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When your Mac is running slow or an app is frozen, you may be tempted to force quit the app, but this isn’t always the best solution. In some cases, force quitting an app can cause data loss or system instability. If force quitting an app isn’t working, there are several steps you can take to close a frozen app on your Mac.
Why Do Apps Freeze on Mac?
Apps may freeze on Mac for a variety of reasons, including software conflicts, hardware issues, and insufficient system resources. Sometimes, the cause of the freezing may be hard to pinpoint, but there are steps you can take to try to troubleshoot and fix the issue.
Software Conflicts:
One possible reason why an app may freeze on Mac is due to software conflicts. This can occur when two or more apps are trying to access the same resources at the same time.
Hardware Issues:
Another possible reason why an app may freeze on Mac is due to hardware issues. This can occur when the hardware is not performing as it should and is causing the app to not function properly.
Insufficient System Resources:
Finally, an app may freeze on Mac due to insufficient system resources. This can occur when the app is using more resources than the system can provide which can cause the app to freeze up. To fix this issue, you can check to make sure that the app is not using too many system resources and that it is not taking up too much memory or CPU power.
Why can’t I Force Quit An App on Mac?
Force quitting an app on Mac is a quick and easy way to close apps that are no longer responding or that you no longer need, but in some cases you may not be able to force quit an app. This could be due to a variety of reasons such as the app being in use by another user, or the app being stuck in a loop and not responding to the Force Quit command.
- The application may not be responding.
- The application may be in use by another user.
- The application may be running in the background without your knowledge.
- The application may be essential to the system’s functioning.
- The application may have been corrupted or damaged.
- The application may be set to run at startup and cannot be stopped.
How to Close A Frozen App on Mac If Force Quit Not Working?
In fact, it is not recommended to Force Quit an App on Mac unless it is absolutely necessary. Force quitting an App can cause the App to become unresponsive, corrupt data, and cause other issues. If Force Quit not working, then it is best to use Activity Monitor to try and quit the process instead of Force Quitting the App.
1. Restart Your Mac
The simplest way to close a frozen app is to restart your Mac. This will close all open applications and reset your computer’s memory, which can help clear up any issues that led to the app freezing in the first place. To restart your Mac, go to the Apple menu in the top left corner and select “Restart”.
2. Disable Login Items
If force quitting the app doesn’t work, you can try disabling any login items associated with the app. To do this, open System Preferences and go to the “Users & Groups” tab. Select the user account and click “Login Items”. Uncheck any items associated with the app and restart your Mac.
3. Using Command Prompt
The easiest way to force quit an app on a Mac is to use the keyboard shortcut Command-Option-Escape. This will bring up a dialog box listing all open applications and you can select the one you want to quit and then click Force Quit. You can also use the Terminal app to force quit an app.
- Step 1. Open the Terminal application on your Mac. You can do this by searching for it in Spotlight or navigating to its location in the Applications folder.
- Step 2. Type the command ‘ps -ax | grep [app name]’ and press Enter. This command will display a list of all the running processes on your Mac and the app you are looking for will be highlighted.
- Step 3. Find the process ID of the app you want to force quit. This is a unique number associated with each running process.
- Step 4. Type the command ‘kill -9 [process ID]’ and press Enter. This command will force quit the app that you specified.
- Step 5. You can also use the command ‘killall -9 [app name]’ to force quit all the instances of the app that are currently running.
Activity Monitor
Using Activity Monitor on your Mac is an easy way to force quit an app that is unresponsive or frozen. The Activity Monitor is a system utility application that provides an overview of all the processes running on your Mac. It is especially useful for troubleshooting and managing processes that are using a lot of system resources. This tutorial will show you how to force quit an app on your Mac using the Activity Monitor.
1. Open the Activity Monitor by clicking on the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner of the screen and typing in “Activity Monitor”.
2. Select the application you want to force quit from the list of running applications.
3. Click the “X” button in the upper-left corner of the Activity Monitor window.
4. A dialog box will appear asking you to confirm your decision. Click the “Force Quit” button to quit the application.
5. The application will be force quit and the Activity Monitor window will close.
Reset the PRAM
If the above steps don’t work, you can try resetting the PRAM. PRAM stands for Parameter Random Access Memory and is responsible for storing certain settings and preferences on your Mac. This can help fix any software issues that may be causing the app to act strangely.
1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold the Command, Option, P, and R keys on your keyboard.
3. Turn on your Mac.
4. Keep the keys held down until you hear the startup sound twice.
5. Release the keys.
6. Your PRAM has been reset and your Mac will restart.
When your Mac starts to act up, it can be incredibly frustrating. One of the most common issues users face is when a frozen app suddenly stops responding, and the Force Quit option does not work. In this article, we’ve discussed how to close a frozen app on Mac if Force Quit does not work. Hope this guide helps!
FAQs About Force Quit APP Not Working on Mac
Why won t Safari force quit?
Safari will not force quit because it is a web browser and does not need to be force quit as it does not take up a lot of resources. If Safari is not working properly, the best solution is to restart the computer to refresh the system.
How do you stop a process on a Mac?
There are several ways to stop a process on a Mac. The easiest way is to open the Activity Monitor application and search for the process you want to stop. Once you have located the process, you can simply select it and click the “Quit Process” button. Alternatively, you can force quit the process by pressing Command+Option+Esc and selecting the process you want to end.
What to do if your Mac is frozen and you can t click anything?
If your Mac is frozen and you can't click anything, you should try force quitting any applications that may be causing the issue. To do this, press Command + Option + Escape and select the application from the list. If this doesn't work, you can try restarting your Mac by holding down the power button until it shuts down. If that doesn't work, you may need to force restart your Mac by pressing and holding the power button for at least 10 seconds.