How to Unfreeze MacBook Air on macOS Ventura/Monterey

Danyupdated on Jul 20, 2023 |Home>Computer Instruction

You are working on something important on your MacBook, and you notice that your MacBook froze. This can happen for various reasons, and this article is for you to find outhow to unfreeze your MacBook Air. We will discuss the causes, fixes, and precautions you need to take to avoid this future.

MacBook冻是罕见的,但不是an exception. Like every other computer, even with the most advanced processors, the software always has a chance of getting struck. And in some cases, people have noticed documents disappearing, programs crashing, and issues even with the keyboard and mouse.

The thing is, the problem is fixable, and you do not have to worry. In the next section, we will try to understand the potential reasons why MacBook freezes and how to unfreeze MacBook Air. Continue reading to know the troubleshooting steps to quickly fix your MacBook and get back to work as soon as possible.

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Restart Frozen Mac A simple restart can give the OS a fresh start and help you with minor issues in the software...Full steps
Fix 2. Run Safe Boot Mode While starting up, Apple has a safe boot option, which can help you diagnose software...Full steps
Fix 3. Force Quit Mac Apps 错误的应用程序或应用程序突然崩溃the most common reasons for problems...Full steps
Fix 4. Make More Disk Space Sometimes if your Mac processes consume a lot of disk space, this puts a lot of...Full steps
Fix 5. Unplug All Peripherals If the problem persists even after trying all these, check whether any peripherals devices...Full steps

Why MacBook Freezes

The Processor chips in MacBooks are one of the best in the world, but that does not mean they can handle anything. Even a simple thing, such as having too many desktop icons on your desktop, theWindowserver high CPU on Macmakes it slow and can freeze your MacBook.

Let us look at some of the primary reasons why your Mac froze:

  • 假设你正在运行应用程序或使用太多了d processes on your Mac. It will take up many CPU cycles and memory on your PC to run it slowly and crash eventually.
  • Fault Apps or App Crashing can severely damage Mac's performance.
  • The browser or overworked email issues. Too many tabs open on your browser or too many attachments in your email can lead to such problems.
  • Overloaded hard drive or disk

There could be many other reasons, like hardware problems, out-of-date OS, and Virtus attacks which can affect the Mac in rare cases but can cause your MacBook to freeze.

Now Let us move to the next section to learn what we can do to get out of this phase.

5 Ways to Unfreeze MacBook Air

Even when people know that the MacBook got frozen, they tend first to press every button on the keyboard and panic. First of all, you do not have to panic. It is a fixable problem; take a break and look for solutions on the Internet. Boom, and the first thing you are here on our page with a list of answers to get your Mac to the normal stage.

Let us quickly dive into methods you can follow to unfreeze MacBook Air.

Method 1. Restart Your Frozen MacBook

A simple restart can give the OS a fresh start and help you with minor issues in the software. Tryrestarting your MacBook Airif it froze out of nowhere. Continuing is the best and first option, and you can try to get things running again quickly.

多个MacB的情况下进入画面ook Air. Based on the issues, let us look at how we can do this:

Step 1.If your mouse is responsive, click on theApple menuat the top-left corner of your screen, select "Restart", and click it.

Mac restart using Apple Menu

Step 2.If your mouse is unresponsive, you cannot interact with the Apple menu; pressCommand + Control + Ejecton older macs andCommand + Option + Command + Powe buttonon newer macs. This action will quit all the running apps with an offer to save and hold until the screen shuts down and the machine restarts.

Step 3.If your Mac completely froze along with the mouse cursor and keyboard, press and hold thePowerbutton until the Mac turns off, wait for a few seconds, then do the same to turn it back on.

Method 2. Run a Safe Boot Mode

Apple has a safe boot option while starting up, which can help you diagnose a software problem on your Mac. If there is a problem entirely with your MacBook, you can put your MacBook into safe mode.

TheMac safe modetries to diagnose your problem by preventing the software from launching during the boot process (Including login items, system essentials, and third-party fonts). Now, it runs a First Aid check on the startup files and deletes unnecessary system caches that can be created again.

Safe Boot mode on Mac Image Credit: MacSales.com

Steps to use the safe mode on Mac:

Step 1.Restart your Mac or Power it on; press and hold theShiftKey as your Mac starts up.

Step 2.Release the Shift Key after you see the login screen.

Step 3.The Mac may ask you to log in multiple times; on the first or second login, you can see the Safe Boot on the screen's upper-right corner, indicating you are in safe boot mode.

The issue may have been resolved if the problem does not occur in Safe mode again. You can get back to normal mode. If the issue persists safely, move to the next fix.

Method 3. Force Quit Frozen Mac Apps

错误的应用程序或应用程序突然崩溃the most common reasons for problems on Mac. Determine whether the app you currently use or an app in the background is responsible for the issue. You can quickly determine the app since you can see your Mac behaving abnormally as soon as you open it or work on it.

You must also ensure whether a single application is frozen or the whole OS. If you can move your cursor or use the keyboard, it is the application running, or you can see the rainbow wheel, the spinning beach ball, or justSPOD(Spinning Pizza of Death). If a single application is causing all this, you will get a notification like "app quit unexpectedly" on the screen.

Use the following methods to force quit the frozen apps to unfreeze your MacBook Air:

Step 1. If you are experiencing a problem in the current application, switch to another app using the app's window or dock on the desktop. Or you can press the Command tab to switch to another app. You can gain control of your Mac and quit the application.

Step 2.If you could use your cursor, Click on theApplemenu and chooseForce Quit.Or you can press and hold the Option key, right-click on the problematic application's icon in the dock, andquit it.

