Force quitting an unresponsive application is the same as killing the viruses when we get sick. You need to see a broad view of this and understand what is the actual problem and how can you take care of it such that it never happens again. So, the reason is that you do not have enough memory in your mac (RAM is not enough). This happens when your mac lacks enough memory to operate with new applications. So whenever you run the task on your mac, the system becomes unresponsive and freezes. Imagine RAM as a physical object which has limited space to sit or keep something then, you cannot force the object to adjust some more things over it. Just like that RAM of your mac cannot operate applications more than its capacity.
How to Force Quit Mac Applications With the Keyboard Shortcut
To prevent unresponsive applications, you should always keep deleting the stuff which you do not need any more from your mac or you can also save the files in your pen drive as to have enough space to operate multiple applications. By not doing so, it can also sometimes result in losing the saved data. So, following are the six ways in which you can force quit the applications on your Mac when they are unresponsive:
How to Force Quit Mac Applications With the Keyboard Shortcut Method 1: You can Force Quit an App from the Apple Menu Method 2: Command + Option + Escape Method 3: You can close the Presently Active Mac App with the help of your Keyboard Method 4: You can Force Quit the Applications from the Dock Method 5: You can use the Activity Monitor to Force Quit Apps Method 6: You can use the Terminal & kill Command
Method 1: You can Force Quit an App from the Apple Menu
Following are the steps to apply this method:
Press the Shift Key. Select the Apple menu. After selecting the Apple Menu to select “Force Quit [Application Name]”. As in the screenshot shown below the name of the application is “Quick Time Player”.
This is one of the easiest ways to remember but it is not the most powerful method because it might happen that the application does not respond and the menu is not able to gain access.
Method 2: Command + Option + Escape
This method is a lot easier than using the Activity Monitor. Also, this is a very simple keypress to remember. This keypress allows you to cancel multiple applications at once. This keypress is the best shortcut to quit a task or a process or a site or a daemon forcibly. This is one of the easiest ways to cancel out the applications. Following are the steps to apply this method:
Press Command + Option + Escape. Select the “Force Quit Applications” window. Select the application name and then click on the “Force Quit” option.
This will surely help in ending the application immediately.
Method 3: You can close the Presently Active Mac App with the help of your Keyboard
Keep in mind that you have to press this keystroke when the application you want to close is the only application on your Mac at that time, as this keystroke will force quit all the applications which are active at that time. Keystroke: Command + Option + Shift + Escape until the app forcibly closes. This is one of the fastest yet easiest ways to close the applications on your Mac. Also, it is a very simple keypress to remember. Also Read: How to Turn Off the Find My iPhone option
Method 4: You can Force Quit the Applications from the Dock
Follow the following steps to apply this method:
Click Option + Right Click on the application icon in the dock Then select the “Force Quit” option as shown in the screenshot below
By using this method, the application will be forcibly quit without any confirmation so, you have to be sure before applying this method.
Method 5: You can use the Activity Monitor to Force Quit Apps
Activity Monitor is one of the most powerful ways to quit any app, task, or process forcibly which is running on your Mac. You can find and click it in the Applications or Utilities OR you can simply open it by pressing Command + Space and then type ‘Activity Monitor’ and then press the return key. This method is very effective. If the above methods fail to force quit the application then, this method will surely work. Also, it is very simple to use Activity Monitor. Following are the steps to apply this method:
Select the process name or ID you want to kill (unresponsive apps will appear as red). Then you have to hit the red “Force quit” option as shown below in the screenshot.
Method 6: You can use the Terminal & kill Command
In this killall command, the auto-save option does not work so, you should be very careful that you do not lose your unsaved significant data. It usually operates at the system level. Following are the steps to apply this method:
First, launch the terminal Second, type the following command: killall [application name] Then, click enter.
So these were the six ways in which you can force quit the applications on your mac when they are unresponsive. Mainly, your frozen applications can be forcibly quit with the help of the above method but if you are still not able to force quit the application then, you should visit Apple Support. Now, if your mac is still not able to force quit the application even after applying all these methods, then you need to contact your mac operator. You should try calling their customer service line and if they can’t help you, you should contact Apple Support. One can conclude that there is some hardware related issue with your Mac if all the methods stated above fail to work. Recommended: Fix iPhone Cannot Send SMS messages It is better to try each method before going to a hardware store and shelling out money unnecessarily. Therefore, these methods will help in solving your problem in the most cost-effective manner.
