[Quick Guide] How to Force Quit on Windows

Windows has proven to be essential in performing various tasks in an individual’s daily life. From using a program to creating anything particular, multiple software on Windows allow the user to attain such a feat. However, amidst the use of such programs, there are numerous issues reported involving computer performance.

There are instances when the program in use won’t respond to operation. In other situations, the system performance may slow down. To counter such a condition, the user may require to force quit the program on their Windows. This can be done through multiple techniques, which will be explained in the article. Let’s find out how to force quit on Windows using different solutions.

What is Force Quit and Why Should You Consider Performing It?

Before we look into some proper methods to force close an app, you might also need some basic knowledge about the process itself. Force quitting a program in Windows is meant to close down the program forcefully. It is evident that the program is not working and responding to any functions while being operated in Windows, which means it is halting the user from performing other tasks.

If this is the case, you will have to close down the program on your Windows computer. This is referred to as the “force quitting” program on Windows. Why does a user consider using this particular method on their computer? It is because an unresponsive app can cause the computer to slow down, preventing it from performing other tasks. If an app does not respond, it won’t be working any time soon under the same process.

Thus, if this is the case, you will have to proceed toward force quitting the program on your Windows computer. To make the computer operational and perfect again, this gets necessary.

Use Keyboard Shortcut to Force Quit on Windows

The first and foremost solution to force quit Windows is through the keyboard shortcut. While everyone knows this technique, you might have forgotten about the shortcut. Using the keyboard shortcut quickly force quits the program that does not tend to respond. In situations where you are not in control of Windows due to the unresponsive program, you will consider this technique.

Use the keyboard shortcut of “Alt + F4” to force quit the program on your Windows. This will close down the program on your computer, putting down the burden on the processor it has been causing. The computer will be back to normal in a while.

Launch Task Manager to Force Quit on Windows

The following solution to force close Windows involves the Task Manager. Everything under operation within the computer is displayed across the task manager. From the programs to the system processes, you can find everything on the Task Manager.

Although the particular accessibility is quite detailed and diverse, it can be used to force quitting the programs on Windows. To get to know how it is done, it would be best to observe the following steps:

Step 1: You must first use the “CTRL + ALT + Delete” keyboard combination to launch the Task Manager on your Windows. This, however, is not the only technique to launch Task Manager. You can also right-click on your Windows taskbar and select “Task Manager” from the pop-up menu. Additionally, try using the keyboard combination of the “CTRL + SHIFT + ESC” keys to access the particular feature.

Step 2: If you try using the keyboard shortcuts, a new window will open where you must select “Task Manager” to proceed further.

Step 3: As the Task Manager opens, you must find yourselves in the “Processes” tab. Look for the program that is not responding and select it. Following this, move to the bottom of the window and find the “End Task” button to close down the unresponsive program.

Run Command Line to Force Quit on Windows

While you’ve learned a particular method to force quit on a PC, you must also know about another technique that can be used to close down programs. Although it is not a mainstream method, you can consider using it in conditions where you do not succeed with any of the first two methods.

Command line has multiple uses in Windows, which can also serve as a proper source of force-quitting applications. To perform that properly, you must look into the following steps as a guide:

Step 1: You must tap the “Search” bar on the taskbar and type in “Command Prompt” to open it on your Windows.

Conversely, you can also try using the Run program for this purpose, which can be done with the “Windows + R” shortcut key. As the Run program opens, type in “cmd” and hit “Enter” to launch the Command Prompt on your Windows.

Step 2: Following this, you must type “tasklist” to observe the list of programs and tasks running on the Windows computer.

Step 3: As you observe the list of tasks, you must use the following command to force quitting the particular task or program causing issues:

taskkill /im [name_of_program].exe

Replace [name_of_program] with the app that you want to kill. As you tap “Enter” after adding the command, the program closes on your Windows computer.

Final Words

The article depicts how users can “force quit” any program from their Windows computer. If you were looking for a technique to learn how to force quit on Windows, this article might have been helpful. Whenever you are looking into an issue with a program or service on a Windows computer, trying these methods will help you close down the program with ease.