Hang (computing)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Freeze (computing))
Jump to: navigation, search
 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

In computing, either a single computer program or the whole system may "hang" or become unresponsive to keyboard and mouse input. The term "hang" is synonymous with "freeze," the more commonly used term. In a hang, the window affected or the whole computer screen becomes static, the latter case including the mouse cursor. It is contrast with crash, where a program stops working and is not responding, or exits abnormally after encountering a problem. When no other input works, the power cycle must be restarted by an on/off or reset button.

The cause of a hang is usually that the programmer has incorrect termination conditions for a loop, or, in a co-operative multitasking operating system, forgetting to yield to other tasks.

Usually, in systems with a modern operating system, the user is able to terminate the programs running (for instance, with the kill command, or through the "end task" button on the task list in recent versions of Microsoft Windows), and, if they wish, restart it in the hope that the anomalous condition that caused the hang does not recur. Older systems, such as those using MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows 3.1, often needed to be completely restarted in the event of a hang.

Pre-emptive multitasking operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Apple Computer's Mac OS X and Linux crash less often as the multi-tasking system is not affected by non-terminating loops and further does not require tasks to yield control to the operating system.

A watchdog timer can reboot the computer in events of a hang.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_%28computing%29"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.