Windows Program Not Responding: Why Does It Happen & How to Fix It

Do you have programs that are not responding on your computer? Many Windows users are in the same boat.

The good news is, today’ we’ll help you fix all of that. And if you’re curious how we got to these solutions, you can find some info about why this error happens in the first place below.

But first:

How to fix “Program is not responding” Windows error

1. Restart your computer

The first and the simplest thing you should do is restart your computer, mainly if the issue occurred recently. To perform a restart, press Alt + F4, select the option from the dropdown menu, and click OK.

Before you move on to more advanced solutions, try restarting the computer and see if the program not responding frequently in Windows starts to work after that.

2. Terminate the program

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
2. Click the View more button in case the window is displayed in its short form, then click Processes.
3. Now you can right-click the app that’s not responding and select End task from the menu, or from the bottom right corner.
4. Once done, relaunch the program on the computer not responding earlier in Windows 10, and check if it works fine now.

3. Update your app

1. Type microsoft store in the Windows Search tab and click on the app from the results.
2. Select the Library icon from the bottom-left corner, and click the Update button for each app if there’s a newer version available. Or, you can click the Update all button to install the latest version for all apps in one go.
3. Restart your PC and check if your app works fine.

This is how you can update the apps you got from Microsoft Store, but if the unresponsive app is from another source, you will need to check its menu for this option.

In the unlikely situation where the app doesn’t have an update feature, head over to the developer’s website and get the latest version.

Also, find out what to do if Microsoft Store doesn’t work in Windows since it would prevent you from updating existing apps and installing new ones.

4. Perform SFC and DISM scans

4.1 Run an SFC scan

1. Search for cmd and click Run as administrator to open Command Prompt with full privileges.
2. Type the following command, and press Enter:sfc /scannow
3. The scanning process will take a little time, so don’t interfere with it while it repairs your system.

If you cannot perform this step, check what to do if you can’t access Command Prompt as administrator and fix this problem immediately.

4.2 Run a DISM scan

1. Type cmd in the Search tab and select Run as administrator.
2. Paste the following command, and press Enter to run it: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
3. Like the SFC scan, this process will also take a while, so make sure you don’t interrupt it.

5. Reinstall the program

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings and choose Apps from the menu.
2. Now scroll down in the right pane, click on the app you want to remove, and select Uninstall.
3. Once done, head over to the source where you first downloaded the app and reinstalled it.

6. Perform a full antivirus scan

1. Type security in the Search tab and click on Windows Security from the results.
2. Select Virus & threat protection.
3. If you don’t have a third-party antivirus, you can now select the Full Scan or the Microsoft Defender Offline scan option and click on the Scan now button.
4. If not, you can click on the Open app to your antivirus and perform a full scan from its options.
5. For instance, in Bitdefender, the System Scan option is accessible right from the dashboard, but if you have a different antivirus, that might be different.

Since we’re talking about antiviruses, you might as well check if your system is infected with malicious software.

7. Disable your antivirus

1. Click on the Search tab, type security, and select Windows Security from the results.
2. Choose Virus & threat protection.
3. If you don’t have a third-party antivirus, click on Manage settings under Virus & threat protection settings.
4. Now, disable the toggle for Real-time protection.
5. Next, click Yes in the UAC to confirm the change.
6. If you have a third-party antivirus, click on the Open app to access your antivirus and disable it from the security menu.

Windows 10 is infamous for preventing updates within certain apps and software. We want to check if your current antivirus solution conflicts with some of your programs.

8. Reset the PC

1. Click Start and open Settings.
2. Open the Update & Security section.
3. Choose Recovery from the left pane and click Get Started under Reset this PC.
4. Choose Keep my files.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions, and choose the appropriate response when prompted to complete the reset process.

When a program does not respond in Windows, it stops interacting with the OS. This happens after Windows sends several messages in a few seconds, and if the program doesn’t respond and the message queue fills up, the error message is encountered.

Windows don’t throw an error when the program is not responding, and in some cases, it might start working again in a while. But, if it doesn’t, you could terminate the program from the Task Manager and then relaunch it.

Why do programs not respond?

There can be a lot of factors causing the problem—from a faulty system, conflicting apps, and bad drivers to malicious software and more.

You can’t pinpoint a single issue in this case, so trying as many solutions as possible is essential.

When a program is not responding, it means it is having problems communicating with Windows properly. This might be because the program is carrying out some background processes or due to some bugs and other issues.

Moreover, here are some error variations that you can encounter, and fix with the same solutions below:

• All programs not responding
• Programs not responding Windows 10, mMc
• Program not responding and won’t close
• Program not responding but using CPU
• Windows program not responding

And if you’re unsure why the program stopped working in Windows 10, review each of the solutions presented and see what works for you!

What to do if a program is not responding?

Once again, since this is a widespread issue, we can’t know for sure what caused it. If you have any questions or suggestions, place them in the comments below.