2 Ways To Close Not Responding Apps In Windows 10

In Windows 10, at times, an app might refuse to close when you click the close button or when you right-click on app’s icon on the taskbar and then click Close window option.

When you are unable to close an app or when an app is not responding, you can use the Task Manager to terminate the app.

Starting with Windows 10 Spring Creators Update version 1803, there is another way to terminate apps. You can now terminate apps from the Settings app as well.

In this guide, we will see how to terminate not responding apps via Settings and Task Manager.

Method 1 of 2

Terminate apps via Settings app

Available in Windows 10 version 1803 and above only.

Note that this method cannot be used to terminate classic desktop programs. If you want to close a desktop program, check out the instructions given in Method 2 of this guide.

Step 1: Navigate to Settings app > Apps > Apps & features.

Step 2: In the installed apps list, locate the app’s entry that you want to terminate and then click on it to see Advanced options link. Click Advanced options link.

Step 3: Scroll down to see the Terminate section. Click the Terminate button to immediately terminate the app and its related processes, if any.

Method 2 of 2

Terminate apps via Task Manager

In addition to apps, this method can also be used to terminate classic desktop programs.

Step 1: Open the Task Manager. The fastest way is to use Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys.

Step 2: If you get the minimal version of Task Manager, click More details button to reveal the full version.

Step 3: Under the Processes tab, you will see all running apps in the Apps category. Right-click on the app that you want to terminate and then click End task option to terminate the app.

You might also want to read our how to view recently installed apps in Windows 10 article.