Other System Crashes

Not all crashes cause an application to quit. Sometimes the application will just stop running. The mouse might freeze, or it might move around but it won't do anything.

If this happens, follow these steps:

Using Force Quit

1. Force quit the program. Hold down the Cmd-Option-Esc keys, or choose Force Quit from the Apple menu. You will see a Force Quit Applications window (see Figure 29.3 for the Mac OS X version).

   Figure 29.3. Choose the application to Force Quit from this window.

   

2. Normally, the application you were just running will be selected. If not, select the application.

3. Click Force Quit. Over the next few seconds, Mac OS X should be able to make the program quit. If it fails to occur, try again. Sometimes it takes two tries for the system to get the message.

4. If the program really doesn't quit, go to the Apple menu and choose Restart. At this point, there might be system-wide instability and it doesn't hurt to start from scratch.

An occasional Mac OS X system error is what's called a kernel panic . The symptoms are jarring, but don't freak out! A block of white on black text appears at the upper left of your screen. Usually, if you just press the r key, your Mac will restart and everything will be A-Okay. If not, use the following instructions to force a restart.