While there are many situation that can cause Windows 8 to lock up, EXEControl Global Solutions ran into this problem after uninstalling Windows 7 on a convertible laptop/tablet device. The device would randomly lock up. The mouse would work and control-alt-del responded but then hung. The solution was performing a forced power off and restarting the unit. After many BIOS changes, Windows updates and many internet based posts, we finally ran across the issue plaguing the convertible device. Windows 8 improperly utilizes a feature called dynamic tick. The command to disable is ‘bcdedit set disabledynamictick yes’ – The following Windows link was helpful in our resolution:
http://withinwindows.com/within-windows/2012/06/28/workaround-for-windows-8-freezing-issues