Jun 08, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
“I was working on a Photoshop project and suddenly my Mac is stuck. It is not responding to the usual commands. So, how do I force quit my Mac? Please help me to fix the problem!”
3 Ways to Force-quit an Unresponsive Program in Windows 10 PC. When using apps/programs on the computer, sometimes one program might experience long pauses or periods of unresponsiveness. You even cannot close the program by clicking the X button in its upper right corner. In this case, you would want a way to force the program to quit. May 02, 2019 Choose System Preferences. Click and Open General. From General, Uncheck “ Close windows when quitting an app ”. PRO TIP: If the issue is with your computer or a laptop/notebook you should try using Reimage Plus which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing files.
Even though Mac and OS X have a reputation for being the best software and hardware combination, they still have normal issues. Whenever a Mac application misbehaves, force quit can fix the problem. The application gets stuck when it enters an infinite loop, or about to crash. It is not an ideal solution to force close Mac but it doesn’t really cause any harm to the app either.
So, in this article, we will learn the various methods that can tell you to force quit Mac. Take a look at the methods and try if your apps are also misbehaving.
Part 1. Is It Bad to Force Quit on Mac?
Generally, people say that force quit the app on Mac harm the application. But you wouldn’t say that if you know the meaning and process of force quit.
Force quit means to force an unresponsive computer program to shut down by using a specific feature of the system like keystrokes, or other commands. It simply forces a frozen application to quit just like killing the symptoms when you try to cure a virus. Thus, the application shut down and prevents some serious damage to the system.
The most imminent reason to try force close app method is the lack of sufficient RAM on the system. With not enough computer memory to operate the system optimally, if you open numerous application at the same time, the resource utilization decline and the app becomes unresponsive. As a result, you’ll have to force quit the application. But if you don’t know the method properly, then you will get stuck with a frozen screen and might have to wait for hours to close the app.
So, in the next section, we will discover 'How do you force a Mac to shut down?'
Part 1. How to Force Shut Down Mac?
You will need to force shut down Mac when It stops responding completely. Usually, when the users don’t know how to force close Mac they end up making the problem worse. Hence, there is no other option left than shutting the whole system down.
While you are trying to force shut-down Mac, take care of the following things:
Unless, you can’t do anything, choosing a force shutdown is not recommended. But sometimes, the hard reset is the only option. To force shut down Mac, follow the steps below:
If this method doesn’t work, you can try disconnecting the Mac from power supply manually.
Part 2. How to Force Quit Application on Mac?
If the problem is not that drastic, then you can always try simply force quitting an application. As many of the users don’t really know how to force quit apple Mac application, we are providing you a detailed guide for the process.
1. When to Force Quit Program on Mac?
The only reason to use the force quit method is that your Mac doesn’t have sufficient RAM. Or maybe, you don’t handle the system well. As you run out of the memory space to utilize the app's resources, the applications become unresponsive. RAM is, after all, a physical workbench for the system. When you have enough RAM space, the applications will work perfectly. Once you run out of the memory, the system will suffer with you to run the programs well.
In this situation, the only plausible solution you’ll have is to force close program on Mac to exit it. However, the force quit will erase the work you’ve been doing in the application. But at least your device will start working which is enough. So, don’t regret losing the data and files as the Mac system will be saved.
2. 5 Ways to Force Quit Program on Mac
As there are several methods to carry out the task, we have explained every method in detail to help you fix the issue on your Mac.
I. Use Apple Menu to Force Stop on Mac:
The easiest method that you can use for this is to force quit apple Mac using the Apple Menu. It is a conventional way to close the frozen programs on Mac.
This will close the application immediately and you will be able to use the Mac freely.
Force Quit App In Terminal Mac
Another force action: how to force empty trash on Mac.
II. Use Apple Menu to Force Stop on Mac:
Another thing that you can try out in such cases is using the Keyboard shortcut. The force quit Mac shortcut will instantly close the running app; you only have to follow the steps below:
You can relaunch the app after a few minutes to make sure that it doesn’t exhibit the same problem again.
III. Use the Dock to Force Quit Applications:
Many Mac users don’t know that they can exit an application from Dock too. This way, you can easily force quit application on Mac.
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When you are using this method, if you get a warning to save the file opening in the app, it means you didn’t choose the right option. During the force quit, there will be no warning and hence you’ll lose the unsaved data or changes you made in the file.
IV. Use Activity Monitor to Force Close APP:
The Activity Monitor in Mac is just like the Task Manager function in Windows PC. When you open the Activity Monitor, you will get information about the current status of your Mac, the running applications, and the resources. And the good thing is that it also allows you to force a quit program on Mac. You can access the Ctrl + Alt + Delete alternate function in Mac using the steps below:
The option appears as a cross sign. When you click on it, the program will force close and you can relaunch it after some time.
V. Use Force Quit Command on Mac:
The Activity Monitor in Mac is just like the Task Manager function in Windows PC. When you open the Activity Monitor, you will get information about the current status of your Mac, the running applications, and the resources. And the good thing is that it also allows you to force a quit program on Mac. You can access the Ctrl + Alt + Delete alternate function in Mac using the steps below:
Keep in mind that force quit command on Mac works on a system level. So, when you use this command, the autosave option will be disabled and you’ll lose the important unsaved data.
What If Force Quit Mac Not Working?
If force quit on Mac is not working then you will have to opt for the force shutdown option. The forced reboot will kill the running programs and you will be able to access your Mac again. Simply press the Power button and Mac will shut down. Wait for few seconds and again press the power key to turn it on.
