Closing Stuck Programs

Encountering problems is part of working with any sophisticated piece of equipment, especially one as complex as a computer. But, Windows XP makes it easier than previous versions to pinpoint and deal with problems. One common problem is dealing with a program that is stuck (or as Windows XP says, "is not responding"). If this happens, you can follow the suggestions in this section to see whether you can close the program without losing your work.

Try each solution in the order listed so that you look for easy fixes first before moving on to more drastic steps (such as restarting or turning the computer off and then back on, the topic of the next section).

Is the Program Busy?

If you think a program is not responding, make sure that it is not busy with another task. Is the disk light active? Can you hear the drives moving? Does the keyboard respond? If the computer is active, you might just have to wait a few seconds to get the program to respond.

tip

Your Esc key is just thatan escape. If you think you are stuck, try pressing Esc. You might get out of the jam, and even if you don't, pressing Esc doesn't hurt anything.

Also, make sure that the program is the active window. It is an easy mistake to have more than one window displayed and think you are working in one window (but it's not responding), when actually another program or window is active. Click in the program window or use the taskbar to switch to the program.

Also, make sure that the menu bar is not active. If you press Alt, the menus are activated. Then if you try to type, nothing will happen (or a menu will open). Press Esc a few times to make sure that you are actually in the working area (not in the menu bar).

caution

If you use this method, you risk losing any work you've done, but sometimes that's the only choice you have. As mentioned, try the suggestions in the preceding section first before closing the program window.

Closing a Program from the Taskbar

If the computer is not busy and you still can't get a program to respond, try closing it from the taskbar. Follow these steps:

1.	Right-click the taskbar button for the program. You'll see a shortcut menu for that window (see Figure 4.1). Figure 4.1. Use the taskbar button to try to close a program.
2.	Select the Close command. The program may then be closed. If it's not closed, Windows XP displays an error message saying that the program is not responding. You can then choose to wait or to close the program immediately.
3.	Click End Now if prompted.

Closing a Program from the Task Manager

If the taskbar method doesn't work (or if you are not sure what's running on your computer), you can display the Task Manager. The Task Manager displays all the open programs (as well as any behind-the-scenes system programs that are running). From the Task Manager, you can close a program.

tip

These exit methods work for stuck programs. You can also use them as other ways to exit regular programs (those that aren't stuck).

Follow these steps:

1.	Right-click a blank area of the taskbar.
2.	Select Task Manager. The Windows Task Manager appears (see Figure 4.2), listing all the programs that are running. Figure 4.2. The Task Manager displays what programs are running.
3.	Select the program you want to close.
4.	Click End Task.

The program is then closed. If the program is "stuck," you'll see a message stating that the program is not responding. At that point, you can click End Now to close down the stuck program.

tip

Sometimes, you can't even click the mouse. That's when you are really stuck. So are you out of luck? Not yet. Try pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del (all three keys together) and see whether that pops up the Task Manager. You can then try closing a stuck program.