Does your Mac keep freezing and stop responding, randomly and unexpectedly? There can be a number of reasons that can cause your Mac to become unresponsive to any user input from the keyboard or mouse or to freeze altogether. By freezing, it is meant that nothing happens. Sometimes you may start having this problem after updating to the latest version of the macOS software.
This article explains what you can do when your Mac freezes and stops responding, meaning how you can unfreeze your Mac. This can be a big issue if this occurs frequently. If you are having this problem, then you can troubleshoot using the steps listed below. So what causes freezing? You should know this so that you can fix it.
If your computer is crashing, you may use Crash Reports to figure out why.
See also: macOS Messages Freezes or Crashes, Fix
How To Fix Samsung Galaxy J7 Apps Keep Crashing. Problem: I bought a samsung J7 and it works fine, but after two weeks the apps start to stop like instagram, my files and twitter I restarted. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the. Quit & Re-launch Apps. If the iPhone app keeps closing or if it is not responding, you should force. Restoring the default libraries would resolve the Windows 10 Photos App crash issues. By resetting the Photo App to its default source to a valid network path fixes the case. Click ‘Windows’ + ‘E’ keys to launch ‘Windows Explorer’. Right click on the left side panel and choose ‘Show Libraries’.
Unfreeze your Mac
Before you do anything, give your Mac a few minutes to finish what it is doing. Your Mac may unfreeze itself if you wait a few minutes.
If your Mac freezes, an unresponsive app may cause your Mac freeze. You may have to force quit apps that are not responding to unfreeze your Mac. Here is how:
- On your Mac press the Option, Command, and Esc (Escape) keys together
- This will open the Force Quit window
- Select the unresponsive app and then click Force Quit
- Did your computer unfreeze?
If the force quit option does not work, try to restart your Mac by going to the Apple menu > Restart.
If this option does not work, you can force your Mac to restart by pressing and hold the power button until your Mac shuts off (note that you may lose any works that are not saved).
If your Mac freezes frequently, you should figure out why your Mac is freezing. Here are the most common mac slow and freeze reasons and fixes:
Software-related problems
Update your Mac. Make sure that your Mac is completely updated, this includes the third-party apps. Update macOS and all apps:
- Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update. If there is an update available, update your Mac.
- Open the Mac App Store app > then click Updates (left menu) and click Update All
Furthermore, restart your Mac in safe mode for Symptoms.
- Turn off your Mac
- Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key
- Keep holding the keys until you see the login screen, and then release the keys
- Log in using your username and password, you may have to log in more than once.
- Now your computer is in safe mode.
If the symptoms exist in safe mode, please continue the steps below.
Too many open apps
Another common cause is running out of free memory if you are running multiple apps at the same time. Furthermore, quit apps when you are done with them. To quit an app, click the App name and then click Quit App, for example, if you want to quit Safari:
- Click safari
- Click Quit Safari
You may also want to use Activity Monitor (Applications / Utilities) to find the apps and processes that are using a lot of resources. And then you may choose to quit them in Activity Monitor.
Not enough space
Your Mac can freeze if there isn’t enough open space. To check your Mac’s free hard drive space, go to the Apple menu > About This Mac > and click the Storage tab. Click the Manage button to optimize your storage. You may also consider emptying your Trash can. You may also use iCloud.
There are many tips that you can try to free up space on your Mac.
Why Does My Photos App Keep Closing
Overheating
One common reason is that it’s overheating, especially if you are having this problem with a MacBook. Check air vents. Blocked air vents can cause not only performance issues but also system freezing problems. Check the vents on your Mac to see if they are blocked with dust or dirt. Make sure that vents are allowing heat and air to pass through so that your Mac does not overheat.
We previously wrote an article about the overheating problem. Please read this article.
Hardware-related problems
Run a diagnostic test. This test will help you determine if your Mac is experiencing a hardware problem. Here is how you can do the hardware/diagnostics test on your Mac:
- Disconnected everything from your computer (except your mouse, keyboard, and display). Furthermore, make sure that your Mac is connected to a power outlet and is connected to the Internet.
- Turn off your Mac
- Turn on your Mac and immediately press the D key
- Keep holding the D key until you see the language screen
- Release the key when you see the language screen
- Select your language and follow the onscreen instructions.
Did this test determine any problem?
Malware
Check for malware. Malware or malicious software (viruses, spyware, etc.) can cause your Mac to freeze or appear to hang. We previously wrote about these topics:
Cluttered desktop
A cluttered desktop can slow down and/or freeze your Mac. Organize your desktop. Delete files or folders that you do not need. macOS offers a feature for this called Stacks. Turn on Stacks on your Mac (if your Mac is running macOS Mojave or later). Here is how you can enable Stacks on your Mac:
- Go to Finder
- Click View (top menu bar)
- And select Use Stacks
Microsoft Photo Keeps Crashing
What Stacks does is that it groups your files and folders automatically based on their types.
If none of the above options work, you may want to contact Apple.
Most current releases of Adobe apps are compatible with macOS Catalina 10.15.
Can I use my Adobe apps in macOS Catalina 10.15?
We've updated most current apps to 64-bit architecture. The following versions work in Catalina, but have these known issues.
Adobe app | Version(s) compatible with Catalina |
---|---|
Adobe Creative Cloud apps | 2020 2019 |
Acrobat Pro & Standard DC | 2019 (subscription or non-subscription) |
Adobe Acrobat Pro & Standard 2017 | 2017 |
Adobe Connect | 10 |
Adobe Digital Editions | 4.5 |
Adobe Photoshop Elements | 2020 |
Adobe Premiere Elements | 2020 |
Most older Adobe apps were created using 32-bit architecture and do not work in Catalina. We have no plans to update apps that we no longer support or develop. The following table lists some common 32-bit Adobe apps that are not compatible with Catalina. (It is not a comprehensive list of all older 32-bit Adobe apps.)
Adobe Product | Status and alternatives |
Creative Cloud apps – 2018 release and earlier | No updates planned. We recommend that you upgrade to the latest release of Creative Cloud apps. |
Captivate | Update scheduled end of 2019 |
Creative Suite apps | No updates planned. We recommend that you upgrade to Creative Cloud. |
Fuse | No updates planned. Find free characters on Mixamo. |
Presenter Video Express | No updates planned. We recommend moving to Adobe Captivate. |
SpeedGrade | No updates planned. Certain features have been integrated into Premiere Pro, which is 64-bit compliant. |
Uninstall 32-bit apps before upgrading to Catalina
Before you upgrade to Catalina, we recommend that you uninstall your 32-bit Adobe apps. Older uninstallers are also 32-bit apps and don't work in Catalina.
If you already upgraded to Catalina, you can use the Creative Cloud Cleaner tool to uninstall older versions of Creative Cloud apps.
If you've kept Acrobat DC or Creative Cloud apps up to date, they are already 64-bit compliant.
How to delete flash player app from mac. You can update your apps using the Creative Cloud desktop app. See how to update your apps to the latest versions.
Are there issues using current Adobe apps in Catalina?
See the following documents for known issues with Adobe apps and macOS Catalina:
- Enterprise: Known issues with Creative Cloud packages on macOS Catalina