How to Force a Program to Close (Windows)

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Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: December 20, 2023

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This wikiHow teaches you how to force an unresponsive program to close in Windows. You'll use Task Manager to do this.

Steps

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1
Open the Task Manager. Right-click an empty taskbar space and choose Task Manager or Start Task Manager.
- You can also press Control+⇧ Shift+Esc simultaneously..
It's located near the upper-left corner of the Task Manager window.

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Click the unresponsive application name. In Windows 10 and 8, this will be under the "Apps" header.
4
Click End task. It's in the bottom-right corner of the Task Manager window. This will terminate the unresponsive application within a few seconds.
- If the task will not end, right-click on the app name. Choose Go to Details (or Go to Process for older Windows versions). Then, end the task for the process.

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Question

What should I do if the Task Manager program is freezing?

Community Answer

Try to restart your computer manually. If that doesn't work, you'll have to force a power-off.

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What do I do if it says "Access is denied"?

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Then you need administrator permissions on that account in order for the file to allow you to edit/delete it.

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What is an unresponsive app?

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Community Answer

It's an app that is frozen and needs to be closed. Just restart and see if it freezes again.

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