Since it is the RAM which is causing this issue, you’ll have to increase the RAM to avoid this issue in the future. But the last option you have left is force shut down. And it will also erase all the unsaved data files from the memory. Thus, you will need the help of a tool which can perform Mac data recovery.
Part 3. How to Force Quit Mac Without Losing Data?
If you don’t want to lose data when you are using force quit on MacBook, then we have the perfect solution for you. The tool we are providing you will make sure that even when you use the above methods, there will be no data loss. Take a look at Recoverit-Mac Data Recovery Software.
Free Download Mac Data Recovery Software:
The one and only tool that can assure you won’t lose any data is RecoveritData Recovery for Mac. After you force quit an app on Mac, data loss is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get the lost or deleted files back on your device. Recoverit is an easy, fast, and reliable data recovery method.
To get the data files back on your Mac, you will have to download and install the software on your Mac at first. So, if you use force quit command on Mac and lost data, then follow the steps given below:
Step 1: Select a Location
Run the program and specify a location from where the files were deleted. In case you don’t know where the files were located, choose the “I can’t find my partition” and hit the Start button.
Step 2: Scan the Location
The software will scan the drive and display the results on the screen sorted out according to their format. You can also pause the scan at any time.
Step 3: Preview and Recover
You can select any file and have a preview of the file before recovery. Select as many files as you want to recover and finally tap on the Recover option at the bottom of the screen.
Pay attention to the location where the files are saved. Don’t save the files in their previous location as it might corrupt them again.
Conclusion
In this article, you learned how to force close Mac with easy and simple methods. Along with this, you find out that there is a tool which is simple and effective in data recovery. So, if you experience any similar issue in the future, you know what you can do to resolve the issue. Make sure that you let others know as well that Recoverit can help them to retrieve deleted data from their device.
What's Wrong with Mac
When Mac apps misbehave, sometimes you need to force quit apps to shut down. This can happen when the app enters an infinite loop, crashes, hangs or otherwise ceases responding to user input. While it’s never an ideal way to close an application, it doesn’t generally hurt the app.
You won’t have a chance to save your work, of course, but with many Mac apps (especially Apple’s own macOS apps) auto-saving progress at regular intervals, that’s become less of an issue. So when you force quit apps on Mac, you will lose any data since your last save but won’t otherwise injure the program.
There are a couple of methods we can use to force quit apps on Mac which we will look at below.
1. The Simple Method to Force Quit Apps
The first, and simplest, way to try and force quit an app when it’s misbehaving is to use the Finder in macOS.
To do this, just click the Apple icon at top-left corner of the desktop, then select “Force Quit” from the list.
This will bring up the “Force Quit Applications” box. Find the app you want to force quit here, then click Force Quit at the bottom right corner.
![]() 2. Use the Dock
Force-quitting applications through the dock is the most familiar method for most users. It’s intuitively obvious and generally effective.
Force Quit App Macbook Pro
1. Right-click on the icon of the misbehaving application.
2. Hold down the Option key to reveal the “Force Quit” option.
3. Click “Force Quit” to force the application to close.
3. Use the Force Quit Menu
Your Mac also has a menu made specifically for forcing applications to shut down.
1. Click the Apple icon at the left of the menu bar at the top of your screen.
2. Select “Force Quit …” from the drop-down menu. You can also press Option + Command + Escape to open this menu.
3. Click on the name of the application in red with “(Not Responding)” next to it.
4. Click the “Force Quit” button in the bottom right of the window.
4. Use Activity Monitor to Force Quit Apps
Activity monitor also has the power to close apps. It lets you get a better handle on apps that have silently failed in the background. If you’re not actively using an application and it hits a weird hang, you might not know anything has happened. Because Activity Monitor shows the status of all open applications, you can see at a glance if any apps need to be force quit. You can also use it to quit processes, which are like sub-applications that don’t have Dock icons.
1. Open Activity Monitor by typing “Activity Monitor” into Spotlight.
2. Click on the application or process that shows in red text with “(Not Responding)” next to the application name.
3. Click the button with an X on a stop sign in the upper-left of the Activity Monitor window.
5. Use Terminal to Force Quit Apps
If you’re dealing with an application that won’t respond to force quit commands, Terminal’s kill command can shut the app down hard. It’s the most dramatic way to force an application or process to stop, but in our experience, it’s always effective.
1. Open Terminal by typing “Terminal” into Spotlight.
2. Type the following command to find the process number of the hanging application:
Replace [Application Name] with the name of the application you want to force quit. For example, to find Chrome, we would type the following:
This will simply show all the running applications that have that application’s name in their disk location. It won’t quit anything yet.
3. Scan the resulting list for the correct application or process. Take note of the four- or five-digit number shown before the process’s name. This is the process ID, or PID, which will be used to kill the application.
Here we can see that Chrome has the PID 2745. If you get multiple results for the application, look for the one that ends in /Contents/MacOS/[Application Name].
4. Type kill followed by the PID from the last step. For example, kill 2745 will shut down the process with the PID 2745.
ConclusionHard Quit Apps In Mac Download
Force-quitting Mac applications shouldn’t be your primary method of closing applications, of course. But it’s a necessary tool for stopping applications that can no longer respond to user input.
You might also like the following posts:
Getting Started with Terminal: Hide Files on macOSGetting Started with Terminal: Must-Know macOS Terminal CommandsCompletely Remove and Uninstall Apps from macOSComments are closed.
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