Imagine this: you’re working happily on your Mac when the dreaded beach ball of death appears. A program stops responding or worse, the macOS (or OS X) itself refuses to do anything but stare at you, blankly. You have a frozen Mac app or an OS X freeze. Mac OS not responding can lead to lost productivity or even lost work. Let's go over why it happens, what to do when your Mac freezes or when an Mac OS app stops responding, as well as some tips for preventative maintenance.
We’ll go over frozen apps first, so if your whole Mac freezes, you can jump to the part about fixing a frozen Mac.
Aug 18, 2014 There are times when it's necessary to restart the Mac's Finder. (It is, after all, just an app.) Perhaps it's locked up. Or perhaps you've made a configuration change that requires a Finder restart.
Mar 23, 2018 Now, you can use the right panel to can configure how notifications how up. Let’s break this down, first looking at the alert style. The default alert style for most apps is Banners—these notifications pop-up at the top right of your display, and then disappear after a few seconds. Alerts, meanwhile, stick around until you do something with. Mar 21, 2016 How to kill a process on Mac OS. However, sometimes your problem does lie within a specific process, you can force quit it (Apple doesn't call it 'to kill a process on Mac', they make it sound fancy). But we're not at Apple HQ, so here's how to kill a Mac OS process: Open Activity Monitor. You see a list of processes.
Fixing a frozen app: Why Mac OS apps freeze
There can be a few reasons why apps freeze on Mac. First, sometimes an app freezes on its own, and sometimes it takes down the whole Mac with it. Here's what could be happening:
What to do if an app freezes on your Mac
A frozen app becomes unresponsive and brings your work to a halt. In the worst case scenario, it can lead to lost work or a corrupted file. Fortunately, there are several options to try, and most are quite simple. Here’s what you can do when a program freezes on your Mac. First, you need to quit it. Then, if the app keeps freezing when you launch it, try the next options.
How to quit a frozen or unresponsive program
Quitting and then re-starting an app is a good way for Mac OS to handle a crash. You can do this from the OS X Dock or from the Force Quit window. To force-quit an app from the OS Dock, follow these simple steps:
That’s it. The app is instantly closed. Re-launch it and try again. If you prefer to work with the Dock hidden — or if the Dock itself is unresponsive — you can simply bring up the Force Quit dialog box to perform the same task.
Here’s how:
If you’re using a maintenance utility like CleanMyMac X, it has freezes covered. When CleanMyMac spots an unresponsive app, a notification window with a Quit button pops up, so you could force-quit the app without rummaging around in its menu.
CleanMyMac keeps an eye on other performance issues, too, so if you'd like to get alerts like this one when anything goes wrong, download CleanMyMac X for free and give it a try.
How to fix Mac apps that keep freezing
First, check what apps are running in the background and launch with the startup.
To do it go to Settings > Users and Groups > Login items. Uncheck anything you think might be causing trouble. In fact, just to be sure, uncheck every app and restart your Mac.
Now, find out which process or program is causing the problem. How to see what programs are running on Mac in general? You need launch Activity monitor.
How to find Activity Monitor on Mac: You can do it via the Spotlight Search or just open Launchpad and type it in. How to open Activity Monitor in Finder: launch it from Applications > Utilities folder > Activity Monitor.
When it opens, you'll probably see hundreds of processes in each tab, but the ones you need now are CPU and Memory tabs. Click on the % CPU sign to sort processes by their influence on your Mac's work. The heaviest ones will show up on the top. They could be your main issue, but don’t rush to deal with them. Some, like kernel, are important system processes and you shouldn’t mess with them.
How to kill a process on Mac OS
However, sometimes your problem does lie within a specific process, you can force quit it (Apple doesn't call it 'to kill a process on Mac', they make it sound fancy). But we're not at Apple HQ, so here's how to kill a Mac OS process:
Occasionally the problem isn’t with the Mac app, but with the Mac OS itself. If you’re experiencing troubles regularly, it’s time to ask why your Mac keeps freezing. There are several possible reasons, so let’s start with the simplest potential solution.
