Applications Freezing in Dock - Can't Force Quit

In the past month I've been experiencing a reoccurring problem where my applications tend to freeze for absolutely no reason, and I can't Force Quit them. Every other day it's been Skype that freezes for no reason, and I have to totally reboot to shut down the programme, but today it's Firefox too. I tried using Terminal and Activity Monitor, however when the programmes are frozen, even though it still shows as running in my Dock, they don't appear as active on either Utilities (so I can't kill them). What can I do? This problem happens so frequently I'm losing my mind.

I have just started having the same problem, with applications that freeze. When I force quit them, they appear to shut down (their windows close) but they are still highlighted in the dock and are still listed as unresponsive in the force quit window. If I try to shutdown the laptop, it says it can't shutdown because of whatever application. I have to manually reboot.
Some observations- I have tried logging in as a different (guest) user, the problem still persists. It now happens every time with Skype, iChat, Firefox, Safari, Software Update and weirdly enough, System Preferences. Other apps like Word run fine. So it seems like it might have something to do with Airport or internet settings. If I turn my Airport off, I can then open and close Safari just fine. With Airport on, instant spinning beachball. I have noticed the fan working overtime during all of this - however the fan has been working overtime often lately.
Sadly I'm travelling so I can't do anything involving the install disks, and I'm quite a hike away from a Genius Bar! Any suggestions would be appreciated...

Similar Messages

Can't get Mail to work - I get the spinning wheel and Mail freezes. I have to Force Quit it. How do I fix this?

Can't get Mail to work - I get the spinning wheel and Mail freezes. I have to Force Quit Mail . How do I fix this problem?

Please follow these directions to delete the Mail "sandbox" folder.
Back up all data.
Triple-click the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Reveal
from the contextual menu.* A Finder window should open with a folder named "com.apple.mail" selected. If it does, move the selected folder — not just its contents — to the Desktop. Leave the Finder window open for now.
Log out and log back in. Launch Mail and test. If the problem is resolved, you may have to recreate some of your Mail settings. You can then delete the folder you moved and close the Finder window. If you still have the problem, quit Mail again and put the folder back where it was, overwriting the one that may have been created in its place. Post your results.
Caution: If you change any of the contents of the sandbox, but leave the folder itself in place, Mail may crash or not launch at all. Deleting the whole sandbox will cause it to be rebuilt automatically.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C). In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar, paste into the box that opens (command-V). You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

I downloaded the iOS7 and I can't force quit the open apps. I was told, "Force-quitting apps is a little different though: Instead of tapping and holding on the icon, you flick a thumbnail up to dismiss it." Comments please & thank you

I downloaded the iOS7 and I can't force quit the open apps. I was told, "Force-quitting apps is a little different though: Instead of tapping and holding on the icon, you flick a thumbnail up to dismiss it." Unfortunately, that didn't work. Any comments please & thank you

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. Prior to loading 1OS7 it was easy to force quit applications that were still open by double clicking and seeing an a red "x" you had to click on.
It doesn't work that way with the new operating system and the instructions that were given "Force-quitting apps is a little different though: Instead of tapping and holding on the icon, you flick a thumbnail up to dismiss it."
Do not work.
I am looking for anyone who can help figure this out.

ITunes volume changes itself / Can't Force Quit.

My iTunes volume changed itself to a third of the way up, and now I can't change it. If I move the volume slider it just automatically goes back to where it was. I also can't force quit iTunes! It even won't let me shut down because of it. Any ideas?

Open Activity Monitor in Application/Utilities. You can monitor your applications there to see how much CPU or real memory they are using. Selecting the CPU column will sort the highest on top for easy viewing. You can also force quit an application in Activity Monitor.
Another option to Force quit is to use the commands. Command-Option-Esc. This brings up a Force Quit window.
Since the symptoms affect many applications, I would first download and install the latest Apple combo updater. They install over the same version and will go back and refresh all files unlike an incremental updater that only adds new files. If the combo doesn't work, you might need to do an "Archive & Install".
Mac OS X 10.5.8 Combo Update (For both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs )
http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate

Mac starts but has 2 open windows that I can't force quit. mouse works, nothing will respond.

mac desk top starts fine but has 2 open windows that I can't force quit. Mouse works but nothing will respond.

