7 Easy Methods to Fix a Frozen MacBook Pro in 2023!

Having to deal with a frozen MacBook Pro can be extremely aggravating. The frustration is increased by the inability to utilize your mouse, keyboard, or any programs and the appearance of a spinning pinwheel, an empty screen, or an immovable app window.

The possible loss of unsaved work or data makes things much more difficult. What procedures may be taken to defrost your MacBook Pro and stop this from happening again? To discover them, continue reading.

Why Has My MacBook Pro Frozen?

Several factors can cause a MacBook Pro to freeze, including:

Overloaded system resources: Running multiple demanding applications simultaneously can overload your MacBook s processing power and memory, causing it to freeze.
Insufficient storage space: A lack of available storage can result in reduced system performance and freezing.
Corrupted system files: Damaged or corrupted system files can lead to instability and freezing.
Hardware issues: Problems with your MacBook s internal components, such as the hard drive or RAM, can cause freezing.

Software abnormalities, overheating, or even infection are some of the other possible causes of a frozen MacBook Pro.

Different approaches might be used to resolve the problem depending on the root cause. I’ll list some of the most popular and successful ways to get your MacBook Pro working again down below.

How Do I Unfreeze My MacBook Pro?

1. Restart Your MacBook Pro

Remember that restarting your MacBook Pro can result in the loss of any unsaved work or data in any running apps at the time the freeze occurred. attempt to save your work beforehand if you can, or attempt another approach.

It may be required to restart your MacBook Pro if the screen is frozen or dark in order to fix any short-term issues or conflicts that may be to blame. A frozen MacBook Pro mouse or keyboard can also be fixed by rebooting. To restart your device, follow these steps:

Press and hold the power button of your MacBook Pro until it powers off.
Pause for a few moments, then press the power button once more to switch it on.
If required, input your password to log in.

Use the Touch ID button instead of the power button on later MacBook Pro models that have a Touch Bar and Touch ID to perform the aforementioned actions.

2. Check your Storage Space

If your hard disk is nearly full, your MacBook Pro might not have the room it needs to operate smoothly and effectively. Refer to our detailed guide to find out how much storage space your MacBook Pro has left.

It is advised to keep at least 10% of your hard drive free space for best performance. Consider freeing up space by deleting unnecessary files, emptying the trash, uninstalling unused apps, or moving files to an external drive or cloud storage if your available space is below this limit.

3. Scan for Malware

On your MacBook Pro, malware may cause a variety of problems, such as slowing it down, stopping it, displaying pop-ups or advertisements, rerouting your browser, stealing your information, or encrypting your data. To fix this, do a malware scan on your MacBook Pro and use a reliable antivirus to get rid of any viruses that are found.

For example, Intego is a trustworthy choice because it not only finds and gets rid of malware from your MacBook Pro but also offers real-time protection by constantly checking your system for new threats.

Modern features, regular automatic updates, and an intuitive interface make it simple to keep the security of your MacBook Pro up to date. Additionally, Intego’s minimum system effect guarantees that the performance of your device is unaffected while being scanned.

4. How Do I Unfreeze My MacBook Pro Without Losing Work?

One minute is required.

A frozen MacBook Pro may occasionally be brought on by an app that is unresponsive or consuming excessive amounts of CPU or memory. If your cursor is still movable, you might attempt to force-quit the troublesome app to see if that fixes the problem. Here’s how to go about it:

Give your MacBook Pro a few minutes to process tasks and potentially unfreeze itself.
Press Command + Option + Esc to open the Force Quit Applications window.
Select the app that is unresponsive or has Not Responding next to its name then click Force Quit.
Repeat this for any other apps that are unresponsive or using too much CPU or memory.

5. What to Do When Your Mac Freezes while Restarting?

If your MacBook Pro freezes during restarting, try these steps:

Press and hold the power button for at least 10 seconds to force your MacBook Pro to shut down, then turn it back on.
Afterward, go to the Apple menu > System Settings.
Go to General > Software Update.
Wait until your MacBook looks for new updates, then click Download & Install to update your macOS.

6. How Do I Unfreeze My Mac During an Update?

You can attempt the following solutions if your MacBook Pro freezes when receiving an update:

Give your MacBook Pro some time to process the update, as it might be temporarily unresponsive due to high resource usage.
If waiting does not resolve the issue, press and hold the power button for at least 10 seconds until your MacBook Pro shuts down. Then, turn it back on to see if the update resumes or completes.
If the problem persists, shut down and restart your MacBook Pro while holding Option + Command + P + R together.
Keep holding the keys pressed until you hear the startup sound twice or see the Apple logo twice.
Release the keys and let your MacBook Pro boot.

When your MacBook Pro freezes often, the issue can be with the NVRAM or PRAM. Your MacBook Pro’s sound volume, display resolution, starting disk preference, and other information is stored in these memory types. These problems might be solved by resetting the PRAM or NVRAM.

7. How to Fix a Frozen MacBook Pro on Startup/Login Screen?

Try these methods if your MacBook Pro freezes on startup or login:

Hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds until the device shuts down. On laptops with Touch ID, press and hold the Touch ID button.
Next, disconnect all nonessential peripherals, including printers, drives, and USB hubs. The issue may stem from one or multiple devices or their cables.
Power your Mac on again.

Go ahead and use Disk Utility to repair your starting disk if the problem is still present.

For Apple silicon: Power on your Mac, and continue to press the power button until the startup options window appears. Click the gear icon labeled Options and then click Continue.
For Intel processor: Switch on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Command + R keys until you see an Apple logo.
You may be prompted to choose a user whose password you know. Select the user, click Next, and enter their administrator password.
In the macOS Recovery utility window, choose Disk Utility and click Continue.
If available, select View > Show All Devices from Disk Utility s menu bar or toolbar.
Disk Utility s sidebar should now display all available disks and storage devices, starting with your startup disk, and any containers and volumes within each disk.
To repair each disk, begin by selecting the last volume on the disk and clicking the First Aid button.
Press Run to initiate error checking on the selected volume.
If there is no Run button, click the Repair Disk button. If the button is dimmed and unclickable, skip this step for the selected disk, container, or volume. Enter your administrator password if prompted to unlock the disk.
After Disk Utility completes volume checking, select the next item above it in the sidebar and run First Aid again. Continue up the list, running First Aid for each volume, container, and eventually the disk.
Once finished, quit Disk Utility and restart your MacBook Pro.

Shut down your Mac and unplug all unnecessary devices if Disk Utility can’t find your disk. Make sure your external drive is directly attached to your Mac before turning it on and off if you need to repair it.

Check out our tutorial on how to fix a Mac that is stuck on the progress bar or Apple logo as an alternative if your MacBook Pro still freezes on the startup or login screen.

A Frozen MacBook is not Always a Cause for Concern

We’ve discussed some of the most popular and efficient ways to fix a frozen MacBook Pro in this article. This problem ought to be resolved by now, and your main worry should be how to speed up your Mac. It could be necessary to get your computer repaired at an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider if the issue isn’t fixed, though.

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