How to force-quit apps not responding on Windows 10

• Method 1: To quickly close a not-responding app on Windows 10, use the “Alt + F4” keyboard shortcut.
• Method 2: Open the “Processes” tab in Task Manager, select the app or process, and click “End task.”
• Method 3: Open Settings > Apps > Apps & features, open the app’s “Advanced options,” and terminate the app.
• Method 4: On Command Prompt (admin), run the “taskkill /im AppName /t /f” command.
• Method 5: On PowerShell (admin), run the “Stop-Process -Name ProcessName” command.

On Windows 10, it’s possible to close applications that are not responding in several ways, and in this guide, I’ll teach you how. Every now and then, you’ll come across apps that start acting up and stop responding. Usually, you’ll notice this because in the app title bar, you’ll see a “Not responding” message, and the app will simply become unresponsive and frozen.

If you want to force a close an app that isn’t working, Windows 10 offers several ways through a keyboard shortcut, Task Manager, Settings app, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.

In this guide, I’ll teach you how to quickly close an app when it’s not responding on Windows 10 using the Settings app and Task Manager.

Terminate unresponsive apps on Windows 10

If an app appears frozen or unresponsive, you have at least five ways to close it.

1. Use keyboard shortcut to close app that’s not responding

To force-quit an app with a keyboard shortcut on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Click the app’s title bar to bring it to focus.

2. Press the Alt + F4 keyboard shortcut.

   Quick note: Depending on the keyboard, you may need to press the “Alt + Fn + F4” shortcut combo.

2. Use Task Manager to close app that’s not responding

To terminate an unresponsive apps from Task Manager, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the app.

   Quick tip: Alternatively, to quickly open the Task Manager, you can use the “Ctrl + Shift + Esc” keyboard shortcut or right-click and choose the “Task Manager” option from the Taskbar.

3. Click the More details button.

   

4. Click on Processes.

5. Select the app.

6. Click the End task button.

   

3. Use Settings to close app that’s not responding

To force-quit app you acquired from the Microsoft Store, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Apps.

3. Click on Apps & features.

4. Select the app that is acting up and click the Advanced options option.

   

   Quick tip: Alternatively, you can right-click the app tile from the Start menu, select “More,” and click “App settings” to navigate to the settings page for a particular app quickly.

5. Click the Terminate button.

   

4. Use Command Prompt to close app that’s not responding

To close an unresponsive app from Command Prompt on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to view the running applications and press Enter:

   tasklist

   

4. Type the following command to force quit the application and press Enter:

   taskkill /im AppName /t /f

   

   In the command, change AppName for the app’s name as it appears in tasklist command output. For example, this command closes Task Manager: taskkill /im Taskmgr.exe /t /f

5. Use PowerShell to close app that’s not responding

To force close a not-responding app from PowerShell on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to view the apps currently running and press Enter:

   Get-Process

   

4. Type the following command to close the unresponsive program and press Enter:

   Stop-Process -Name ProcessName

   

   In the command, change ProcessName for the app’s name as it appears in the Get-Process command output. For example, this command closes Task Manager: Stop-Process -Name Taskmgr

Once you complete the steps, Windows 10 will terminate the application that’s not working correctly.

If none of the above methods are working, restart your computer, as this process will also close and restart all the processes.

Update February 2, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.