When a Windows program gets stuck or is frozen

You can force that 'stuck' program to close, without having to reboot your entire PC... Usually..

What is a Windows 'freeze'?

It has happened to everyone: You're working on an important document or writing an eMail message to mom when suddenly - nothing. Windows seems to freeze. Your mouse moves, you can click in some areas of your screen, but not other areas, and the program you were working in seems totally frozen. Many users would just shut-down their PC, reboot, and start over. Other more impatient people may just pull the plug on the PC, or physically switch it off. But forcibly turning off a computer running Microsoft Windows can corrupt files, or crash Windows, making the problem even worse.

Use the Windows End Task feature to kill programs that freeze

A little known (but unfortunately all too-well known to some) option in Microsoft Windows XP is the End Task feature. End Task allows you to forcibly close a program that has crashed or is misbehaving, usually without affecting any other programs that may also be running.

How to use the XP End Task feature in the Windows Task Manager

Using the End Task option is easy. When you have a program that is misbehaving, open the Windows XP Task Manager by pressing the Control key (ctrl) the ALT key, and the DELETE key, together at the same time (this is known as the Three Finger Salute). Another way to open the Task Manager is to right-click (click with your right mouse button on an open area of the task-bar across the bottom of your screen, and select Task Manager from the menu that appears.

Find the frozen program in the XP Task Manager

The Windows XP Task Manager will display all the programs running on your computer, and the status (running or not responding). If the program that is misbehaving is listed as Running it is possible that it's just busy saving data, or doing something else in the background. If this is the case, close the XP Task Manager and wait two or three minutes. If after waiting your program is still hung (or frozen, or stuck), open the Windows Task Manager again and follow the steps below to force the program closed.

Force a program to exit with the Windows Task Manager

If your program is still not responding, now is the time to tell Windows XP to force the program closed. To forcibly close the program, highlight the program in the Task Manager by clicking on it with your mouse and click the End Task button. After a moment, Windows XP will close your program. Note that any unsaved work will be lost, so be sure to save your work often!

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