How to Force Close a Program Without Task Manager
How to Force Stop a Program the Easy Way
To force stop an application without using the Task Manager, you can simply use the taskkill command to do that. Typically, you would have to enter this command at the Command Prompt to kill a particular process. However, it’s clumsy to open up command line window every time an applucation stops responding, and typing the command every time is a waste od time. You can force close windows way much easier with a shortcut.
- Right-click on any space on your desktop that is empty and select New > Shortcut.
- You will be asked to enter a location for the shortcut. In that box, paste the following command:- taskkill /f /fi "status eq not responding"
We breakdown the command in clear interpretation below:
Taskkill is the main command to kill a process, which you should use when something is frozen and not responding.
/f instructs the command to force-close the particular program. Without this, Windows would just ask the process to terminate, which would not work if it is stuck.
/fi intructs the command to work only on processes that reach a filter criteria.
Then Lastly, the text in quotes "status eq not responding" is the command criteria. You want it to only kill processes with a status equal to Not Responding.
- The shortcut creation box will then ask you to name your new shortcut. Call it anything you like, then press Finish.
- Now you can force-close a program by double-clicking this shortcut at any time. This will kill any window that's currently stuck.
How to Force-Close Applications on Windows With a Keyboard Shortcut
To make this force-close process more faster, we can make a custom keyboard shortcut that will be used to run the task killer command script.
- Right-click on your new shortcut and select Properties from the list.
- Under the tab for Shortcuts, click on the Shortcut key box to enter in a custom keyboard shortcut.
Windows would automatically add Ctrl + Alt to any letter that you enter, but you can change it to Ctrl + Shift if you like that. [here we enter K as our shortcut]
Then Press Okay when done to apply the shortcut. So when any program is stuck, simply press the shortcut on your keyboard.
Note: Because this shortcut would momentarily open up a Command Prompt window, you can set Run to be Minimized. Doing so means you would not see a disrupting brief flash when you press the shortcut.
Alternative Methods to Force-Close in Windows
The method above is the most straightforward way to force-stop programs when they freeze up. However, there are some other methods and tools that you might might want to use for doing this.
A basic troubleshooting process when applications freeze up is by pressing Alt + F4. This is the Windows keyboard shortcut for exiting the current window.
Therefore, it would not force-close a program that is really stuck, but you can give it a try if the application just had a minor hiccup.
How to Force a Program to Close With SuperF4 Application
SuperF4 is a simple program or software that allows you force-kill any window, even if the window isin't responding. Like the taskkill command that was discussed above, it would force the programs to stop immediately instead of asking them nicely.
Because of this, the program won’t check to make sure that you’ve saved your work before it closes, so take care when using this app.
Simply go online and download SuperF4 and see it in action.
Force-Close Programs With a Task Manager Alternative
Technically, another simple method to force-close programs without using the Task Manager is by using a Task Manager alternative. For instance, if you are looking for something more powerful, Process Explorer would definitely fill that need for you.
Simply head to google and search for Process Explorer Software Download.
How to Force-Close Programs With AutoHotkey
You can also create a basic AutoHotkey script to force-close windows. You’ll need to download AutoHotkey, then create a script with this line:
#!Q::WinKill,A
Move the finished file to your Pc Startup folder so it would run every time that you log on. Then simply press Win + Alt + Q to kill the current window thats open.
