A program is frozen
How to close a program that has stopped responding, and when to worry.
- Wait a full minute. Programs sometimes look frozen while they finish a big task.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Select the program marked Not responding, then select End task.
- Open the program again. Many programs offer to restore your recent work.
Careful
Ending a program can lose unsaved work, so only do it after waiting.
If the whole computer is frozen
If the mouse and keyboard do nothing for several minutes, hold the power button for about ten seconds until the computer turns off, then start it again. Use this only as a last resort, because anything unsaved is lost.
If it keeps happening
Tell us which program freezes and what you were doing when it happened. A pattern helps us find the cause. See what to include in a support request.