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How to Unfreeze Your Computer
Jeannine Karafotas
Technical Trainer

As you head back to a new school year, this tech tip may help you through those first few crazy weeks. This tip is especially helpful if you have a class full of new computer users.

One of the most common user errors is over-clicking the mouse. When the computer does not respond as quickly as we think it should, many users click again and again, trying to make something happen. This may cause an "Illegal Operation" notice or a computer "freeze-up." Not quite what we had in mind!

To recover from this situation:

Press the Ctrl, Alt, Del keys down together to bring up a "Close Program" window.
The operation that is non-responsive will be highlighted within a list of active programs on the computer.
Select "End Task."
This should prompt another window in which you should again select "End Task."
If the mouse has been clicked many times, you may have to go through this process more than once.
This should "unfreeze" the computer. If it doesn't, then choose "Shut Down" from the Start menu to restart the computer. Once the computer is unfrozen, reopen the application to continue working.

If you are using a Macintosh:

Press the Apple key (command key) + Option + Esc together to restart your computer.
Or press Control + Apple key + power button together to restart your computer.