why does this little rotating aqua blue ring appear when my pc freezes

[Bongo]

that little ring is part of the mouse pointer scheme. it shows that ring when you're computer if busy.
I can't believe you guys went right for some kind of computer issues. lol

I can't believe you did not see that zigzag gave your answer in post #2 did you think the OP did not see his answer.
Jerry

 

[Bertison]

Win7 with adequate hardware should never hang or bog. However HP's have the worst load of preinstalled crapware and useless factory utilties with better versions built into Win7 itself. This is corruption in and of itself which needs taming or possible clean reinstall of just the OS to unleash it's native performance.

To begin, follow these steps to Clean up factory bloatware.

(My Underlines) - Spot On! This is the 'meat' of a reply I gave to a similar Post, 2 weeks ago: -

Some time ago, I needed to remove all the useless, space-wasting factory crud from my HP lappy and make a fresh install of Win7/64. On the UK "Micromart" magazine forum, I received good advice from a techie working in a large international PC outlet. I used his advice and I pass it on here:

Backup all the stuff you intend to keep.
Your original Win7 Product Key is needed. On lappies, it is on the base. For a PC 'Big Box', it should have been a sticker in your original Windows disc case. If not, it may be stuck to the inside of the PC case.Write it down.
Borrow a genuine Win7 disc, OEM or Full. (Luckily, I had a full copy from my PC.) The disc MUST be same O/S as original: Win7/64, 32, Home Premium/Utimate/Professional/whatever.
Install the disc and follow the instructions for a complete new Installation. This will remove everything and prepare it for the new installation.
At activation, when asked for the Product Key, type in the one you wrote down, from your original O/S.
Follow the instructions on screen, for a shiny, spanking new installation.
Reinstall your backup stuff.

It's not just HP though - there are more manufacturers selling laptops (and sometimes PC's) with totally useless, space-wasting krap which ignores the fact that Windows has it all covered in its own installation, or via Microsoft updates.