Causes

The Dell Streak tablet runs a variety of programs and applications. Every now and then, programs freeze and crash. When a program freezes, the system remains unresponsive until the program closes or the operating system reboots. Dell tablets use the Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) operating system. If the operating system is experiencing technical difficulty, the tablet will freeze.

Restarting

If the Dell tablet is frozen, wait a few seconds to see if it will resume normal operation. If the system problem is temporary, the device will resume normal operations in a few seconds. If an application caused the tablet to freeze, close it. If it won't close, press and hold the “Power and Sleep/Wake” button until the Power Off option appears on the screen. Touch the “Power Off” option to turn off the tablet. Wait a moment, then turn the device back on.

Safe Mode

If the Dell tablet started freezing after you installed one or more applications, uninstall them. Before uninstalling applications, place your tablet in Safe mode. Safe mode is a troubleshooting mode that disables third-party applications. In this mode, you can uninstall damaged or erratic applications safely without interfering with the operating system. Turn off your tablet before placing it in Safe mode. Press and hold the "Power and Sleep/Wake" button to turn on the device. When the white Dell logo appears on the screen twice, press and hold the "Menu" button until "Safe mode" appears on the screen. From the Downloads screen, tap the applications you want to remove and tap the "Uninstall" button to remove them. Reboot your Dell tablet normally. You can then begin reinstalling applications one-by-one, testing for freezing issues after each installation. If you reinstall an application and the Dell tablet starts freezing again, uninstall that application permanently as it may be unstable.

Reset

Reset your Dell tablet to the default factory state if the freezing problem persists. To reset the device, press and hold the power button, and then touch "Power Off." Press and hold the "Volume Up" button. While holding the button, press and hold the "Power" button. The configuration screen appears. Using the volume buttons to maneuver your cursor, select the "Factory Reset" option and then press the "Power" button to reset the device. It takes a few minutes for the device to reset. If the Dell tablet is still freezing, contact Dell for additional troubleshooting and repairs because your tablet is probably faulty.