but people will often give up and assume that their computer is broken.

2. Check for boot-up codes

Once you’ve turned your computer back on after trying the first step above, you need to check for possible boot-up codes. Some code will be displayed on the screen if your computer is broken. The screen may say something like Press F2 or Ctrl+Alt+Delete and display a number corresponding to a keyboard button to press. If this doesn’t happen on reboot, you should look at other steps. If your computer shows a boot-up code, the next step is to try hitting the key the code indicates.

3. Run a full system scan

If you’re still unable to get your computer to reboot and the code tells you to do so, you’ll have to run a full system scan. If you cannot get this done, the chances are that your computer is broken. Search for the best computer repair services in your zone, they will offer full system scans that can help diagnose broken computers.

4. Restore your computer to an earlier time

If you can run a full system scan and if it comes back clean, we recommend restoring your computer to an earlier time. Sometimes you can’t tell if your PC is broken or not; by the way, it’s acting. If the scan comes back clean and nothing has changed, then something must have happened to change things around on the computer. The change could have been a recent software install or a hardware install, or it could have been just plain neglect over time. Restoring your computer to an earlier date will clear out anything on the system that might be causing problems.

5. Check the computer case and cables

The last thing you can do is check your computer case and cable connections. One can do it by opening up the casing of the computer. Make sure that all cables are correctly seated in their respective slots. If you find any loose or broken wires, try fixing them immediately.

6. Hold the power button

Another thing that you can do is to hold the power button down for a few seconds. It will cause your computer to go into sleep mode, allowing it to save some power and cool down. If your computer doesn’t go into sleep mode, then it’s broken. Even if it does, try holding the power button down this time.

Once you’ve taken the steps above, you’ll at least have a fairly good idea of whether or not your computer is broken. If it’s not broken, it may be time to sell it. Taking this step-up front will save you from having to pay for repairs and refurbishments later down the road, which could be extremely costly.

Taylor Gilbert is the admin and freelance writer at How About Tech since 2020. He primarily writes Tech articles, How-to guides and Entertainment as well.