There is no such thing as an infallible computer, and if you use a Mac for any length of time, you will eventually run into a problem in MAC OS where one of your applications has stopped responding. This will result in you being unable to use the app’s features and content, and you will be left with nothing more than a beachball that spins endlessly in its place.
If the beachball stays on the screen for more than a few minutes and you can’t interact with the app’s interface, this is usually an indication that the app in question has crashed, which means it’s time to force quit it and restart the app to see if you can pick up where you left off in the hopes that it won’t crash again. If the beachball stays on the screen for less than a few minutes, it’s possible a frozen MAC appthat the app in question has frozen. Continue reading to find out how.
How to Force Quit An App – Method 1
If the application is misbehaving, you can force quit it by right-clicking its icon in the Dock while holding down the Option key. This will expose a Force Quit action in the popup menu.
How to Force Quit an App – Method 2
There is a second choice available for stopping an app that is not responding, and it is possible that this choice represents one of the more intuitive options.
- Click on the Apple logo in the menu bar.
- Select the “Force Quit” option.
- Click the app that you want to quit. Unresponsive apps will have a “Not Responding” designation next to them.
- After selecting the offending app, click on Force Quit to shut it down.
You also have the option of opening the Force Quit programs interface by simultaneously pressing the Command, Option, and Escape keys on your keyboard.
How to Force Quit An App – Method 3
Using Activity Monitor, you may also forcibly shut Macbook repairthat are performing improperly. It is located in the Applications folder, under the Utilities subfolder.
The primary pane provides a list of all the applications and processes that are active on your Mac at the moment. You’ll note that the order does a lot of skipping about. This is because the list that you are viewing is being refreshed every five seconds to indicate changes in the usage statistics of each individual app.
- Under the Process Name list, select the app or process you want to quit. To make finding the culprit easier, click Process Name in the column header to sort them alphabetically, or use the Search field in the top-right corner of the window to find the app or process. Note that an unresponsive process is labelled with (Not Responding).
- Make sure the app or process is highlighted, then click the Quit (X) button in the top-left corner of the Activity Monitor window.
- Select Quit (this is the same as choosing File -> Quit within an app) or Force Quit, which quits the process immediately.
Be aware that if the application or process has files open when you force quit it, you can lose data in the process. Also, keep in mind that if the process you forcibly stop is used by other programs or processes, other apps or processes may encounter problems as a result of your action.
If your work in the app that crashed hasn’t been saved in a while, either manually or automatically, then there isn’t much you can do to restore it other than check your Time Machine backup.
