It’s no secret that the biggest appeal of MacBooks is the high value they offer in terms of quality and reliability as compared to Windows computers, for example. They are powerful and it would usually take something very serious to interfere with its systems from functioning normally and in such situations, that’s usually when users start to experience such problems with their Macs. In most cases, it usually comes down to having too many applications and programs running at once. This ends up utilising an excessive amount of processing power just to keep all of the apps functioning. At which point, your device stops responding to your commands on the keyboard and your mouse turns into the dreaded colorful spinning cursor.
In short, if your computer is frozen, chances are it’s because one or more of your applications has crashed and while in most cases this won’t stop your entire computer from functioning, if multiple apps are running, that could cause be bad for your hard drive.
How To Unfreeze Your Computer
The first thing you need to do is to not panic. Avoid pressing too many buttons or angrily baking at your MacBook because that won’t help. In fact, it may make it worse. So, for you to revive your Mac you must first pinpoint what the cause of the issue is. If the cause is a failing app, then you can just force quit it.
However, if the issue is systematic and your Mac cannot perform normally, then you can just restarting it. Before doing so, you must ensure your Mac is plugged in to a power source first, so go ahead and pull out your cable organizer then connect your Mac adapter. You can then either restart the normal way or conduct a forced reboot, by holding down the power button. It is not the best option, as chances are any unsaved work will end up lost, but it is a working solution that should get your Mac working.
Common Reasons For A Frozen Mac
- An Unresponsive App Crashed
If there were several applications running together, then it’s likely this is the reason for your unresponsive computer. In which case you have to either force quit it or simply uninstall it, altogether. You can force quit an app by right clicking on it or clicking on the Apple logo in the menu bar located at the top of your screen. You can also uninstall an application by deleting it in Launchpad window or opening your Finder and dragging the app to your Trash.
- Disorganised Desktop
It’s no secret that an overly-cluttered desktop is bound to slow down your hard drive’s speed. This is due to the fact that each icon is essentially an image, not just a simple file/application extension or link. This means every time you login to your computer, they are being repeatedly redrawn.
- Background Apps or Login Items
Another common reason for a frozen Mac is the excessive running of background applications. In such cases, the user may be unaware that they did not fully close the application and that it haas been running continuously the whole time. This mixed in with all the new apps they have operand since then and you are bound to have freezing issues.
Additionally, login items can also be another probable cause for the freezing issue. For those unfamiliar, login items are those apps that usually automatically open when you turn on your Mac. They are also a common reason why out people complain about a slow-performing Mac when they turn them on. You can disable these login items by heading to Settings > User and Groups. You should be able to remove any unnecessary apps from the login items list there.
- Multiple Apps Running At Once
Those who normally handle doing multiple tasks at once, may need to open several programs at the same time. However, that can start to add stress to your processor and slow down its performance. Plus, of you keep on opening more apps, your computer is bound to freeze or even worse, crash. In these situations, you can head to the Activity Monitor and see which programs are taking up the most processing power and memory. Once you locate the programs that you don’t need, you can go ahead and uninstall them. Moreover, you can force quit them through the Activity Monitor, as well.
- Low Storage Space
Another common culprit is an overly-cluttered hard disk that is filled with too many files, leaving no room for your hard drive to function optimally. In most cases, if your storage gets too low, you will normally be alerted of the problem and asked to create more storage space quickly. However, you can always confirm your storage status by clicking About This Mac and then selecting Storage. You can also make use of storage cleaning utility tools like CleanMyMac X, which should help you clean up your macOS system more efficiently and easily.
Conclusion
Whenever your Mac freezes you should not panic and take these solutions into practice. In most cases, these situations should solve your problem pretty quickly. However, if the problem persists, you can choose to perform an Apple Hardware Diagnostic test yourself by turning your Mac off and then holding the Power and D buttons together. The other alternative is to take it to the nearest Apple Store to be checked out. However, if you do decide to take it outside, make sure you carry your MacBook in a macbook leather sleeve for extra protection!
