This brief tutorial is going to show you how to kill or stop a program or process that is hung and won’t respond to your keyboard or mouse command in both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin). There are many reasons why program will hang and stop responding in Windows and sometimes in Ubuntu. I can’t tell you all the reasons, but I am going to show you to kill those unresponsive programs and services so that you can continue using your computer. Because Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 are different systems, the method used will be different but will accomplish the same goal. They maybe different, but are similar in many functions. Almost anything you do in Windows 7 can be done in Ubuntu 12.04 as well, and if you’re coming from Windows to Ubuntu, this guide will help you understand Ubuntu better.
Objectives:
- Stop Unresponsive Programs and Services in Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.04
- Enjoy!
How to Stop Rogue / Unresponsive Programs in Windows 7
There are many ways to kill a program or process in Windows 7. One method is through Task Manager. To do that, right-click on the Task Bar and select ‘Start Task Manager’
Finally, select Application / Processes / Services tab to kill or end a process or application.
You could also access Windows Task Manager by press Ctrl – Alt – Delete keys and selecting ‘Start Task Manager’
That’s it!
How to End / Kill Applications / Processes in Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin)
In Ubuntu 12.04, there’s a program called Gnome System Monitor that can be accessed from ‘Dash’ which is used to kill or end processes.
However, I prefer to use keys combination to quickly launch gnome-system-monitor. To create keyboard shortcuts for this program, go to the ‘Control Gear –> System Settings’
Then select ‘Keyboard’
Next, select ‘Shortcuts’ tab and click ‘Add’ (plus)
Then type the name and command for Gnome System Monitor. The command for that program is:
gnome-system-monitor
Click ‘Apply’ , then select the line to add a shortcut. At first, it will say ‘Disabled’ . When you select it, it will read’ New accelerator..’ begin typing the keys combination you want. eg. ( Ctrl Alt K )
After typing the key combination, it should appear as shown below.
When you need to quickly access the program, type the keys combination to launch it, then use it to kill programs or processes.
Enjoy!
