Application Not Responding — Diagnose Freezes and Crashes

Overview #

When an application freezes mid-task or stops responding altogether, it usually means the process has hit a resource lock, corrupted cache, or stalled background thread.
This guide shows you how to identify why programs hang — and how to safely recover or fix them on both Windows and macOS.

What you’ll learn

• How to identify frozen apps and processes
• How to recover or restart unresponsive software
• How to clear cache and temporary data that cause app crashes
• How to check event logs for deeper failure clues

Estimated time: 15–25 minutes
Skill level: Beginner–Intermediate

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Terms and Definitions #

Term	Meaning
Hang / Freeze	When an application stops responding to user input
Deadlock	Two or more threads waiting on each other, causing a permanent freeze
Crash dump	File created when a process unexpectedly terminates
Event Viewer / Console Logs	System log viewers that record application faults
Graceful termination	Ending a process safely to avoid data loss

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Steps #

Step 1 — Identify the Frozen Application #

Windows

• If you see “(Not Responding)” in the window title, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
• Check which app shows Status = Not Responding or high CPU / Disk use.

Or run in PowerShell:

Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.Responding -eq $false} | Select-Object ProcessName, Id

This lists any hung applications.

macOS
Open Activity Monitor → CPU tab → sort by “% CPU.”
A frozen app often shows “(Not Responding)” in red.
Or in Terminal:

ps -A -o stat,comm | grep "U"

The U flag marks uninterruptible processes — likely frozen.

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Step 2 — Try to Recover the Application #

Before forcing it closed, give it a chance to resume:

Windows

• Right-click the app in Task Manager → Switch to → wait 15–30 seconds.
• If the UI returns, save your work and restart the app.

macOS

• Click the Apple menu → Force Quit → select the frozen app → Force Quit.
  Or run:

killall "AppName"

If the app frequently hangs, move to deeper cleanup.

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Step 3 — Clear the App’s Cache and Temporary Files #

Windows
Many freezes come from corrupted cache or settings files.

1. Press Windows + R → type: %localappdata%
2. Locate the folder for the problematic app (e.g., Chrome, Teams, Photoshop).
3. Delete any “Cache” or “Temp” subfolders.
4. Restart the app.

macOS

rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.vendor.AppName

Then relaunch the application.

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Step 4 — Check Resource Limits #

Windows PowerShell

Get-Process | Sort-Object PM -Descending | Select -First 10 ProcessName, PM

If memory usage for a single app exceeds 80–90% of system RAM, that’s the likely cause.
Close background programs to free resources.

macOS

top -o mem

If “memory pressure” in Activity Monitor shows yellow or red, free up RAM by quitting idle apps.

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Step 5 — Update or Reinstall the Application #

Crashes can come from outdated binaries or mismatched libraries.

Windows

• Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps → select the app → Modify / Repair.
  Or:

winget upgrade --id AppName

macOS
Use the App Store → Updates tab, or download the latest version from the vendor site.
You can uninstall manually:

sudo rm -rf /Applications/AppName.app

Then reinstall fresh.

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Step 6 — Check Event Logs for Errors #

Windows PowerShell

Get-WinEvent -LogName Application | Where-Object {$_.Message -like "*AppName*"} | Select-Object TimeCreated, Message -First 10

Look for messages containing “Application Hang,” “Exception,” or “Faulting module.”

macOS

log show --predicate 'eventMessage CONTAINS "AppName"' --last 1h

Scan for “EXC_BAD_ACCESS,” “Killed: 9,” or segmentation fault entries.

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Step 7 — Disable Conflicting Add-Ons or Extensions #

Browser extensions, plug-ins, and app add-ons often cause instability.

• Launch the app in Safe / No-Extensions mode.
  • Chrome: chrome.exe --disable-extensions
  • Firefox: firefox.exe -safe-mode
  • macOS: Hold Shift during app launch (if supported).
• If stability improves, re-enable add-ons one at a time.

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Step 8 — Run System File Check (Windows Only) #

Corrupted Windows libraries can cause frequent app crashes.

sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Reboot afterward.

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Step 9 — Monitor for Recurrence #

If the same app freezes repeatedly:

1. Create a new local user profile and test there.
2. If it works fine, the original profile’s settings or registry entries are corrupt.
3. Export app preferences if needed, then recreate the user account.

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Verification #

Check	Command	Expected Result
Frozen processes	`Get-Process	Where {$_.Responding -eq $false}`
Logs	Get-WinEvent / log show	No repeating hang entries
Cache	Manual check	Old cache cleared
App behavior	Relaunch	Stable performance

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Conclusion #

When programs stop responding, the cause is usually software congestion, corrupt cache files, or add-ons consuming too many resources — not hardware failure.
By clearing caches, checking logs, disabling extensions, and repairing installations, you can quickly restore stable application performance.
If one specific app continues to hang even after reinstalling, report the issue to the vendor — it may be tied to a known bug in the latest version.