How To Freeze A Computer Screen [All Platforms]

Freezing your computer screen restricts unauthorized access to your system. It lets you sign out of your user account without putting your computer to sleep. It also prevents unwanted actions due to accidental key pressing or mouse clicking.

Key Takeaways

• Freezing or Locking your computer screen prevents unauthorized access to your system while you are away.
• The easiest way to lock your computer screen on Windows OS is to press the Windows key + L or Ctrl + Alt + Delete simultaneously and then click the Lock option.
• You can press Control, Command, and Q key simultaneously on your keyboard to freeze your computer screen on Mac OS.

How To Lock Your Computer’s Screen

You can always lock your screen if you don’t want to completely shut down your device or put it to sleep or hibernation. This is a relatively straightforward, more effortless, and more uncomplicated method. It is also desirable to lock your computer’s screen as it allows your applications to run in the background while signingout of your user account.

The process to lock your computer’s screen may vary depending upon your system’s Operating System. Let’s see how to freeze a Windows, Mac OS, and Projector computer screen.

On Windows 7

You can freeze your computer screen on Windows 7 using five straightforward methods.

Keyboard Shortcut

1. Find the Windows key on your keyboard and press it simultaneously with the L key.

   

2. This will lock your computer’s screen.

Start Menu

1. Press the Windows key or click the Windows icon to launch the Start menu.
2. Click the arrow next to the Shut down button.
3. Find the option of Lock in the submenu and click it

   

4. This will lock the computer’s screen, and you will be taken to the welcome screen.

Also Read: How To Update Windows [11, 10, 8, And 7]

Screen Lock Shortcut

You can create a shortcut to freeze your screen as well. This way, you can freeze your computer’s screen with just one click. To do that:

1. Right-click on your desktop and select the option of New.
2. Find the option of Shortcut from the menu and click it.

   

3. Enter the following command in the newly opened window: Rundll32.exe User32.dll, LockWorkStation
4. Click the Next button to continue.
5. Give the shortcut a proper name, for example, Lock Screen.

   

6. The Lock Screen icon will now be visible on your desktop.
7. Now, right-click the icon and choose the option of Properties.
8. Select the Shortcut tab and click on the Change Icon button.

   

9. Enter the following command in the Look for icons in this file search field: C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll
10. A list of icons will be displayed to you.
11. Select the icon of your choosing, and select OK.
12. Now, open the drop-down menu in front of Run and select Minimized.

    

13. Click OK to finish the process.
14. Now you can double-click on the icon to freeze your screen.
15. You can also drag the icon to your Taskbar and pin it there for convenience.

Using Shortkeys 

1. Press the keys Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.

   

2. A new window will open.
3. Find the option of Lock this computer and click it.

   

4. This will lock your computer screen.

Automatic Screen Lock

You can set up an auto lock of your computer screen on Windows 7. Here’s how to do it:

1. Click on the Windows icon towards the bottom left of the desktop to open the Start menu.
2. Click the option of Control Panel.
3. Navigate to the option of Personalization and click it.
4. Select the Screen Saver tab.
5. Enter the value of your desired time duration in front of the option of Wait.

   

6. Enable the option of On resume, display logon screen by clicking the checkbox.
7. Now your screen will lock after the specified duration of inactivity.

On Windows 8

Using three simple methods, let’s see how to freeze a computer screen in Windows 8 and 8.1.

Hotkeys

1. Navigate to the Windows Key on your keyboard.
2. Press Windows Key + L simultaneously.

   

3. This will lock your computer’s screen.

Using Ctrl + Alt + Delete 

1. Press and hold Ctrl + Alt and hit the Delete key simultaneously on your keyboard.
2. Choose the Lock option from the menu.

   

3. Doing this will lock your computer’s screen.

Using Windows Key

1. Hit the Windows Key on your keyboard to launch the Start menu.
2. Select the user account picture icon.
3. Select the Lock option.

   

4. Your screen will be locked.

Also Read: Windows Wireless Service Is Not Running On Computer

On Windows 10 & 11

Freezing your screen on Windows 10 and 11 is very simple. You can do it using five methods.

Keyboard Hotkeys

1. Locate the Windows Key on your keyboard.
2. Hit the Windows Key and hold it down while simultaneously pressing the L Key.

   

3. This will lock your computer’s screen.

Start Menu

1. Strike the Windows Key or click on the Windows icon to launch the start menu.
2. Find your user account icon and click it.
3. Now select the Lock option to lock or freeze your screen.

