While not as common as on Windows, macOS isn't immune to programs or applications freezing to the point where they can't even be closed or interacted with. macOS offers several options when a program or application is malfunctioning or causing problems . In this post, we'll explain step-by-step how to force-quit an app or program on a Mac.
We must keep in mind that forcibly closing an application causes us to lose everything we were doing in it , unlike the classic method, where a warning window appears. Therefore, once we perform a forced closure, there's no going back, so it should always be our last resort, although we assume that if you do it, it's precisely because you have no other alternative.
Methods to force close applications or programs
We have 5 fairly simple methods to force the closure of any process, application or program that is running on our Mac, which will be useful for the situation we are referring to.
Commands on the keyboard
- We press the keys "Option" + "Command" + "Esc"
- A Task Manager that shows us all the applications that we have open at that moment.
- We select the application that is causing us problems and we click force exit.
If you want to learn how to take screenshots using keyboard commands , you can visit a post dedicated to that topic.
Use el buscador
- We click on the Apple icon that appears at the top left of the toolbar and in the panel that is displayed we select "Force exit."
- A task manager will open that shows us the applications open at that moment.
- Now we select the application that is causing us problems or does not work as it should and click on "Force exit."
Using the keyboard option key
- We click with the right button of our mouse in the icon of the application that is causing us problems, in the doc or the desktop.
- Then we press and hold the key "Option" and the option "Exit" it will become in "Force exit" as long as we hold it down.
Activity monitor
- We look for the Activity Monitor application that is reinstalled on all computers with macOS. We can find it simply by clicking on the magnifying glass that we find in the upper right in the task bar, a window will be displayed where we have to write "Activity monitor" and we select the application in the list.
- This program shows us in detail all the applications or processes that our team is carrying out. We will look for the application that is failing, select it and click on the button that appears a stop sign up to the left.
Use the terminal
This method, even if I include it in the list, I do not recommend it as it requires more knowledge and can cause us to touch or deactivate something that we do not want, so I recommend being cautious if we use it.
- We open Finder and we're going to "Applications" we scroll until we find the «Utilities» folder and execute the application "Terminal".
- Once the application is started, we wait a moment and it will show us our username and a tilde, we write top inside the box and press the return key.
- Terminal will list all the applications that are running at that moment, including those that are working in the background, along with a large amount of information about the CPU and RAM. If we move we will find the column «Command», where we will see a list of all the applications running next to it we will see a column of numbers labeled PID.
- We look for the application that is causing us problems or an abnormal operation and we take note of your PID. Next we close the terminal window and open a new one, where we will write the word "Kill" followed by the PID of said application. We press the Return key and the application or program will be closed permanently.
If the problem persists despite trying any of the listed methods, we recommend saving everything you're doing on your Mac and restarting it. If the problem continues after restarting, you'll need to completely uninstall the application and wait for an update.
Why does an application freeze?
The main reason this happens in most cases is a process we've tried to perform that has consumed more RAM than was available at that moment, so it waits to free up some RAM . The problem is that when the RAM is finally released, the program becomes unresponsive and freezes.
It could also be because the application isn't fully compatible with your current version of macOS. This often happens with older 32-bit applications that haven't been properly ported to 64-bit . It can also occur because the installed application is too demanding on your processor, preventing you from running anything else simultaneously.
This also happens when we want to watch a YouTube or Twitch stream on older Macs and have the comments displayed; even though the video is 1080p (playable on any Mac model from 2010 onwards), it freezes. If we close the comments, the video plays without problems.
How to avoid it?
If your Mac is older and this is happening more and more frequently, my recommendation is to make a small investment to upgrade the RAM . It's undoubtedly a considerable and low-cost improvement that will allow you to have more applications open in the background without interfering with their performance.
I also recommend replacing your hard drive (HDD) with an SSD . This will prevent your computer from struggling when downloading content, transferring files to an external drive, or using memory for editing. SSDs are constantly decreasing in price, and the improvement is substantial. The difference in read and write speeds between an HDD and an SSD is remarkable.
If you don't know what type of hard drive your computer has, this article will show you how to find out.
Finally, I recommend installing only apps with reliable reviews. We can install apps from outside the App Store, but always try to do so from official or trusted sources , where we can be sure that what we're downloading is malware-free.