First, the file you were working with at the time of the freeze may be the issue. To help determine if this is true, try opening a different file with that app and work with it for a while. If it behaves normally, quit and then go back to the file you were working with at the time of the crash. If the errant behavior persists, you may have found your problem. Salvage what you can into a new file.
Make sure that your software and OS X are up-to-date. This is easy to do with software purchased from the Mac App Store. The same goes for OS X. Launch the Mac App Store on your Mac, and you’ll see the list of pending updates, including any for the OS X itself. For third-party software purchased outside of the App Store, visit the manufacturer’s website.
What to do if Mac OS X freezes
If you cannot force-quit a program, or if the Mac OS is completely unresponsive, it’s time for the most obvious action — a reboot.
You can bring up the Restart/Sleep/Shutdown dialog box instantly by hitting Control plus the Power button. Option four, Shut Down, is selected by default. Alternatively, you can press and hold the Power button for 1.5-2 seconds to bring up the same dialog box. If things aren’t hopelessly messed up, you’ll get a chance to save your work before your Mac shuts down. If that still doesn’t work, a more drastic option is available. How to force reboot a frozen Mac
Press Command ?, Control and Power (on earlier MacBook models, use the Media Eject key instead of the Power button) to restart your Mac immediately. Note that you won’t have the option of saving anything in this scenario, but it will definitely reboot your icy Mac.
Once your Mac has restarted, you might find that the hard restart has corrupted the file you were working on. Salvage what you can from it and create a new file.
How to fix a frozen Mac
After the reboot, ensure that your Mac has enough free hard drive space for the OS X, and enough free RAM to do what you want. CleanMyMac X can help you here, too. It removes all the useless files that take up space on your hard drive: app leftovers, mail attachments, cache files, and so on. That way, you can free up additional disk space for the OS X without deleting any of your own files. Plus, CleanMyMac X keeps tabs on how much RAM you’re using and lets you free some up with a tap.
Finally, if system cleanup also fails to fix the problem, you can try to run a clean install of your Mac OS. Just follow the instructions: How to clean install macOS Sierra 10.12
Note: If you don’t know which system your Mac runs, click the apple icon in the top left corner and choose About this Mac. You’ll see the name on the popup window.
That’s it, we hope this guide has helped you fix a frozen Mac. Remember, with day-to-day maintenance, your Mac can offer years of reliable work. On the rare occasion of a frozen program or even frozen OS X, these tips will help get you working and productive again. And software like CleanMyMac X can do some of the monitoring and maintenance for you, so you can focus on what needs to be done.
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Your Mac is already pretty powerful out of the box, but you can do even more with it using third-party apps and utilities.
We pulled together the best Mac apps and utilities to let you organize windows with a gesture, automate file management, eliminate ads from your web browser, and more.
Take a look below!
Contents
Related:Paste: Keep countless items in your clipboard
You might not have noticed, but your Mac is incredibly limited in its copy-paste ability. You can only hold one item in your clipboard at a time, which often isn’t enough.
Enter Paste. This utility lets you save countless items to the copy-paste clipboard. Keep them organized in pinboards, sync over iCloud, and access all of it using simple keyboard commands.
Download:Paste ($14.99 with a 14-day free trial)
Pro-Tip:BundleHunt is currently offering the Holiday Mac app bundle at $2 a month. This Holiday offering has a list of legitimate 42 macOS apps that you can use. These Apps have been tested for macOS Catalina. When you use our link at BundleHunt, we get a small commission.
Keyboard Maestro: Automate anything with key commands
You can already automate tasks on your Mac using Automator. But Keyboard Maestro earns its price tag with a lot of extra features and easy usability.
Here are some of our favorite things you can do with Keyboard Maestro:
Magnet: Organize your windows however you want
Magnet has been a longtime favorite for many Mac users. Use keyboard commands to snap your windows into different configurations on your display.
