220-1102 Question 232
Single answerForce QuitA user with a macOS laptop reports that a presentation app has stopped responding. The mouse pointer still moves, and the user can switch to other open apps, but the frozen app will not accept input or close normally. The user needs the quickest way to close only the unresponsive application without restarting the Mac. What should the technician instruct the user to do?
- A
Press Command+Option+Escape, select the unresponsive app in the Force Quit Applications window, and click Force Quit
- B
Press Control+Alt+Delete and end the task for the application
- C
Open Disk Utility and run First Aid on the startup disk
- D
Press and hold the power button until the Mac shuts down, then restart it
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
When a single macOS application stops responding but the rest of the system still works, best practice is to use Force Quit rather than restart the computer. On macOS, users can open the Force Quit Applications window with Command+Option+Escape or through the Apple menu and then select the affected app. This minimizes disruption and follows standard Apple troubleshooting guidance for nonresponsive applications. Restarting or powering off the system should generally be reserved for situations where the whole operating system is frozen or Force Quit does not work.
- A. Correct.
Correct. In macOS, Command+Option+Escape opens the Force Quit Applications window, which allows the user to terminate only the nonresponsive app while leaving the rest of the system running. This is the appropriate first step when a single application is frozen but the operating system is still responsive.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Control+Alt+Delete is associated with Windows security and task management functions, not macOS. A candidate might choose this if they confuse Windows Task Manager with the macOS Force Quit process.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Disk Utility First Aid is used to check and repair disk-related file system issues, not to close a hung application. This distractor reflects a misunderstanding between troubleshooting storage problems and handling an unresponsive app.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Forcing a shutdown by holding the power button is a last resort when the entire system is unresponsive. In this scenario, macOS is still functioning, so shutting down the computer would be unnecessarily disruptive and could risk unsaved work in other applications.