220-802 · Question #463
Which of the following describes a computer in which the HDD LED is lit, but the mouse does not respond and the computer is unresponsive?
The correct answer is A. The computer has locked up. A system with HDD LED activity but a frozen, unresponsive mouse and keyboard describes a classic system lockup or hang condition.
Question
Which of the following describes a computer in which the HDD LED is lit, but the mouse does not respond and the computer is unresponsive?
Options
- AThe computer has locked up
- BWindows Update is running
- CThe computer is in Safe Mode
- DThe reset button is stuck
How the community answered
(51 responses)- A88% (45)
- B2% (1)
- C4% (2)
- D6% (3)
Why each option
A system with HDD LED activity but a frozen, unresponsive mouse and keyboard describes a classic system lockup or hang condition.
When a computer locks up, the CPU stops processing user input so the mouse and keyboard become unresponsive. However, disk activity may still continue briefly as the HDD LED indicates the drive is still being accessed at the moment of the freeze. This combination of active disk LED and total input unresponsiveness is the defining symptom of a locked-up system.
Windows Update running in the background may slow the system but does not fully prevent mouse movement or keyboard input from being processed.
Safe Mode is a reduced-driver boot state but still provides full mouse and keyboard functionality to the user.
A stuck reset button would continuously reboot the system rather than leaving it frozen with an active HDD LED.
Concept tested: Identifying system lockup symptoms in Windows
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/what-to-do-if-your-pc-freezes-or-locks-up-7a51c42a-f3a0-4a53-97b1-9e1a7d5e5b7f
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