It’s far more flexible than the rudimentary split-screen function in macOS. With Magnet, you can place an app in each of the four corners, create multiple columns across the screen, or organize windows above and below each other.
Download:Magnet ($1.99)
Swish: Use touch gestures to organize your windows
Swish is a new take on Magnet’s window management. Now you can reorganize your apps with a swish of the fingers.
Use intuitive touch gestures on your trackpad or Magic Mouse to snap app windows into different positions on your display. You can even use Swish to minimize apps when you’re finished using them.
BetterTouchTool: More gestures for your mouse or trackpad
Mac gestures are already pretty great, but with BetterTouchTool they’re out of this world. This is the best Mac utility to unlock advanced gestures on your trackpad, Magic Mouse, Touch Bar, Siri Remote, and more.
You can add custom gestures for a range of different Mac functions: adjust volume and brightness, cycle through browser tabs, capture screenshots, and more.
Hazel: Keep your files in order with automated actions
Hazel automates file management on your Mac, with a huge range of options. By default, Hazel applies color-coding to your Downloads folder and sends Movies, Music, or Pictures to the relevant folders on your Mac.
But you can create your own rules to do much more:
Alfred 4: Enter a new world of productivity
At first glance, Alfred looks like another version of Spotlight. Use the search bar to find files, search the web, or open apps on your Mac. But there’s far more to it than that, especially if with the PowerPack upgrade.
With the full version of Alfred, you get a clipboard manager, easy automation, remote control for your Mac, text expansion, and more. It makes a lot of the other apps on this list redundant!
Download:Alfred 4 (Free, with Pro version available)
iStat Menus 6: Get more information about your Mac
Whether gaming, video editing, or even browsing the web, it can be helpful to know how your Mac is performing. iStat Menus gives you all the information you could possibly need, right in the menu bar.
At a glance, you can see your CPU, memory, and SSD usage as well as your current download speed. You can even get local weather updates.
Amphetamine: Keep your Mac awake when you need it
Stop your Mac from going to sleep with Amphetamine. Start a new “session” and select the duration to keep your mac awake for. It’s great for servers, long processing tasks, and plenty of other situations.
Amphetamine is also highly customizable. Edit the menu bar icon, create custom settings for different apps, or set up triggers to automatically start a new session.
Download:Amphetamine (Free)
HiddenMe: Hide everything from your desktop
A cluttered desktop can be a real eyesore. Fortunately, HiddenMe makes it easy to sweep all that under the rug.
This simple Mac utility hides everything from your desktop. Turn it on and off using the menu bar icon or by recording your own shortcut.
It’s great for taking cleaner screenshots, clearing your head of clutter, or presenting a professional side to others.
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Download:HiddenMe (Free, with Pro version available)
Bartender 3: Keep your menu bar neat and tidy
With all these awesome new Mac utilities, you might find your menu bar is getting a bit cluttered. That’s where Bartender comes in.
With Bartender, you can choose which items to show or hide from the menu bar. For each app, choose to show, hide, always show, or always hide. Then expand or minimize your menu bar with a click.
Wipr: Eliminate ads, trackers, and cookies from the webKill Apps On My Mac Os Top Right Barrel
Wipr is a streamlined ad blocker to make browsing the web more pleasant than ever. All you need to do is turn it on and let it do its thing.
Wipr blocks ads, trackers, cryptocurrency miners, EU cookies, and GDPR notices. It doesn’t sell data or ad space to other companies and updates the “blocklist” twice a week.
Kill Apps On My Mac Os Top Right Barbara
Download:Wipr ($1.99)
If you are looking for a service that allows you to use multiple macOS apps without paying individually for them, you can explore some of the options made available by companies such as BundleHunt. They are currently offering a Holiday app deal starting at $2/month for 42 different macOS apps that have been tested with macOS Catalina.
Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.
He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.
Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.
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