Looks like you didn't see the note about what should be posted here. Please read the note at http://forums.adobe.com/community/robohelp/robohelp_flash where you will see this is not the place to get help on using Flash.
Your post can be moved to either of the locations shown there or to http://forums.adobe.com/community/production_studio
Tell us which one and we will move it.
I am assuming your mouse works for all other applications. If not it sounds more like a Dell issue.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

I have Cs2 andOffice for Mac 2004 installed on an Os 10.6.3 system. This weekend my computer did an auto pdate to Os 10.6.8 and now I cannot save or print from any office or CS2 Apps. What happened. Office also freezes and I have to force quit.

I had Cs2 and Office for Mac 2004 installed on an OS 10.6.3 system. Worked fine. This weekend my computer did an auto update to OS 10.6.8 and now I cannot save or print from any office or CS2 Apps. What happened. Office also freezes and I have to force quit. Any advise. System or Software problem?

Bad timing. Reapply the security update:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1489
What happened is that version 1.0 of the security update was available for a bit of time this weekend, and that disabled Rosetta. Version 1.1 brought it back.

My Premiere Pro CS6 is frozen. I can't force quit. The yellow line that you drag over the sequence does not accurately depict in the Program sequence window what video the yellow line is actually on.

My Adobe Premiere CS6 is frozen I can't force quit. The yellow line that you drag over the video doesn't even show the video it should. It shows either a black screen or images from alternating other videos. How do I resolve this?

More information needed for someone to help... please click below and provide the requested information
-Premiere Pro Video Editing Information FAQ http://forums.adobe.com/message/4200840
•What is your exact brand/model graphics adapter (ATI or nVidia or ???)
•What is your exact graphics adapter driver version?
•Have you gone to the vendor web site to check for a newer driver?
•For Windows, do NOT rely on Windows Update to have current driver information
•-you need to go direct to the vendor web site and check updates for yourself
•nVidia Driver Downloads http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
•ATI Driver Autodetect http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/auto-detect-tool
-and a fix for at least "some" ATI crashes https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1553342
Exactly what is INSIDE the video you are editing?
Codec & Format information, with 2 links inside for you to read http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1270588
Report back with the codec details of your file, use the programs below... A screen shot works well to SHOW people what you are doing
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1070933 for screen shot instructions
Free programs to get file information for PC/Mac http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download

IMac frozen in mail can't force quit turned off at power and done safe reboot still frozen?

iMac frozen in mail can't force quit turned off at power and tried safe reboot, but still frozen?

To do the NVRAM reset (be quick with Step 4, "immediately" is literal!):
1. Power down the machine.
2. Locate the following keys on your keyboard in preparation for Step 4:
‘command’ – ‘option’ – ‘P’ – ‘R’
3. Press the ‘power on’ button.
4. Immediately – and before the grey screen appears – hold down ‘command-option-P-R’ all together.
5. Keep them held down until you’ve heard the start-up chime twice. After you release them you should hear it again, and hopefully your Mac will boot up as it should.

Hi. I tried to upload photos to Facebook from iPhoto yesterday and each time I try, Safari freezes and I have to force quit, and finder also freezes. This was all working fine a week ago and I have done nothing that I know of to the PC. Thanks

Hi. I tried to upload photos to Facebook from iPhoto yesterday and each time I try, Safari freezes and I have to force quit, and finder also freezes. This was all working fine a week ago and I have done nothing that I know of to the PC. Thanks

safari freezes when i click upload photo on Facebook

Firefox freezes on my dock, I can't force quit or hide or anything and I have to do a hard shut down of my new mac to get it off the dock.

I have gone to the activity monitor and firefox doesn't show up there so I know it isn't running but the icon shows that it is. Force Quit doesn't work, nor can i open firefox from that icon.

I've called the big guys to help you. Good luck.
This is for Windows, but give it a try;
Do you have the Firefox icon on your quick launch? Right click
on it, and select '''Open New Window.''' Sometimes this works.
If it opens, close it by '''Menu > File > Exit.'''
Type '''about:preferences#advanced'''<Enter> in the address bar.
Under '''Advanced,''' Select '''Network.'''
Look for '''Configure How Firefox Connects''' and press the '''Settings''' button.
Check the settings.
Some problems occurs when your Internet security program was set
to trust the previous version of Firefox, but no longer recognizes your
updated version as trusted. Now how to fix the problem: To allow
Firefox to connect to the Internet again;
* Make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date (i.e. you are running the latest version).
* Remove Firefox from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs. For detailed instructions, see
'''[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/configure-firewalls-so-firefox-can-access-internet Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet.]''' {web link}

