Everything is frozen and nothing responds
My computer froze and the mouse will not move. How do I unfreeze it?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
One program is holding the computer hostage while it waits for something, usually a file or the internet. The quickest thing to try first: give it two full minutes — A busy computer often recovers by itself. Watch the drive light or listen to the fan. If activity is happening, wait a little longer before doing anything drastic. Most people are done in about 5 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 5 steps for Windows and Mac, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Nothing clicks
- •Mouse stuck
- •Spinning circle that never ends
Why it happens
One program is holding the computer hostage while it waits for something, usually a file or the internet.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Give it two full minutes
A busy computer often recovers by itself. Watch the drive light or listen to the fan. If activity is happening, wait a little longer before doing anything drastic.
- 2
Close the stuck program
On Windows press Control, Shift and Escape, click the program marked Not responding, and choose End task. On a Mac press Command, Option and Escape and choose Force Quit.
- 3
Unplug the accessory you just connected
A faulty USB drive or a cheap hub can freeze the whole machine while the computer keeps trying to talk to it.
- 4
Force a shutdown as the last resort
Hold the power button for ten seconds. You may lose unsaved work, so keep this for when nothing else responds.
- 5
Free up space and memory
Repeated freezing usually means the drive is almost full or too many apps open at once. Keep at least fifteen percent of the drive free and close browser tabs you are not reading.
If none of that worked
If freezing happens several times a day, check the drive health. On Windows run chkdsk /f in Terminal as administrator and restart.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
Writer and researcher
We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
- Windows and Mac
- Plain language
CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
- Fact checking
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
A gentle reminder: back up anything you cannot afford to lose before major repairs. If a step ever feels risky, stop and ask a technician. There is no shame in that.