Application Not Responding in Windows 10

If you use Windows 10, then you should have come up with a message that reads, “Application Not Responding.” This is an error message that is thrown by the program when it gets frozen.

A frozen application will not be closed using usual means.

In this article, we will look into how to fix the problem and how you can make it not happen again. 

How to Fix Application Not Responding Error

If your application is not responding anymore, you can close the program by opening the task manager. To open the task manager, you need to press Ctrl + Alt + Del hotkey. Once done, you will see a menu open up. From there, select Task Manager. In the Task Manager, you need to select the process and then select End Task.

This also works similar to Windows 8. So, if you are using the older Windows version, i.e., Windows 7 and 8, then also you can follow this guide.

Wait

Sometimes, the resources of your machines are not free for the application to use. In this case, it is always best to wait for some time(30 seconds to one minute) to see if the program unfreezes itself up.

Also, some applications can freeze when you boot up your PC. It is better to let your PC boot before trying to open up a new application. Older PCs with lower specs tend to have this problem.

Reboot Your PC

If you are using your PC for a longer period of time, then there can be the case of background processes to hog up the system resources. It can include system processes, antivirus, or other applications that require background operation. At this time, if you open up a program, then you can run into either into a situation where the new application doesn’t have resources to work properly or runs into conflict with other processes.

In this situation, it is best to reboot your PC and try to run the application that threw the application, not responding error.

Antivirus Can Be The Culprit

Antivirus can also cause applications to throw the application not responding message. This happens because of antivirus interference with certain programs even when they are not malicious to your computer.

In this case, it is always a good idea to disable the antivirus when you run the application. You can also add the application to the antivirus exception list and see if it works or not. If none of these are working, then it is better to change your antivirus.

Reinstall the application or do Registry Clean

Sometimes, applications can get corrupted or act differently due to the wrong configuration. Doing a fresh install can set the application to its default status. If you are downloading from the official site, then you can also update your application during the reinstall process. 

Reinstall an application also removes registry files with it. To remove every instance of the registry files, you might have to use a registry cleaner solution such as CCleaner. You can also use Revo Uninstaller, which offers a complete uninstallation process. 

Run fewer programs at one time

The number one cause of application not responding is a lack of resources. If you are not using a powerful PC, then it is always a good idea to only the programs that you need and closes the unnecessary applications.

Update Windows

If nothing seemed to work, then you might want to update your Windows. Updating Windows is easy. All you need to do type, “Check for Updates” in the search bar and open up the window. There, you can check if there is an update or not.

Note: Always backup your important files before you update Windows.