Top 4 Ways to Close Frozen Apps on Windows 10

For some PC users, the go-to method of dealing with frozen apps in Windows 10 is to hold down the power button until the system shuts down. Although this method is relatively straightforward, it can lead to file loss and data corruption, among other issues. Therefore, it is not advisable to use the power button to turn off the PC (and frozen applications).

Besides using the power button on Windows 10 PC, there are other safer ways to close frozen apps on Windows 10. Some of them include:

Close frozen applications using a Windows shortcut

With a simple shortcut, Windows 10 users can close frozen apps. This is how it works:

Step 1: Select the frozen application to make sure your PC is closing the application.

To note: If you don’t select any application, the PC thinks you want to shut it down and the Shut Down window appears.

2nd step: Simultaneously press Alt + F4 on your keyboard.

Step 3: Some apps will ask you if you want to close them in a pop-up message. Click OK to close the application.

Close frozen applications using Windows task manager

Windows Task Manager keeps track of the applications, programs, and processes running on your PC. Using Task Manager, PC users can identify frozen applications and close them. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Simultaneously press CTRL + ALT + DEL on your keyboard to open Task Manager.

The Delete and Backspace keys are not the same. If your keyboard does not have the Delete key, use the shortcut CTRL + ALT + ESC instead.

2nd step: From the options displayed in the new window, select Task Manager to launch the application window.

Step 3: Check the name of the frozen application under the tab titled Processes.

Step 4: When you locate the app, select it and click End Task.

With this action, the program should close automatically.

Close frozen apps using command prompt

Command Prompt is one of the interface programs used to perform actions on Windows 10. Using Command Prompt, users can close frozen applications. This is how it works:

Step 1: On your keyboard, press Windows + R to launch the Run dialog box.

2nd step: In the empty field next to Open, type cmd and click OK.

Step 3: When the Command Prompt window opens, type tasklist and select Enter on your keyboard to run the command.

To note: When you type tasklist, it reveals all the programs and tasks running on your computer. This listing includes the frozen app.

Step 4: Type the command below:

taskkill/im name_of_program.exe

You must use the name of the actual program with the .EXE extension to run the command.

Step 5: Select Enter on your keyboard to run the command and you should receive a message that the process was successful.

Instead of going through the command prompt every time, you can also create a shortcut to close frozen apps. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Right click anywhere on your desktop.

2nd step: Scroll through the list of options and select New then click on Shortcut.

Step 3: You should receive a prompt asking you to provide the location of the shortcut. Type the command below in the box and click Next:

taskkill / f / fi “eq status not responding”

Step 4: Now, it’s time to name your shortcut. You can enter any name, then click Finish.

Step 5: The new shortcut should appear on your desktop. With this, whenever a program crashes, you can close it by double clicking on this shortcut.

Close frozen applications using Windows PowerShell

PowerShell like Command Prompt is another command line shell on Windows 10 that can be used for configuring and automating tasks. It can be used to close frozen applications by following the following steps:

Step 1: In the Windows search bar, type PowerShell and select Open.

2nd step: To stop a process with its name, enter the syntax below:

Stop-Process -Name “process name”.

To note: Make sure to replace “process name” with the name of the frozen program.

Step 3: Select Enter to run the command.

Check PC health regularly

Here is how to close frozen applications on Windows 10. If you frequently use these methods, we suggest that you perform periodic health checks on your computer to identify the root cause.