What to do when your MacBook freezes?
Is your MacBook frozen and unresponsive? Don't panic, there are a few simple things you can do to bring your MacBook back to life. Start by force closing programs or restarting your MacBook . Doesn't work? Then you can reset your MacBook , or put it back to factory settings.
Force quit programs
- The easiest and least invasive step is to force quit programs.
- On your keyboard, press the 'command' + 'option/alt' + 'esc' keys at the same time.
- This will open a new window with a list of the programs that are running.
- Select the programs that are stuck and click 'Force Quit'.
- The programs will be force quit and your Mac Book should respond again.
Restart MacBook
- Is your MacBook still not working? Try restarting it.
- Hold the power button for ten seconds, until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
- Release the button and your MacBook will restart .
- One disadvantage of restarting via the power button is that you will lose any data that you have not yet saved.
- Sometimes, unfortunately, that's the only way to get your MacBook working again. Read more about it here .
Erase data
- Click on Disk Utilities and then click on 'Continue'.
- Now you are going to erase the hard drive (where all the data is stored); no problem if you have made a backup, but do this first.
- Select ' Macintosh HD ' on the left side of the screen and then click 'Erase'.
- Enter 'Macintosh HD' as name, select ' Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' and then click 'Erase'.
- Within seconds your hard drive is erased: ready for a clean start.
Back to factory settings
- Close Disk Utility, connect to Wi-Fi and click 'ReinstallmacOS '.
- Follow the steps on screen to complete the installation.
- Reboot your MacBook and voila: you have a MacBook that can start over with a clean slate in terms of software!
- You can choose a fresh start, or restore your old programs and files from Time Machine backup.
Refurbished MacBook
- If your MacBook still isn’t performing properly even after a factory reset, it could be that your user needs exceed the capabilities of your MacBook.
- In that case, it is smart to look for another MacBook, with more computing power.
- Since you're quickly looking at a price of €2,000 or well above, it's often worth looking for a MacBook that exactly meets your user needs.
- A In such a case, a refurbished MacBook Air or MacBook Pro can be more value for money than a new MacBook .
- Because let's be honest, you wouldn't buy a Ferrari just to go grocery shopping once a week, would you?
