Troubleshooting slow performance
If the FC-5000 is running slow or is frozen (such as at a blank black screen), some possible causes and solutions are as follows.
- Microsoft may be automatically downloading or installing an update (see Related Article at bottom of page).
- Similar to using Ctrl-Alt-Del on a desktop PC, hold the bottom-right hardware Start (Windows logo) button while then also briefly pressing the top-right hardware Power button. A blue screen will appear which provides several options to help diagnose the issue (such as using Task Manager) or to just restart the system.
- Holding the hardware Power button alone for 5 seconds normally gives you a slide down screen for performing a Restart. If this does not appear, continuing to hold the Power button for 10 seconds (such as releasing while the red charging LED is flashing quickly) will force a soft Restart. If this does not occur, continuing to hold the Power button for a full count of 20 seconds (such as until after the red LED turns off completely) will perform a Hard Reset (which disconnects the batteries and drain the system), requiring you to attach an external power source (such as the wall charger) and possibly again hold the Power button for 2-3 seconds (batteries will re-connect). This should revive the system in the majority of cases.
- If the system continues to run slow even after a Restart or Hard Reset, then either a startup process is not working correctly or there is corruption in the system. If you are unable to diagnose and resolve the issue such as using Task Manager, System Configuration (msconfig), or other tools as you would on any full Windows PC, then you may need to use the recovery tools under Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery such as the "Reset this PC" tool.
- If the system is not responding well enough to be able to get to and operate this menu and these options, then you may be able to load the Boot Menu which provides similar options such as "Reset this PC" or even for booting into Safe Mode. To get to the Boot Menu, you must attach a USB keyboard (may need to restart once before it is recognized) for then holding the Shift key while using the on-screen Power button to select Restart. The on-screen Power option is in the Start menu or at the bottom-right corner of the security screen which appears when performing the equivalent to Ctrl-Alt-Del as explained previously.