Quit problematic apps

Step 3.You can Quit All the apps on the Mac and start afresh. PressCommand + Option + Eseusing the keyboard, and this action will invoke the Force quit menu. You can choose an app or use theQuit Alloption to leave all your Mac's current applications and programs.

Method 4. Make More Disk Space on Your Mac

Sometimes if your Mac processes consume a lot of disk space, this puts a lot of performance pressure on your CPU. Even though Apple introduces powerful processors yearly, these advanced processors cannot handle high-performance applications simultaneously.

For that, you need to make sure you have enough disk space on your Mac and clean it up if you are running low on space to avoid such problems in the future. But you should know how much of your storage is used and how much is left. Follow the steps to learn about storage and hover over the segments to see the disk space in detail.

Click onApple Menu > About This Mac > Storage.A storage bar is divided into segments with space consumed by essential things like Photos, Apps, Large files, System OS, etc.

Free Up Disk Space on Mac

You can make more disk space by transferring your files to iCloud or removing unused and unnecessary applications and programs.

Method 5. Unplug All of Your Peripherals

If the problem persists after trying all these, check whether any peripherals (external devices like hard disk, CDs, DVDs, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, etc.) are connected to your device. Unplug all your peripherals on your device and restart the Mac again to see if the problem resolves.

To check what all external devices or peripherals are connected to your device, follow the below steps:

Step 1.You can find them in Finder Sidebar or on your desktop.

Step 2. Choose "Finder" > "Settings" and Click "General".

Step 3. You can select the items (ex: hard disks) to see them.

Unplug all peripherals

If none of the above fixes worked for you, you could try updating to the latest IOS version on the MacBook Air, and if the problem further irritates you, contact Apple customer service to get an expert to advise and have it to them to get it repaired.

How to Recover Data After Sudden Freezing

If we face any issues, such as the MacBook freezing on our Mac, we perform many troubleshooting steps to get out of the problems. While going through all these steps, there is a chance of data needing to be recovered. For example, if your MacBook gets frozen while working on a document and you have to restart to get back your control, there is a high chance that your data will get lost while doing this.

In such cases,ob欧宝电竞官网入口 is the best and most professional software tool to recover lost data due to accidental deletion, system malfunction, crashes, or other causes like human errors. You must select the required hard drive, scan it to find the deleted files, and recover the possible files.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac

  • Recover lost or deleted files, photos, videos, and time machine backup using this tool in cases of no backup
  • Recover trash Mac, formatted hard drives, memory cards, flash drives, digital cameras, and camcorders
  • It comes with advanced data recovery functionalities to help you recover your data faster, especially for Mac users

It can retrieve photos, music, videos, documents, and many other files of multiple formats. Offers IT support by expert EaseUS professionals to troubleshoot your data loss cases from anywhere. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac now to quickly regain your lost data. Here are the steps to recover Mac data.

Step 1. Select the drive to be scanned

In the main EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard window, there will be a list of the drives connected to your Mac. Select the drive you need to recover lost/deleted files from, and click the "Search for lost files" button.

select a location and scan for lost Mac data

Step 2. Select your lost data/files

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results on the left pane. You can sort the results to find the wanted files if you are looking for certain files.

Select your lost data/files

Step 3. Recover lost/deleted data

Once you have found the desired files, preview the files and then click "Recover" to begin the recovery of your deleted/lost Mac files.

recover lost Mac data

The Final Verdict

MacBook getting frozen is a rare occurrence, as the powerful processors of Apple back it, but it is no exception. This article answers all the questions of why it happens and how to unfreeze MacBook Air. A lot of times, due to multiple apps, desktop icons, and insufficient disk space, these issues occur. Try out the solutions to unfreeze your Mac and get back to work.

If you discover any data loss issues after repairing or troubleshooting problems, download and useEaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on Macto recover the lost files.

If you find this article helpful, share it with your friends and leave a comment about it. If you have any queries regarding the topic, feel free to ask them in the comment box, and do let me know of the future issues you wish to see articles from EaseUS.

How to Unfreeze MacBook Air FAQs

Here are some of the most frequent FAQs asked on the topic. If you have similar queries hope this will help you.

1. Why is my MacBook air frozen?

Though Macs have potent processors, there are certain downsides if you put too much pressure on the CPU. MacBook Air gets frozen for multiple reasons like running too many apps, crashing, low disk space, outdated IOS, etc.

2. How do I fix an unresponsive MacBook Air?

The first thing you can try to fix an unresponsive MacBook Air is to restart the Mac. Press and Hold the Power button until your Mac switches off or use a combination of buttons like Command + Control + Eject/Power button/ Option to restart the Mac.

3. How do I unfreeze my computer screen?

You can use Command + Esc + Option buttons to force quit all the apps and restart the Mac if the screen is responsive or use the set of buttons like Command + Control + Eject/Power button/ Option to restart the Mac.

4. How do you force quit on a Mac that is not responding?

If your Mac is not responding and you want to force quit the current operation, press the Command + Esc + Option buttons to invoke the Force Quit menu. Select the app, leave it, or choose Quit All to turn off all the current processes.

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Updated byDaisy

Daisy is the Senior editor of the writing team for EaseUS. She has been working in EaseUS for over ten years, starting from a technical writer to a team leader of the content group. As a professional author for over 10 years, she writes a lot to help people overcome their tech troubles.

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Written byDany

Dany is an editor of EaseUS who lives and works in Chengdu, China. She focuses on writing articles about data recovery on Mac devices and PCs. She is devoted to improving her writing skills and enriching her professional knowledge. Dany also enjoys reading detective novels in her spare time.

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