Can't force quit applications problem during Time Machine backups

I've run into a frustrating problem with Time Machine. I'm using an external 750gb USB hard drive as a backup disk with my Mac Mini; the connection is visa the Firewire 400 port.
When I'm doing anything that's CPU-intensive while a Time Machine is backing up, it is a 50-50 chance that one or more applications will crash. It is impossible to Force Quit them, which means that it is impossible to log out or shut down. The user is faced with a choice: Kill the whole system, and risk corrupting the system hard drive, or yank out the Time Machine disk's connector, and risk corrupting the Time Machine backup. Of course the latter is preferred, and that's what I've done. Thus far, I haven't seen any corruption on the Time Machine drive, fortunately, but in order to work with my system, I have had to disable Time Machine backups while I am working. (I reconnect the Time Machine drive overnight.)
I know from some Google searching that others are experiencing this problem. My question is, has anyone figured out why this is happening, or developed a workaround?
Regards,
Bryan

In the process of restoring my MacBookPro from an external TM drive as we speak. I can say with almost 100% certainty that force restarting (holding the power-button down until the book shuts off) will corrupt your start up disk to some extent.
My problem is that I was away from my network when TM tried to do an update. I'm not sure if TM was actually able to connect to my server but none the less I was on a verizon wireless card and so even a minor backup would have been slow.
I needed to shut the computer down and leave. I have had TM hang when trying to shut down and tried to tell it to stop the back-up (which it tries to do for hours on end and have had to force quit before... had to run disk first aid that time) So this time I figured Id leave the computer on (though unplugged) while I drove home.
I did not close the case until the screen went dark. Unfortunately, it had just gone to sleep (a half hour later) instead of shutting off but I did not know that at the time so I shut the case then.
When I plugged it in in the AM it was dark but not black... I could just see the screen and could see it was frozen. Force restart completely screwed my startup disk. Luckily I have a BU from the night before.
Maybe TM should also be linked to the location, and or connection you are using. So, if I am away from my LAN it will automatically turn off. I also wish I could set it to back up every x hours instead of every hour.
Good idea... just needs some work on the routines. (only an hour left on my restore now)

ARGH! iTunes Freezes, Can't Force Quit, and Whole Computer Locks Up

iTunes freezes when downloading movies (says to check network connection, which is fine), then I can't quit iTunes or force quit. I "quit" and it remains active in the dump at the bottom of the screen. Then Safari freezes and I can't do anything but use the on/off switch to re-boot. I've removed iTunes and re-installed. Didn't fix the problem.
Of note, iTunes downloads a little bit at a time the movie files, so after off and on rebooting and trying to re-download each time, after a few days the movies eventually download.
Any ideas?

I have the problem when I have to force quit. I also have the pinwheel for no apparent reason and have to wait until it stops to do anything. It is frustrating as it does not happen in Safari. I like to use Firefox but it is getting very annoying. I have the pinwheel pop up when I am even typing. I tried your suggestions about starting it up in safe mode and that doesn't seem to work.

When I click the attachment button firefox freezes and I have to force quit the application every time

when I click the attachment bar firefox freezes and i have to hit force quit and restart the application

when I click the attachment bar firefox freezes and i have to hit force quit and restart the application

Upgraded to Firefox 4.0.1 for Mac, constantly freezes and crashes, have to force quit, bad bugs. Switching to Safari.

I upgraded to Firefox 4.0.1, and it now constantly freezes, won't respond at all, and has to be force quit and restarted. Within less than 5 minutes of use, over and over and over... I'm assuming it is a bug in the Mac version.... Am switching to Safari as I can't waste this much time constantly quitting and restarting and getting my tabs all back up. Any suggestions on ways to let Firefox know about the bug would be greatly appreciated. It worked fine until I upgraded :( Am running Mac OS X 10.6.7

This article should be helpful-
https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox%20hangs

Every time I try to open the firefox application, it won't load and pages and the application freezes. How can I fix this?

When I open the application, there is one tab that says, "Connecting..." After several seconds, the program crashes and remains that way until I force quit the application. I tried restarting my computer. I also tried uninstalling and reinstalling firefox, and nothing worked.

I had the same problem. I went into software updates and updated security, and two other updates (can't remember exact updates) then restarted my macbook. My macbook wouldn't start!
I found information about restting the SMC (System Management Controller).
Unplug the power adapter.
Remove the battery.
Hold the power button down for 5 secs.
Reconnect the battery and power adapter.
Press the power button.
My Macbook started up and I opened up itunes and the itunes store opened up with images.
I think the resolution was the software updates, but I'm not 100% sure so I included every step that was made.

Applications Freezing in Dock - Can't Force Quit

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for