   

4. This will lock your computer’s screen.

Using Ctrl + Alt + Delete 

1. Press the Ctrl and Alt keys on your keyboard and hold them while pressing the Delete key simultaneously.
2. Select the Lock option from the menu.

   

3. Clicking it will lock your computer’s screen.

Automatic Screen Lock

You can set up your screen to automatically lock or freeze after a certain period of inactivity. To do that:

1. Type Settings in the Windows search bar and open the settings menu.
2. Click the option of Personalization and then select Lock Screen from the list of options towards the left.
3. Select a background of your choice.

   

4. Click the option of Lock Screen on the left side of the screen.
5. You can also select the applications that let you monitor status information when the screen is locked.
6.  Scroll down to find the option of screen timeout settings and click it.

   

7. Alter the time duration under the screen heading to set up automatic screen locking after the specified time.

   

Dynamic Lock

Using the built-in Dynamic Lock utility, you can configure your windows to lock your computer screen automatically. Here’s how to do it:

1. Type in Settings in the Windows search bar to open the settings menu.
2. Select the option of Accounts.
3. Navigate to the Sign-in options and click it.

   

4. Scroll down to find the option on Dynamic Lock and enable it by clicking the checkbox.

(Note: This method will only work if your computer is paired to a wireless device such as a Bluetooth device.)

Also Check: Windows Could Not Prepare Computer To Boot Installation Error

On Mac OS

Freezing the screen on your Mac is a bit different than doing it on Windows. Let’s see how to freeze a computer screen for Mac OS using four different methods.

Keyboard Shortcut

1. Press the Command, Option, Shift, and the Q key simultaneously on your keyboard.

   

2. This will log out of the current user account being used on the system and lock the screen.
3. This will also close all the applications and tabs you have opened and automatically bring you to the login screen.
4. To log in to your user account again, you must type in your password, as your Touch ID will be disabled.

(Note: This method doesn’t give you the confirmation prompt to log out of your user account.)

Using Command + Shift + Q Key

1. Press the Command, Shift, and Q key simultaneously on your keyboard.
2. This method will display a confirmation prompt before logging you out of your user account.
3. You can save your progress before logging out of your account using this method.

Using Control + Shift + Q Keys

1. Press the Control, Command, and Q key simultaneously on your keyboard.

   

2. Doing this will lock your screen and redirect you toward the login screen.
3. This method will not close any applications or documents you may have opened.
4. You can again log in to your account using your password or Touch ID.

Apple Menu

1. Go to the Apple menu.
2. Select the option of Lock Screen.

   

3. This will freeze your computer screen.

On OS X Yosemite/ El Capitan

You can lock the screen using two methods if you use a Mac running on the OS X Yosemite or El Capitan.

Menu Bar

1. Navigate to the Menu Bar towards the upper right corner of your home screen.
2. Click the Lock icon.

   

Keyboard Hotkeys

1. Press Control + Shift + Eject keys on your keyboard simultaneously if your Mac has an Eject Key or an Internal Optical Drive.

   

2. Alternately, press the Control + Shift + Power keys simultaneously on your keyboard.
3. This will lock the screen on your Mac device.

On A Projector

Suppose you use a projector and want to freeze your screen to hide your computer screen activity or, for some other reason, use the projector’s remote control. Many projectors offer the option to freeze the projected display remotely.

However, not all projectors have this option. In that case, you can freeze your projector’s display using your computer’s OS. There are two methods to do that:

Extend

1. Click the notifications icon on the bottom right section of your desktop to launch the action center.
2. Select the Project option.

   

3. You can also open this window by pressing the Windows key + P on your keyboard.
4. Click the Extend option.

   

5. This will lock your computer’s projected screen.

PC Screen Only

You can also black out your projector’s display. To do that:

1. Click the notifications icon towards the bottom right section of your desktop and open the action center.
2. Find the option of Project and click it.
3. You can also open this window by pressing the Windows key + P on your keyboard.
4. Click the PC screen only option.

   

5. This will black out the computer’s projected screen.

Final Word

It is recommended to Lock or Freeze your computer screen while you are away. This ensures only authorized access to your system. Unlike the sleep or hibernation option, it also allows your processes and programs to run in the background. Head to Microsoft Community or Mac OS Community forums and post your queries if you are still unclear about how to freeze a computer screen or face any issues regarding the subject.