What to Do When a Program Is Not Responding

When a window goes grey and says 'Not Responding', Windows has detected that the program has stopped processing your input. Sometimes it recovers on its own after a few seconds — but when it does not, here is what to do.

Wait a moment first

If a program is doing something heavy (saving a large file, scanning, converting video), it may briefly appear frozen but recover. Give it 30 to 60 seconds before taking action.

Force-close with Task Manager

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager directly.
2. On the Processes tab, find the frozen program. It will usually show Not responding in the Status column.
3. Click it once to select it, then click 'End task' in the bottom-right (Windows 11) or top-right (Windows 10).

Any unsaved work in that session will be lost, but this will not damage Windows or other programs.

Recover unsaved files in Office

Microsoft Office has AutoRecover built in. The next time you open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint after a crash, it should offer to restore your unsaved document automatically. If it does not, check the Recovered section on the Start screen of the app.

Why do programs freeze?

• Low RAM: Too many programs open at once. Close unused apps.
• Corrupted files: The program's own files may be damaged — try reinstalling.
• Outdated software: Check for updates inside the program or on the vendor's site.
• Malware: Make sure your antivirus is up to date and run a scan.
• Overheating: A hot processor throttles itself and can cause slowdowns and freezes.

If the whole PC is frozen

Hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds to force a shutdown. After it restarts, Windows will run a disk check automatically if needed. If freezes happen regularly, ask us — it may indicate a deeper hardware or software issue.